中國內戰時期的宣道會（1945-1952）／何明章
何明章
撮要
從1889年起,宣道會西教士開始進入中國大陸,他們本着宣道會普世教的精神,致力走到偏遠未開福音的地方努力開荒與建立教會。在1937年抗日戰爭全面爆發之際,該會已在內陸省分建立了華中、華南、華西及川黔四個宣教區,並培育了不少基督信徒。二戰以後,該會西教士返回中國,希望重建教會,卻隨即迎來國共兩黨逐鹿中原、戰火瀰漫的艱難歲月。
宣道會在中國內戰時期的活動,迄今仍是一段相當模糊、鮮為人知的歷史,本文作者則利用西差會檔案資料、西教士傳記和當地教會的零星紀錄,描述了昔日二戰以後該會西教士是如何由北美返回中國的宣教工場,重整滿目瘡痍的教區,緊接着的是該會因中國內戰之威脅而要不斷遷移陣地的往事,文中亦論述在國軍節節敗退和共軍步步進逼的形勢下,宣道會人士是如何思量前面的路向,並為中國教會作出部署以迎接未來的變局。最後,文章記錄了該會全面撤離大陸的情況，亦描述西教士爭論是否延續中國福音的使命，選擇離去或仍然留在中國大地上所做出的思考與判斷。
ABSTRACT
Since 1889, C&MA missionaries started to enter into Mainland China. Based on the vision of global mission of C&MA, these missionaries would approach the places and people whom never heard of the gospel for mission work and to start up new churches. Prior to 1937, during which Second Sino-Japanese War commenced, C&MA already started up four mission fields: Central China, South China, Kansu-Tibetan Border and Kweichow & Szechwan. Post World War II, C&MA returned to China with the hope of re-building the churches. However, a new era has started, during which the Communist and Kuomintang were in contest and war has begun.
The activities of C&MA in Mainland China during the civil war period were very vague and not very well organised. This article aims to research on original materials from the C&MA US archive, missionaries’ biographies as well as piecemeal information from the local churches in China, and to articulate how the missionaries returned to China from North America post WWII. The missionaries rebuilt the once devastated mission fields and subsequently had to relocate to various places due to the civil war. This article also explores how the missionaries made their plans whilst Kuomintang troops were defeated by the Communists, and this in turn rearranges the Chinese churches and its mission strategies. Towards the end, the article also describes how C&MA completely departed China as well as how the missionaries debated over whether they should continue with the mission of evangelism within China. The way of how it was thought through and analysed is discussed in this paper as well.
原載於《建道學刊》50期（2018年7月），頁 31-62。
