Jiangxian County is located in the southeast of Shanxi Province and at the intersection of Yuncheng, Linfen, and Jincheng.
According to the records of the Jiangxian Chronicle, Christianity was introduced to this county from Quwo County in the northwest of Jiangxian County in 1900. That year, Dutch missionaries began preaching in Dongshan Village, Gujiang Town. The first Christian organization, Wuliqiao Church, was established in Wuliqiao and later expanded to many nearby villages.
This elder is over 60 years old, and he has been the deputy director and director of the local CC&TSPM for years. In 2021, he was elected as the director of the first CC&TSPM of the newly established Yuncheng City.
Chen Yunshan was one of the first batches of preachers working around Wenxi and Jiangxian. In the early days of liberation, because of his faith, he was taken to the town to be criticized and denounced, and then he was about to be executed. His relatives even prepared a carriage and a mat to collect his body. But he was not afraid. After calling on the Lord's name, he attacked the injustice of the old era and praised the wisdom and correctness of the new society established by the Communist Party of China at the public trial. After hearing this, the staff at the trial were shocked. Believing that the man who believed in Jesus was not as sinful as they thought but had a positive and different influence, they set him free. Later, Chen was elected as one of the first batches of people's representatives in Wenxi County.
Zhao Heshan is from Shandong Province. He started to believe in Christ while working as a cook and serving at Quwo County Church. He was baptized and has been serving there ever since. There are four brothers and more than thirty members in his family, all of whom believe in the Lord and have been living together all the time. The sisters-in-law take turns cooking every day. They would pray devotionally every night. If there is a problem between them, they will pray until they confess and apologize to each other.
Zhao once worked on the production team. One day, someone shared with him what he stole. But Zhao said, "We should act morally as we believe in God, and let us not sin against God." There was a widow living in the hills near his home who was mentally ill. She would wander about all day long and be untouchable. For several years, Zhao delivered food every day for her and hid away while she was eating. Then he would clean the dishes when she finished eating, and then deliver the food again for the next meal. A neighbor who saw this said, "That is a true Christian."
In 1996, 1.2 mu of land was purchased in Yinbao Village on the western outskirts of Jiangxian County, and Chengguan Church was established. It became the reception center for Christians and is also where the local CC&TSPM is situated in.
Since 1991, Chengguan Town, Hengshui Town, Sunwang Village, and Dajiao Town have been divided into four districts, namely, the Central District, West District, South District, and North District, with the county as the center. The local church has also gradually moved to the track of standardized management and established and improved the Patriotic Convention, Management System, Gathering System, Workers System, and the System of Making Believers Well-Off, among other 18 systems.
For seminarians, the elder assigned a standard of treatment based on the county's average wage level and gradually raised it year by year to keep them in step with society.
I, along with fellow workers, visited Donghaozhuang Church and communicated with some believers.
The fellow worker who accompanied me all the time recorded many church activities and the lives of believers at any time with a camera in hand. He meticulously sifted through vast amounts of data, gathering extensive records of local and surrounding church histories, notable church figures, and witness cases. Over a six-year period, he devoted himself to crafting the Synopsis of the Bible and the Catechism of the Scriptures.
The synopsis is a summary of each chapter of the Bible in the form of four or eight doggerel sentences.
Pastor Zheng Lingyi, director of the overseer of Taiyuan Christian Church, wrote in the preface, "This book of reading notes covers every book of the New Testament, and each chapter has a poem that summarizes the main ideas of this chapter. It's not just a generalization. It gives the reader a sense of what each chapter is about, but it's also meaningful."
The Catechism of Scripture, on the other hand, outlines a key question for each chapter of the Bible and answers it.
He completed the catechism of the Old Testament in the form of tables in cell phone files. At first, it was just for himself, and then it was forwarded throughout Jiangxian County for believers to learn spirituality and to give everyone great help in spirituality. Especially during the three-year pandemic, people could not attend physical gatherings, but through this platform, they got spiritual feeding. So far, the catechism of 1189 chapters of the Bible has been completed.
