In China, the label “house church” is used symbolically, indicating all the churches which do not participate in the government-led Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). These churches are also called underground/unregistered/non-official churches in different contexts.

House churches started to emerge in the early 1950s when the communist government came into power and wanted to put Protestantism under control through the TSPM. Church leaders were asked to sign “The Christian Manifesto”, attaching their churches to the TSPM. So…