It took three years for China Soul For Christ Foundation to complete the documentary film “The Cross – Jesus in China”. For the first time in history, Christianity in China, especially the House-Church, is given an honest, insightful, and comprehensive account.

The film answers the question raised by many people outside China: how did the number of Chinese Christians increase from 700,000 in 1949 to approximate 70 million today despite communist control? Using live footage and interviews, the film captures the true stories of many people and seeks to answer the most common questions: how does the Chinese government deal with Chinese Christians and vice-versa? How did Chinese Christians develop, survive and grow? What kind of people are they and what influence have they had and will have on Chinese society?

“The Cross - Jesus in China” consists of three episodes and one short subject. It lasts for about four hours.

The first episode “The Spring of Life” recounts the real life and the inner world of the Christians from a broad spectrum of backgrounds in modern China. Included are testimonies from farmers, students, officials, criminals, orphans, actors, writers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.

The second episode “Seeds of Blood” follows the bloody footprints of the Chinese missionaries of the older generation after the Boxer Rebellion, particularly in the past fifty years. The stories of famous ministers such as Mingdao Wang, John Sung, Watchman Nee, Allen Yuan, Samuel Lamb, Moses Xie, Yang Xinfei, and Epaphras are covered.

The third episode “The Bitter Cup” abounds with compelling testimonies by missionaries of the younger generation after the Cultural Revolution. Their dedication, suffering, faithfulness, and thanksgiving have led to an unprecedented revival of the Chinese Christian church.

The documentary short subject “The Canaan Hymns” tells the amazing story of a farm girl Xiao Min. She is a high school dropout with no musical training. Nevertheless, she created nearly a thousand wonderful hymns by the power of the Holy Spirit. These hymns are widely spread among Chinese churches around the world.

The filmmakers and crewmembers are a group of devout Christians. Courageous and persistent, they went deep into China, interviewed hundreds of churches and thousands of Christians. There were times when they were under hidden surveillance, and other times when they were openly followed. On one occasion their cameras were confiscated. However, due to their devotion and self-denial, they were able to reach the foundation of the underground churches in China to obtain the true stories and know the hearts and minds of Chinese Christians. They shot nearly five hundred hours of footage, from which four hours were chosen to form the final version of the film.

The production company, China Soul For Christ Foundation, made the film “China’s Confession” three years ago. China’s Confession is a documentary film for TV (7 episodes) and has received strong worldwide response. The goal of making “’The Cross – Jesus in China” is to leave history a record that provides the truth of Christianity in China. The film also serves as an encouragement to Chinese Churches around the world and a gift to each Chinese Christian. Moreover, it presents a new perspective for everyone who is concerned about the future of China: what role does Christianity play in the reconstruction of the spiritual world of Chinese?

“The Cross – Jesus in China” will premiere at the end of October. The VCD (Chinese only) and the DVD (English and Chinese) will be released simultaneously.

The executive producer for “The Cross - Jesus in China” is Xie Wenjie, and the film is directed and written by Yuan Zhiming.

China Soul For Christ Foundation

Tel: 707-782-9588

Fax: 707-782-9586

Website: www.chinasoul.org

Email: info@chinasoul.org