Jesus In Beijing

Jesus in Beijing is written by David Aikman, an American journalist who is a former Senior Correspondent for TIME magazine. In making this book, Aikman traveled into the countryside of China to visit unregistered churches and to interview the members of these groups and their leaders. He observed their activities, their theologies, their goals and passions, and their thoughts on the registered Protestant churches and the government.

Christianity is a rapidly growing movement in China today. Based on Aikman, the registered churches, Protestant and Catholic, now have nearly twenty-five million members. In this book, Aikman provides a brief history of the coming of Christianity in China and how it was spreading even with many obstacles from the government. He also named some of the famous Chinese Christian leaders, who refused to join the Three Self Patriotic Movement: Wang Mingdao, Allen Yuan, Samuel Lamb, Moses Xie, and Li Tianen. These five men all suffered and tortured, but their perseverance is very admirable. Aikman also mentions three groups of unregistered Christian fellowships that are located in Henan, the most populated province of China. The three fellowship groups are: Fangcheng Fellowship, Tanghe Fellowship (also known as the China Gospel Fellowship), and the Born-Again Movement (also known as the Word of Life Movement). Aikman provides some biographical story of some of the leaders of these movements and the activities of the fellowships.

In many ways Aikman compares the quick growth and the struggle of Christianity in China to the relationship between the Christians and Rome. Although they were suppressed they finally came to dominate the Roman Empire in less then 500 years. In fact, missionaries have been in China for 400 years now, so it may take more hundred years for Christians in China to have a peaceful year praising God. Aikman also forecasts a fast growth of Christianity, showing that once Christians have 10% of China's population; its rise will be unstoppable. The final conclusion of the book is that the commitment China has to Christianity will help renew the faith in the west since the church attendance is down dramatically.

According to Aikman, there is an agreement among the Chinese Christians that they created the Back to Jerusalem movement, which will send missionaries to the Muslim areas of Gansu Province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China, to the Muslim states of Central Asia, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and on to Jerusalem.