Reaching Modern China

January 22, 2015

Rev. Jimmy Lin, M.Div. '83

Jimmy Lin first set foot on American soil to attend Westminster Theological Seminary in 1980. Over 30 years later, Rev. Lin is set to retire from Back to God Ministries International, a ministry that has reached people worldwide through radio, online, and mobile media since 1939. We recently spoke with Rev. Lin to talk about his time at Westminster, his ministry, and his heart for his home country, China.

When Jimmy and his family arrived at Westminster in 1980, they moved into what was the international student apartment complex on Willow Grove Avenue (which has since been sold). His time in the apartments was a wonderful opportunity to connect with students from many different cultures. “During the three years I was there, I lived with fellow students and families from Germany, Ethiopia, France, Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, and India. Our common language was English, and we called it ‘international English,’ because we all spoke with an accent.” Jimmy greatly enjoyed the opportunity to learn from such a variety of cultures.

Cornelius Van Til had retired by the time Jimmy arrived on campus, but he recalls how Dr. Van Til would come to campus to talk with students and attend chapel. “We all read his materials, but we never expected him to be so humble and approachable.” Jimmy also remembers how the systematic theology professors like Richard Gaffin and Sinclair Ferguson were very pastoral in their approach, even with the technical theology that they taught. For the professors, “[I]t was not just cold theology. It was still systematic and doctrinal, but it was personal; they drew upon their experience in local church.” Of all the things that he was taught at seminary, Jimmy remembered most the character of the men who taught him.

After graduating from Westminster in 1983, he completed a Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary as a part of the denominational requirements for The Church of Christ in China. In 1984 he returned to Hong Kong where he was ordained and served as a minister for six years.

It was in the latter part of his time as a minister that he began to have a greater burden for his home country. “The Lord used many different channels, including the 1989 June 4 incident at Tiananmen, to stir up my calling to reach out to the huge population of China who have not heard about Christ. When I watched that incident on TV, I saw so many students who looked hopeless because of the government and what was happening. It seemed like there was a vacuum in the hearts of the people, and it needed to be filled with the gospel.” Shortly after those events, Jimmy moved back to America to join Back To God Ministries International (BTGMI) as the Chinese broadcast minister.

Rev. Lin with his team at BTGMI

BTGMI is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church of North America which seeks to spread the gospel through various media in 10 different languages. It started in 1939 as a radio program and has expanded its reach to include Bible study material, websites, and mobile apps. Jimmy describes his role: “I am both the Chinese minister and also the Administrative Director. As the Chinese minister, I oversee a staff of about 15 people located in Chicago, Hong Kong and several cities in China. Our main emphasis on ministry has shifted from radio (when I started in 1990) to almost completely online and mobile.”

Jimmy has been grateful for his time at Westminster in uniquely preparing him for his role with BTGMI. “In my early years as the Chinese minister, my main role was to preach on radio, and Westminster’s solid theological training prepared me well. Now, production is no longer limited to only me and actually my current role is more overseeing than producing . . . I am the gatekeeper of whatever we post online. Since my staff has varying degrees of theological training, spiritual maturity, and life experience, it is my responsibility to shepherd and mentor them. Westminster’s emphasis on critical thinking, the sole authority of Scripture, and preaching the whole counsel of God is so relevant, whether it be in a local church situation, on mass media, or now on social media.” 

The social media and mobile tools are especially important to reach people in China. “In China, the most recent statistics (from December 2013) show that 660 million people have access to the internet. More importantly, 80% of them are using a smartphone to connect to the internet, and they use their phones on average 25 hours per week.” Because of the way Chinese people access the internet, BTGMI has developed a mobile app that brings together many resources. “Our mission is to provide a platform to draw resources from about 50 different organizations. We are no longer producers, but editors, making them more media-friendly and relevant to today’s culture. We have eight different categories (devotional, family, hot topics, etc.), and our app can be customized so that the different categories can come to them when they want. Our slogan is ‘Be Thou my Rhythm’—we want God to be the rhythm of the lives of the people we reach.”

China has unique challenges from the standpoint of missions and evangelism. Jimmy describes some: “One of the main challenges is the tight control on the media in the country. The number of people who have access to internet in China is over 600 million, but what they can access is completely under government control. Our editors have to be very careful about what they put up. Secondly, the rise in capitalism (in practice, not in name) in the country has changed the mentality of the population. People have turned their attention to getting ahead in the society and buying more material possessions. There is a lack of attention on moral values and spiritual needs.”

Even with these challenges, Jimmy sees receptiveness to the Gospel. “There is an unforeseen openness to the gospel among the intellectuals. In the past, it was their loss of hope for the government that attracted them to the gospel. Now, many of them see the Christian faith as a possible foundation of a better society. My prayer is that the young and the educated will be able to find Jesus and not only see the Christian faith as a tool. These people are the future of China and China is a very influential power in the world today. If we are able to lead many of them to Christ, it will have a very positive impact not only in China, but in the world.”

In July of this year, Jimmy plans to retire from his position. “Part of that is because of health—I am a cancer survivor since 2008 and all the treatments (surgery, radiation, and hormone) have taken a toll on me.” Would you say a prayer for the welfare of Rev. Lin and Back to God Ministries International and request of God that the gospel would continue to reach the hearts and lives of men and women in China?