John Sung was born in 1901 in Fujian province, China.

He left for America in 1920 and earned his undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degrees in five and a half years before returning to China in 1927, determined to be a preacher.

Within 12 years of active ministry (1928-1939), he became an evangelist-revivalist who “shook the church in China and Southeast Asia”.

Sung is variously remembered as the “Wesley of China”, “the apostle of China” and “probably the greatest preacher of this century”.

Who was John Sung?

Sung obtained his PhD in chemistry from an American university and had a conversion experience at Union Seminary in 1927.

On his return trip to China, he was so determined to give up everything to preach the Gospel that he tossed his scholarly awards into the Pacific Ocean.

From 1928 to 1939, he travelled to most of China, as well as to the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya and Sarawak (now Malaysia), Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Chin Lien Bible Seminary, John Sung’s home and field headquarters in Singapore. Photo: John Sung My Teacher, by Timothy Tow.

At the height of Sung’s ministry, his preaching drew thousands three times a day, each session lasting two to three hours. He led numerous Bible study retreats that lasted 10 days to a month. 

In 1936, he preached through the whole Bible in one month to 2,000 participants from all over China and Southeast Asia.

His fearless attacks on sin were unmatched. Even Chinese leaders and Western missionaries were not spared. 

Although John Sung was gifted in many ways, he only lived until age 42. On August 18, 1944, John Sung died outside Beijing due to illness. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

Impact in China and Southeast Asia

It was reported that more than 100,000 Chinese were converted to evangelical Christianity through Sung’s ministry. Since Chinese Christians in 1949 numbered less than a million, John Sung’s converts were a tenth of the total Christian population in China by the time of his death in 1944.

John Sung on his first visit to Singapore in August 1935. He preached 40 messages over two weeks at Telok Ayer Methodist Church.

A number of Christian leaders also came out of Sung’s direct or indirect ministry, contributing to the growth of evangelical Christianity in many Asian countries.

These leaders braved the Japanese Occupation and fought for the church in China under the Communist regime. This was attested by Western missionaries and Christian leaders familiar with Sung’s ministry.

First-hand oral and written accounts of key Chinese leaders such as Thomas Wang, Philip Teng, Bobby Sng, Timothy Tow, Andrew Gih, and Moses Yu similarly espoused this sentiment. (*Editor’s note: These men who were impacted by his teachings went on to become important leaders in the Chinese church in Singapore, China and the West.)

John Sung’s death made the front page of The Straits Times, October 27, 1944. Photo: National Library Board digital archives.

John Sung’s ministry touched the felt needs of Chinese Christians at a critical time. 

Although Sung’s theology and methodology were eschewed by “elite” theologians of his time, his approach to the Bible touched the spiritual needs of ordinary people.

His emphasis on personal holiness, spiritual warfare, prayer and radical discipleship answered the deep yearnings of the Chinese people in the 1930s. It also made the Gospel relevant and real within the context of Chinese religiosity at a time of sweeping changes in the socio-political landscape.

This is an excerpt from The Life and Ministry of John Sung, by Dr Lim Ka-Tong, Armour Publishing, and is republished with permission. A biography of John Sung, the book looks at the impact and extent that Sung’s short but vibrant ministry had on Asia. The book can be purchased here.