Authors: Brent Fulton, President and Founder of ChinaSource and Joann Pittman, Senior Vice President at ChinaSource. | Source: Youtube. December 14, 2017.
Summary
Opportunities for ministry partnership with Christians in China are many, but these efforts at collaboration do not always end well. In this webinar we will examine the cultural and political challenges inherent in partnering in the Chinese context.
Key Ideas
- Relationships are more important than written agreements.
- Losing face and saving face are critical. In partnership we are never really dealing with one person, we are also dealing with their relationship network. Be careful not to cause this person to lose face or cause them or their group shame or dishonor.
- Insiders and outsiders are different. Expect to be treated different as an outsider — at least until one becomes an acceptable outsider.
- Relationships are ordered by status.
- Participating in a ritual is a way of saying I know what the rules are and am willing to participate. Rituals have to be done in China. It is where relationships are built.
- The benefits of partnership China are numerous.
- Challenges can include: A lack of cultural understanding, solutions that don’t work in the Chinese context, and miscommunications.
- Discussion of the new NGO laws