Tuesday, July 28, 2026

It is the 28th of July 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A few years ago we did a Weekend Edition summarizing the story of Christianity in China. I am not a Chinese Historian- most of the church history I have interfaced with over my decades as a professional historian has been Western. This is not uncommon in Church History. But the story of Christianity in the Far East can be instructive for us who tend to work with a general model of either “Christendom,” where Christianity has a most-favored status, or at least a toleration or policy of benign neglect.

 

But there are studies telling us that by 2030 (which is closer than you think!) there will be more Christians in China than in any other nation on the globe. This is a remarkable achievement by itself, but especially given the history of Christianity in China in the 20th century. The fruits of Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission seemed frustrated with the Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the 20th century. There were gains in the early 20th century amidst the World Wars and the Rise of the Chinese Nationalists, who were led by Sun Yat Sen, a baptized and professing Christian.

 

But with the Civil War beginning in 1946 and the victory by Mao and the Communists, Christianity and all religion were banned (Mao was doing a Chinese version of the Atheistic Marxist-Leninism). But outright banning tends to have poor results, and so “officially sanctioned” puppet churches of the state were soon established.

 

But there remained enclaves amidst a VERY large country and groups once reached by foreign missionaries continued to exist underground. Such were the Christians of the A-Hmao tribe in the Northern Yunnan Province (think central China and very remote). Here the people of Xiaoshiqiao village had long been Christian. Missionaries in the 1910’s helped bring the faith, and by 1936 they had their own New Testament. They were rural enough, and small enough, to be left alone. They called themselves the “Little Flock of the Narrow Gate”.

 

But the Cultural Revolution left few stones unturned, and in 1969 a band of Government officials came to the flock to ask questions about their allegiances. They are reported to have responded: “On earth, we rely on Chairman Mao, but spiritually, we give our allegiance to God.” But this was insufficient in the heady days of revolution. Their salt rations and their clothing coupons were stripped. But they remained defiant- one report on the now exiled people quoted one of them as saying, “Many years of torment have made us disillusioned with the mortal world. We are now striving for sustenance from the Scripture. We do not blame the cadres who inflicted those sufferings on us. What was said in the Scripture has all come true. Genuine Christians are bound to bear intense sufferings. It goes without saying that the gate of heaven is very narrow indeed. In the past we believed it with some reservation. Now, we have convincing evidence to believe it is true”.

 

The H-mao Christians responded: “The more you forbid Christianity, the more we will cling to the church. If you confiscate our churches, we will worship in caves. If you announce the extermination of the church, we will develop even more secret meetings. If you attack ordained pastors, we will use even more independent house church preachers instead. If you take action against us on Sundays, we will multiply our meetings to every day of the week and into the night.

 

And it was on this, the 28th of July in 1974, that just such a thing happened. Meeting in a cave in Xinglongchang, a group of Christians were killed by the government. The story is often repeated, but with little detail. We don’t have specifics, but we do see a reaction. What had been a group reduced to a few dozen in the 1960s began to grow. After the event in Xinglongchang, the group grew exponentially- into the 1000s, and today the Joshua Project has the population of the H-mao people at almost half a million, 80 percent of whom are Christian.

 

Tertullian’s quote, or paraphrase, is vindicated again- the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Today we remember those martyrs in the cave of Xinglongchang- the Hmao Christians who paid the ultimate price on this day in 1974.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Ephesians 6:

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 28th of July 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man wondering if there could be an ascot of purity, maybe a pocket square of dignity… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who thinks that Paul knew those lines would become huge for VBS and children’s ministry activities… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.