The Holy Spirit and the Chinese Church: Interview with Dennis Balcombe

Veteran missionary, Dennis Balcombe, talks to PneumaReview.com about the Acts of the Holy Spirit in modern-day China.

Pneuma Review: Please tell our readers how you were called to China.

Dennis Balcombe: I was brought up in a traditional Methodist church that only preached the “Social Gospel.” At 16 years old, a friend invited me to a Spirit filled church (Assemblies of God) in S. California. For the first time in my life I heard people speak in tongues (some languages I recognized) and saw miracles as the sick were healed.

That night I heard God speak and call me to the ministry. I struggled for three months, and went back to the same church. Through the Word of Knowledge (“there is a young man here who three months ago was called to preach and you must come forward, repent and give your life to God”), I gave my life to the Lord, and knew I was called to preach the Gospel.

But I knew I must go overseas, for most Americans were able to hear the Gospel. I considered many nations, but there was no witness until one day reading the encyclopedia for school work I came across an article on mainland China in which there was a picture of a Chinese boy. I heard the Lord clearly say, ‘I will send you to Red China (the term we used in the 60’s) to preach the Gospel. I will open the doors to this nation for you.” From that date October 1961, I knew I was called to China.

PR: How would you characterize your ministry in China?

Dennis Balcombe: My ministry began in Hong Kong in 1969 in church planting. I am still the senior pastor of Revival Christian Church, one of the larger churches in the Hong Kong SAR [Special Administration Region] with local branches and overseas churches, including a large Chinese church in Paris, of which I am the senior pastor.

Since the early 1980’s to the present day much my China ministry has been in travel to and ministry in local churches, both house churches and official churches. While we do evangelism, the local Chinese are much more effective than we are. Thus my ministry will focus on revival subjects (baptism of the Holy Spirit, worship and praise, etc.), church planting and missions. I will often teach many hours daily for up to 5 days in a given location, and do this all over China.

PR: Have you noticed any changes in the Chinese church over the course of your time in the land?

Dennis Balcombe: Yes, there have been many changes. In the early 80’s, most churches and most of the Chinese population were in rural areas. Now they have moved to cities, leaving mostly children and older people in the rural areas. So much of our work is now in the cities.

Before they only met in homes. Now many churches meet in buildings they have built, or rent function rooms of hotels, country clubs, etc.

Before most believers were from the low educated farmer class, now many are middle school or even college graduates who understand modern technology, speak English and other foreign languages and have enough money to travel to Hong Kong and other foreign nations. Thus we often are able to train leaders in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.

Before we only could minister in unofficial house churches. Now often we go to officially sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic churches, and there is no restriction on what we can preach.

Many Christians in the cities are intellectuals, business people, university students, and other ‘movers and shakers’ in society. This was almost unheard of before.

PR: How much of a role does the supernatural play in the church in China? Is it the norm for the Chinese church to have the gifts of the Spirit operating in their meetings?

Dennis Balcombe: Yes, especially in the Spirit filled churches, which are everywhere in China. They pray for the sick and see many healed, and often in the meetings individuals give prophetic messages, prophetic prayers or sing in the Spirit. Most people pray in tongues during their meetings.

The vast majority of non-believers come to Christ after they hear about or see a miracle, usually a miracle of divine healing. But often there are miracles of nature where God intervenes in natural events due to the prayer of His people. An example might be the crops in the field of the believer are flourishing when there is famine all around. God seems to send rain only to the fields of the believers, but nothing happens to the non-believers.

Another example would be supernatural financial provision given to His people, or supernatural protection in times of great persecution. There are thousands of such testimonies.

PR: What might we learn from the Chinese church?

Dennis Balcombe:

• Preach the word and only the Word. Don’t preach controversial subjects about politics, social issues, conspiracy theories, end-time events and so on. Stick to the solid teaching of the Bible.
• Develop a strong and consistent prayer ministry in the Church. Most Chinese Christians arise early in the morning to pray together 1-2 hours every day. Also prayer with fasting is a key to revival.
• We don’t need short, entertaining church meetings. Most meetings in China last several hours with 1-2 hours worship, 1-2 hours preaching and much prayer. People will come and not be bored because God’s presence is in every gathering.

Focus on the person of Jesus Christ, the pure Word of God, ministry to the people present, and your meeting will grow and meet the needs of the community.

• Evangelism, church planting and missions is always the focus of every Chinese church. Without freedom of religion, mass media communication, large evangelical meetings, limited amounts of Bibles and literature, the church has grown from a little over 2 million in 1949 to 105 million in 2012.

It is due to their vision for missions and evangelism, and now the ‘Back to Jerusalem’ vision is strongly being preached throughout China.

PR: What do you feel are the greatest needs of the Chinese church at this time?

Dennis Balcombe: The greatest need is still for Bibles, not only for new believers in rural areas, but to reach the approximately 1.2 billion unreached Chinese including 80 million minority (non-Han race) peoples.

With that comes the need for solid Christian teaching materials such as “Shepherd’s Staff” which we have provided to hundreds of thousands of believers.

We need more missionaries like me to come to China or other Asian cities where there are predominantly Chinese people, learn the language, do evangelism and church planting.

In China, missionaries can easily start smaller house churches without much problem, and as they grow large to divide into smaller groups.

Now there is great vision to reach the approximately 80 million people in the various national ethnic groups (non-Han people). Most have not been reached. This takes funds and personnel. Both Chinese believers and overseas missionaries can do this work.

PR: What can believers in other parts of the world do to help?

Dennis Balcombe: First, give money to financially support ministries who are actually working in China. There are many projects people can support. One of the main ones is to purchase Bibles. We have a vision to delivers another 5 million Bibles to China’s Christians to be used for evangelism during the next 9-10 years.

Secondly, bring teams to deliver Bibles to China, and do personal evangelism in China (such as passing out tracts and witnessing).

We need anointed pastors and teachers to come to teach Christians. Those with prophetic gifts are especially in great demand, for many are released into their ministries through the prophetic ministry in which Gifts of the Holy Spirit often are imparted to the recipients. PR For Further Reading about Pastor Dennis Balcombe and Revival Chinese Ministries International:

Dennis Balcombe, “RCMI Helps Chinese Harvest Fields Turn Whiter.” www.charismanews.com/world/34075-rcmi-helps-chinese-harvest-fields-turn-whiter

The Revival Chinese Ministries International (English) website: http://rcmi.wordpress.com

Dennis Balcombe, One Journey One Nation: Autobiography of Dennis Balcombe Missionary to China (eGen, 2011) 9781936554041