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Eugene E. Barnett, General Secretary of the National Council of Y.M.C.A.s, warned that though the Communist regime might well eventually outlaw much of the present missionary program, this could prove a blessing in disguise, if the Church did not sacrifice its Christian principles. Said he: "The anti-Christian agitations of two decades ago in China dispersed the missionaries, scattered many Chinese Christians and destroyed much Church property, yet in retrospect the ordeal is seen to have purified and strengthened Christianity in that country. The Church must now be on its guard not only against violence but even more against the subtle perils of compromise."
The conference made these significant recommendations:
"It may be necessary for the Christian church in a given area to sever all its ties with its mother churches in all lands and become entirely independent. It should be prepared for such a development by ... teaching that Christian faith can be expressed in a Christian manner of living, even where there is restraint on the propagation of doctrine . . . [and] teaching that the Church is a community of ... 'cells' of 'two or three' or more ... [emphasizing that] Christians as members of the community should share in its ... political life, so far as that can be done without . . . un-Christian practices . . . [preparing] church leadership to be, if necessary, on an entirely self-supporting basis . . . This identification with the people in standards and ways of living may make their Christian and missionary service more fruitful."