From the Field: A Famine in the Land

For years I have had the privilege of serving the church in China. The spiritual lives of these men and women have encouraged me to go deeper in my walk with God. One area in particular has impressed me: their hunger for the Word of God. Right now it can be said there is a famine in the land of China. This is “not a famine of food or thirst of for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). There are tens of millions of Chinese Christians who are eager for spiritual nourishment, but are unable to feast on God’s Word.

Recently while visiting Beijing, I decided to spend an afternoon doing my own research to determine how easy it is to buy a Chinese Bible. Remember, Beijing is the capital of China, a modern, massive city with over 15 million residents. Most of China’s Christians live in remote rural areas thousands of miles away. I commenced my quest for a Bible at the huge Xinhua bookstore, considered one of the largest bookstores in the world. After speaking with several workers and the store manager, I was taken to a small section which has a few Christian books, but no Bibles. There were a few booklets about the Bible, but no complete Chinese Bible to be found anywhere. Next I went to the Foreign Language Bookstore and I found Bibles in English and several other languages, but not in Chinese.

The young lady at the store suggested I visit a local church to see if I could find a Bible there. By the time I arrived at the Wangfujing Cathedral I had been searching for a Chinese Bible for hours. I located a small bookshop operated by the church and purchased a Chinese Bible for the equivalent of $4. I could have bought several Bibles if I had asked, but any larger order would have required permission and approval.

Can you buy Bibles in China? Yes. Is it easy? No. Imagine a Chinese house church pastor living in a small village in a remote countryside trying to get 50 or 100 Bibles for his congregation. He would face great difficulties logically, legally, and financially. Thus the challenge is an issue of supply and demand. A limited number of Bibles are printed and sold in China, but literally millions of Chinese believers do not have access to them. The ‘food’ is not making it to those who are starving.

-Article by Wayne Graham, previously published in Asia Harvest, May 2011, page 2.

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