Three-Self Patriotic Movement

There are two basic types of Protestant churches in China: registered and unregistered. “Registered” refers, with a few exceptions, essentially to those which are approved and governed by the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) by the Chinese government to regulate non-governmental bodies, keeping them under control and consistent with communist party policies.

Unregistered church refers to those in “house” or “family” churches, which refuse these limitations, meeting covertly to various degrees. They are therefore illegal and face persecution, which varies between severe to virtually non-existent from place to place and from time to time.