Other measures passed in 1996 and 2000 permit the CCP to determine the qualifications of pastors, limit the ability of believers to communicate with other Christians in various parts of the country and inspect the meetings.

The state also has the right to determine whether church doctrines are valid. In some instances, local officials have invited believers to register and then arrested them at the government offices for engaging in "illegal" religious activities.

Christians who decide to register are monitored closely by government officials. But most opt not to register. In fact, unregistered house churches far outnumber registered churches.

The estimated number of unregistered house churches members is more than 90 million—nearly 7 percent of China’s population—compared to the 20 million who attend government-sponsored churches.

The members of unregistered churches congregate regularly in the homes of individual believers, as well as in barns, factories or caves. Meetings are held with great secrecy and few outsiders are permitted to visit them. Meeting locations constantly change.

During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards confiscated and burned all Bibles. Chinese Christians have not yet recovered the loss.

Some who managed to hide their Bibles from the guards hand copied them for others to read. Today, copies of God’s Word are scarce and the most pressing need of Chinese Christians. Most underground churches possess only one Bible.