Back to Jerusalem: The Missionary Work of Chinese Christians in the Islamic World

“Back to Jerusalem” is a movement of the house churches in China, which focuses on the conversion of Muslims to Christianity, to bring the gospel back to its origin. It can be traced to the pioneering missionaries in early 20^th century, for example, the Sacred Word Mission of German Catholics and the China Inland Mission (CIM) of British Protestants. One romantic and inspiring story is the three CIM women who traveled along China’s Western, Muslim border and arrived in Xinjiang at last. Indigenous Chinese Christian leaders, such as Simon Chao from the Jesus Family, followed their steps but failed in prison. In the 1990s, “Back to Jerusalem” became a core vision of China’s house churches, which was featured in the best seller, The Heavenly Man, as well as in the Word of Life Movement, the largest house church in China. Teams of evangelists were sent to the Islamic world, most of whom were women from the countryside. Muslims in China are their first targets; but they soon went further to the heartland of the Islamic world, such as Saudi Arabia. Their ultimate stop is Jerusalem, the starting point of Christian churches. With simple training in the Arabic language and little economic supply, they put themselves in God’s hands and strengthened their bravery through prayer. But hardships keep great, especially their female identity. “Back to Jerusalem” as a movement, not only reflects the most recent change of Chinese Christianity in a global context, but also tells a distinctive story of Muslim-Christian encounters. Special issues, such as gender, also become a particular concern in inter-religious relations.