State funding

On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state's commitment to supporting the development of Christianity.

Local officials say that the building under construction will become China's largest state-sanctioned church - with space for 5,000 worshippers.

The land - and 20% of the building costs - are being provided not by local Christians, but by the municipal government.

I opted for the traditional apologetics approach, pointing out to Muslims why the New Testament is superior to the Quran and why they're wrong about denying the divinity of Jesus and the atonement. I never seriously questioned this approach until I read Carl Medearis's excellent book Muslims, Christians, and Jesus. In his book, Carl shares stories of his interactions with Muslims who deeply love Jesus and strive to follow his teachings - yet remain committed Muslims.

The ecumenical leader compared freedom of religion in the country now to a decade ago, when the church kept a tight grip on the goings on in churches. He said the situation had "much improved" and that the government was now starting to "favour" religious people.

In the early 1970s, there were an estimated 3 million Christians in China. Now, the number may be as high as 130 million.

"American churches have millions of people on their rolls who do not feel connected today because churches, as a whole, have failed to effectively connect with them as the times dictate." Hutchins further likened church's languid pace of contemporary communication to a continuance to use quill pens after the advent of the printing press. "To not be proactive in wireless communications today is to not be communicating", says Hutchins.