In this period， the independent churches were still in asituation of working individually and spontaneously. Because ofthe different social environments in which they operated， andtheir different religious backgrounds， they also had differingunderstandings about the concept of independence. Some churches cut all ties with the foreign missions and gained totalindependence. Most of them were once involved in clashes withthe foreign missionaries who obstructed their moves towardsindependence. For example， when Liu Shoushan and hiscomrades were preparing for the establishment of an independentchurch in Jinan of Shandong Province， a foreign missionary fromthe American Presbyterian Church threatened to withdraw allthe foreign missionaries. Fortunately， the local governmentsupported their independence moves， so they did not fail. Theindependent churches in Zhejiang Province previously affiliatedto the China Inland Mission， and the independent churches inFujian Province previously affiliated to the Anglican Church，both broke their ties with their original foreign missions andjoined the General Association of Self-Independence of ChineseChristian Churches.
Another type of independent church attached moreimportance to self-reliance and self-rule. Although they hadrenounced the foreign missions organizationally， they stillmaintained good relations with them. They declaredindependence more for religious reasons than political ones. Theythought having a church run by Chinese was more conducive tothe development of Christianity in China. The relationship between these churches and their original foreign missions waslike that between students and teachers.
After the May 4th movement in 1919， the mood for theanti-imperialism struggle in China was running higher with eachpassing day. Many patriotic Chinese Christians also devotedthemselves to this movement. Especially the May 30th Massacrein 1925 saw many Chinese Christian groups and believersgradually enhancing their patriotic awareness and getting to knowthe truth of imperialist aggression. They felt ashamed of thephenomenon that Christianity was called an alien religion andthat Christians were called alien"s slaves， and sought to split fromimperialism and abolish the privileges grasped by the ChristianChurches and prescribed in the unequal treaties. The churches invarious places all announced their request of separating fromforeign missions and establishing independent churches. Whenthe national revolution reached a high tide in 1926， with thecontinuous military victories of the revolutionary forces， foreignmissionaries ran away one after another and the independencemovement of the churches developed further. In a short periodof time， the trend of setting up independent churches swept overthe entire country and over 600 were established during therevolution.
The greatest characteristic of the independent churchesestablished in this period was that they were against imperialismas well as the protective articles laid down in the unequal treaties.
Since the 1920s， the imperialist powers had intensified theiraggression against China， with one bloody massacre after another，which all patriotic Christians and the people all over the countryvehemently opposed. In 1925， a famous clergyman named WangYexin organized the Association of the Chinese Christians forAbolition of the Unequal Treaties， which was supported bypatriotic Chinese Christians all over the country. Branches wereestablished in many places like Nanchang， Guangzhou， Danyang，etc. A Christian conference held in Guangzhou requested thechurches to sever their previous relations with the unequal treatiesinflicted by the imperial powers and to help unite all circles insociety to seek their abolition.
The independence movement of the Christian churches wasin line with the development of history. However， it should benoted that， under the social circumstances at the times， the chiefpropellants of the movement were mainly the political enthusiasmand anti-imperialistic determination of various people， or themeasures that sought the support of the people and to protect thechurches. The churches themselves did not have enoughorganizational， financial and religious preparation. Places wherethe independence movement was active were all core areas ofthe national revolution， and the establishment of most of theindependent churches was affected by the revolutionary tide.
Therefore， when Chiang Kai-shek， leader of the KMT party，betrayed the revolution and the revolutionary tide began tosubside， the independence movement began to fade away. Themore than 600 independent churches that had appeared duringthe revolution were reduced to just 200 in 1935， with somesuspending operations， some being disbanded and some returningto the arms of foreign missions.
