Jean Ellie Guillaume, 24, says that when he came to China from Haiti in 2009, he had it in his heart and prayers to find a place to worship, but when he arrived he was hesitant to ask people questions. He says he held back because he had learnt that China's communist party is officially atheist, and has had an uneasy relationship with Christianity. “I never thought the local Chinese had a name for God,” Guillaume said.

Today, Guillaume says he was wrong, as he later discovered that there are various terms used for god in the Chinese language, the most prevalent being shàngdì (上帝), literally, "Sovereign King Above," used commonly by Protestants and also by non-Christians, and tiānzhǔ (天主), literally, Lord of Heaven, which is most commonly favored by Catholics.

"My other expectations were that all Christians, if any, would be meeting behind locked doors in very small groups," he added. In fact, he has found many Chinese very open to discussing religion. Most have told him that they are not religious, but that they have heard of Christianity and know it is prevalent in America and other parts of the world.

Daniel Tonga, 30, from Zambia, who leads a small group of Christians that meet at Zhonguancun in Beijing every Friday, says though not as firmly rooted as Confucianism, Taoism or Buddhism, Christianity has had a tenacious presence in China since the seventh century. He adds that Christianity scholars believe the Silk Road brought the first missionaries and, despite periodic attempts at repression, successive waves of missionary activity established Christianity as a minority religion in many places in China, including Beijing.

Tonga says his views are corroborated by a survey conducted in 2008 by China Partner and East China Normal University in Shanghai which indicates that there are now about 41 million Protestant Christians in China. These include Christians in registered and unregistered churches.

Guillaume and Tonga say they are more than happy that they have found a place to legally and openly fellowship every Sunday under a Christian interdenominational grouping called Beijing International Christian Fellowship (BICF). To cap it all they have found just what the doctor ordered: congregations in their home languages!

Guillaume points out that, due to local government regulations, BICF is open to foreign passport holders only. As such, all people who attend the services must produce a photo ID that proves foreign citizenship. “But,” he says, “Beyond that it’s time for hallelujah!”

BICF has the following congregations and locations:

Celebration Service (English)
11:30 am every Sunday
Info.english.21st@bicf.org

English Service (two services)
9:00 am and 11 am every Sunday
21 Century Theatre, Main Auditorium
Infor.sonrise.21st@bicf.org

English service
10:00 am every Sunday
Beijing Sixth Club (Auditorium)
Info.english.cbd@bicf.org

NeXt (English)
10:00 am every Sunday
Greenland Gardens, Jiang Tai Xi Lu, Jia Lin Hua Yuan, 2nd floor clubhouse
next@bicf.org

African Outreach Ministry
AOM REVIVAL HOUR
21st Century Hotel, BICF chapel B
Info.african.21st@bicf.org

Cantonese Congregation
11:30 am every Sunday
21st Century Theatre, Lower Auditorium
Info.cantonese.21st@bicf.org

Fillipino Fellowship
9:30 every Sunday
21st Century Hotel, BICF chapel B
Info.fillipino.21st@bicf.org

French Congregation
11:30 am every Sunday
21st Century Hotel, BICF Chapel A
Info.french.21st@bicf.org

Indonesian Congregation
(Bahasa Indonesia)
11:30 am every Sunday
21st Century Hotel, BICF Chapel A
Tel: 13581598343/ 15810288285
Info.indonesian.21st@bicf.org

Japanese congregation
11:30 am every Sunday
21st Century Hotel, BICF chapel B
Info.japanese.21st@bicf.ord

Korean Congregation
1:20-330 every Sunday
Raycom Auditorium, Raycom Building, Basement

International Mandarin Service
9:30 am Every Sunday
21 Century Theatre, Main Auditorium
Info.mandarin.21st@bicf.org

Mandarin Fellowship
11:00 am Every 1st, 3rd, 5th Sunday
Raycom Auditorium, Raycom Building, Basement

Russian Fellowship
11:30 Every Sunday
21st Century Hotel, BICF Meeting Room
Info.russian.21st@bicf.org

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.