I am often asked if there are women pastors in China and that is not the easiest question to answer, simply because it would be silly to speak about China as if it had one single church body. It does not. There are many types of churches in China, so it is impossible to give one simple answer.
To best answer that question, it is important to understand that there are two main types of churches in China: the Three Self Patriotic Movement Church and the Underground House Church, or to put it more simply – the official church of China and the unofficial church of China. And though neither the official church or the unofficial church have any known policies against women pastors, it is a rarity to see women in senior pastor positions.
For the China Christian Council, the highest body over the official Protestant Church in China, the top leader Xu Xiaohong, is a man. Of the top nine Vice Chairpersons, two are female. Almost all the top pastors in the official churches are men. Though there are many women graduates from China’s official seminaries, very few ever become senior pastors.
In the underground house church in China however, things are more conservative. Of all the top underground house church networks, none of the founders or top leaders are women. However, there are several preachers within the networks of the underground house church that are women and they play significant, irreplaceable roles in the house church.
It can be argued that one of the factors that has influenced the Chinese church the most in this manner has been persecution.
Much like the first century church, persecution against Christians in China has seen mostly male leadership imprisoned, tortured, and martyred, leaving many women to plan, organize, and lead home fellowships. Today, the majority of the house church is made up of women.
Because women make up the majority of the underground house church, they can’t help but play a significant role. Sister Ding Hei for instance, is a prominent house church leader and evangelist associated with the Fangcheng House Church in Henan Province, China. I met her for the first time when she was teaching an underground Bible school in Kunming. She is known for her bold preaching and is a key figure in the growth of the Fangcheng house church network that grew to more than 10 million believers. I wrote a book about her top leader, Pastor Zhang Rongliang, called I STAND WITH CHRIST.
In the FIVE BROTHERS NETWORK also known as the NO-NAME NETWORK, Sister Joy, one of the leader’s wives, is a preacher and teacher that has played a key role in the development of their networks 4 million believers. I have worked with Sister Joy in many different nations in the 10/40 Window and witnessed her powerful preaching among the multitudes.
In early 2000s, I traveled to Xinjiang Province and spent time with BTJ missionary Grace Ho. Grace Ho was a pioneer missionary who helped lead the Back to Jerusalem Traveling Band in the 1940s and gave her life to preaching the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I was fortunate enough to get video footage of her giving us rare insight about the early days of the Back to Jerusalem vision.
And though no top network was started by a woman and no woman currently holds the role of senior pastor, women have played a significant role in the history of the underground church.
In the early 2000s, Brother Yun visited Norway and made it a point to visit the grave of the woman who is often called the Mother of the Underground Church – Marie Monsen. Marie was a single Lutheran missionary who brought revival to Brother Yun’s home province in the 1920s and 30s. She was a pioneer of missions and brought radical change through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Other significant leaders in China owe their salvation to the powerful way that God used women to minister to them. Watchman Nee for instance, one of the most well known Christian leaders and theologians in Chinese history attributed his conversion to preacher Dora Yu.
Missionary John Sung, arguably the first Back to Jerusalem missionary in Chinese history, came to Christ when 15 year old Uldine Mabelle Utley, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, shared the Gospel with him.
So though there are no senior pastors overseeing the networks of the underground house church in China, the role of women in the church in China has been extremely significant over the years and continues to be so even today. The truth is, without women, the church in China would not exist in its current form.
