The Happiness Group and the Baptism Competition: How a Gospel-Spreading Program Led to Failure
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article presents a case study that examines why a seemingly effective evangelistic strategy failed within the Sien Church in Wenzhou, China. By tracing the implementation of the religious ministry, it argues that the patriarchal leadership style, goal-oriented strategy, and emphasis on public impression management ultimately undermined the church’s original mission. The pursuit of efficiency and an obsession with numbers created new pressures and anxieties among various teams, transforming the Sien Church’s evangelistic plan into a target-driven competition focused on “baptism numbers” and “conversion rates”. Furthermore, fundamentalist teachings, intertwined with the church’s disciplinary structures, collectively fueled this baptism competition. Finally, the article situates the failure of the gospel project within a broader cultural context and local community.
Source: Religions
DOI: 10.3390/rel16030382
Author: Wenwen Chen
Institution: Chengdu University
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
OpenAlex ID: W4408522547