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It is an understatement to say that the Protestant Chinese church is complex. (Catholics in China are equally complex but are not the focus here.) Still, it can be divided broadly into two groups—the registered church and the unregistered (or so-called underground) church. The unregistered church gets the bulk of the attention among conservative Christians in the West, and for good reason—it is a group that endures more than its fair share of human-rights abuses.

The registered church is represented by two entities, the TSPM and the China Christian Council (CCC). These two work together closely, have many overlapping duties, and many individuals have responsibilities in both organizations—so much so that often people speak of them together as the TSPM/CCC. Still, broadly speaking, the CCC works to build up the life of the registered churches as such, and the TSPM is the intermediary between these churches and the government.

Many underground Christians remain suspicious of the TSPM/CCC enterprise. They remember that in the 1950s, the TSPM colluded with the government in arresting thousands of believers. They also know that registered churches have legal restrictions that can severely limit evangelism. But as to the suspicions that TSPM/CCC leaders have submitted to another head besides Jesus Christ—that doesn't seem tenable.

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