China's Christian surge is likely to continue in 2012, with teaching via the internet contributing to it. Type "democracy" or "Tiananmen Square" into Baidu.com, the popular search engine in China, and a message will pop up informing you that you cannot access the page. But type "Christianity" into the same search engine, and you'll be flooded with links to church websites, personal blogs, and sites about Christianity from inside and outside the country.
That's surprising at a time when Chinese officials are persecuting members of Shouwang, a Protestant house church in Beijing, and the "Great Firewall of China" is preventing many internet users from finding material the government deems offensive—like information on Taiwan, Tibet, or Chinese dissenters. Christian material, though, is often unblocked. With nearly 500 million Chinese people using the internet, Christian ministries such as Jesus Central, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Minnesota pastor John Piper's Desiring God are looking to the internet.
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