China's Youth Will Change the World!

- by Keith Carey

There are more people in China under the age of 24 than the combined populations of the United States, Russia, Canada, and Australia. This group of over 500,000,000 people will soon be directing this emerging super power. Will they direct it in a positive or a negative way? One of the most important aspects of spreading the gospel is that it can change individuals and entire civilizations if new believers are willing to submit to Christ's direction. Potentially, reaching China's youth can make a huge difference, not only for China, but for the world that they will soon influence.

Life has changed dramatically for China's youths in the last 40 years. In 1968, there were very few opportunities for Chinese youths. The Cultural Revolution (1966-76) was turning China into living hell, complete with mass starvation. About the only consolation for the majority of China's youths was that the farmers were given high status in a time and place where agriculture demanded the attention of the vast majority.

China began to rapidly modernize after the death of Communist China's founder Mao Zedong in 1976. Suddenly the rules were different. Today most farms are no longer government run, and the price of food is kept artificially low for the benefit of the urban population. China's rural areas offer no future for the emerging generation. The opportunities are in the emerging cities.

Last year, China's economy expanded by 11.4 percent, reaching its fastest growth rate in 13 years, according to Chinese officials. This growth is being attributed to a boom in urban construction projects and increased exports. There are plenty of jobs for the rural poor as they flood to the cities in search of construction and factory jobs. Many of these jobs undoubtedly are being taken by China's teenagers and young adults who are looking for a better future.

China's urban youths, at least the ones who can afford it, are embracing new technology. The number of computers and telephones is multiplying in short periods of time. As of 2003, there were 80 million Internet users in China, surpassing Japan as the second largest "Internet community" in the world. China makes 40 percent of the world's mobile phones, according to a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) report.

China's teens are a $36 billion a year business, according to expert estimates. Rural teens, who are more conservative than their urban cousins, tend to buy Chinese-made goods. The urban Chinese youths, on the other hand, follow the worldwide pattern of wanting certain brands to enhance their status.

Along with modernization come other problems for Chinese urban teens. Being influenced by television and the Internet has profoundly affected their attitudes towards pre-marital sex, according to an August, 2003 article in "China Daily." The teen pregnancy rate is rising sharply. A December, 2005 article in "BBC News" reports that the number of youths in China arrested for crimes doubled in 10 years. The problem isn't isolated to the cities. The article went on to say, "In hundreds of thousands of rural families, children are left with elderly relatives or friends while their parents travel to the cities in search of work." These youngsters often commit crimes in the rural areas of China.

The Fallout From China's One Child Policy
Part of the youth crime increase may come from the one-child policy, according to Shang Xiuyun, a Beijing judge who specializes in youth crime. The increased pressure on the only child to perform and "get ahead" results in some giving up and participating in anti-social activities like crime in some cases.

This one-child policy has resulted in a disproportionate number of boys, which can also mean more troubles. Historically-speaking, such an imbalance has been linked to prostitution, violent crime and even war.

Because of that country's one child policy, China will have a shortage of working-age people between 2030-50, according to a December, 2007 article in "BBC News." That will mean more difficulty in supporting the elderly, especially with the removal of traditional and government sources of elder care during China's rapid industrialization.

China is now dealing with rebellious teenagers, something that would have been unknown 40 years ago. But the rebellion is not directed towards the government. Instead, it is a general rebellion expressed through youth culture.

Will Korean Believers Cut Through the Spiritual Confusion?
A "New York Times" article written on January 2, 2006, described an interesting development among China's youth. The title of the article was, "China's Youth Look to Seoul for Inspiration." It described South Korea's influence over China's youth, both on a popular cultural level, and on a spiritual level. Because South Korea isn't threatening to China like neighboring Japan, the Chinese can imitate Korean ways without aggravating their parents and grandparents. The PRC government doesn't like the Korean influence, but they aren't alarmed enough to try to stop it, so long as it only affects the youth.

Along with Korean-style clothes and Korean hip-hop music, comes something far more important: The gospel message from a non-threatening, culturally-near source. Hwang In Choul, a South Korean, is a missionary in China. He told the "New York Times" that Korea's democratization has allowed his people to leave the country, and begin to influence the Middle Kingdom. After travel restrictions in South Korea were lifted 20 years ago, the South Korean mission movement grew from several hundred to its current size of 14,000, larger than any except that of the United States. There are about 1,500 South Korean missionaries training Chinese pastors for evangelism and mission work. The Korean missionary efforts are still expanding. Out of the 66,000 who receive the prayer materials you are now reading, 38,000 read it in Korean, and 16,000 read it in Chinese, our two largest language editions.

Pray for China's Youth
Last July, we featured urban China in the GPD. We noted in the background article that the process of urbanization is causing unrest and uncertainty among the Chinese. People tend to be more open to spiritual change when their lives are in an uproar. The urban poor may look to the Church for their material needs while the rich may be looking for emotional and spiritual needs to be met. Unbridled materialism makes people pause to wonder if there is something missing in their lives. The urban Chinese are likely to be looking for spiritual answers. The vast majority of the people who become believers do so before they get very far into adulthood.

China's youth have a great opportunity to not only accept the life-saving gospel, but to share it with others. The gospel is coming to them from South Korean missionaries who are spurring them on to love and good works. The Korean and the Chinese Christians are noted for their willingness to attempt great things for God. The Chinese house churches are already implementing on a small scale their "Back to Jerusalem Movement" which entails missionary activity from China's unreached western provinces through Hindu India, the Muslim Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries all the way to Jerusalem.