(The author is a staff writer at the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
绛县位于山西省东南部，地处运城、临汾、晋城三市交界地。
据《绛县志》记载，1900年自西北的曲沃县教堂传入，由荷兰籍传教士在古绛镇东山村传教。在五里桥建立了第一个基督教组织——五里桥教会，后扩展到附近多村。
长老年过花甲，长期担任县两会副主任、主任。2021年当选为新成立的运城市第一届基督教两会主任。
他介绍了绛县基督教历史上的本土主要传道人：
陈云山是闻喜、绛县一带的早期传道人。解放初期，当时因为他有信仰而被拉到镇上批斗，之后就要处死，亲属也准备了马车、席子收尸。他没有惧怕，求告主名后，在公审大会上，抨击旧时代的不公不义，赞共产党新社会的英明正确。与会工作人员闻听后，大为震撼。觉得信耶稣的人并不是想象中的罪大恶极，而是有着积极向上与众不同的影响力，于是就释放了他。后来他被推举为闻喜县第一届人民代表。
赵河山祖籍山东，在曲沃县教会做饭服侍时信主，后受洗归主，一直在那里服侍。他家里老弟兄四个，家族三十多口人，全都信主，一直没有分家。妯娌们每天轮流做饭。每晚有灵修祷告。假如中间谁有隔阂，就一直祷告，直至相互认罪道歉，才结束。
他在生产队里劳动，别人偷东西，也分给他。他说，我们信神的人应当分别为圣，不可犯罪得罪神，坚决不要。他家附近的山上有一个寡妇，患有精神病，四处游荡，没人敢接触。他一连几年坚持每天去送饭，送去躲在一旁。等她吃完再去把碗洗干净，完了再送。目睹此事的邻舍说：“人家这才是真正的基督徒。”
改1996年，在城内西郊的印堡村，购置土地1.2亩，建立了城关教堂。成为县基督教接待活动中心，也是县基督教两会所在地。
1991年开始，以县城为中心，按区域将城关乡、横水镇、孙王村、大交镇等地分为中、西、南、北四个片区，实施管理。逐步走向了正规化管理轨道，建立健全了《爱国公约》《管理制度》《聚会制度》《工人制度》《信徒达小康制度》等十八项之多。
对于神学生，他参照本县平均工资水平指定待遇标准，并逐年小幅逐步提升，使他们与社会同步。
笔者随同同工走访了东郝庄教会，和一些信徒交流。
一直陪我走访的这位同工，手持相机，随时记录许多教会动态和信徒生活。他查阅了大量资料，搜集整理了许多当地及周边教会的历史沿革、著名教会人物以及信徒见证事例。他坚持六年编写《圣经概要》和《读经问答》。
《圣经概要》就是对圣经的每章内容以四句或者八句打油诗的形式，高度概括 。
太原基督教会的监事长郑令义牧师在序言中所写：“这本读书笔记，涵盖新约的每一卷书，每卷每章都有一首小诗总结了本章的主旨。不仅仅是一种概括，让读者明白每一章经文的重点内容，也包括丰富的内涵。”
《读经问答》则是围绕每章圣经，概括出一个关键问题，并进行答复。
他把旧约圣经全部完成，以手机文件形式 ，做成表格。开始只是自己看，后来在全县内部转发。用于信徒学习灵修，给大家在灵修上以极大帮助。尤其在三年疫情期间，大家不能参加实体聚会，但藉着这个平台使大家得到了属灵喂养。目前已把圣经1189章全部完成。
注：本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人。
山西省绛县基督教会走访印象
Jiangxian County is located in the southeast of Shanxi Province and at the intersection of Yuncheng, Linfen, and Jincheng.
According to the records of the Jiangxian Chronicle, Christianity was introduced to this county from Quwo County in the northwest of Jiangxian County in 1900. That year, Dutch missionaries began preaching in Dongshan Village, Gujiang Town. The first Christian organization, Wuliqiao Church, was established in Wuliqiao and later expanded to many nearby villages.
This elder is over 60 years old, and he has been the deputy director and director of the local CC&TSPM for years. In 2021, he was elected as the director of the first CC&TSPM of the newly established Yuncheng City.
Chen Yunshan was one of the first batches of preachers working around Wenxi and Jiangxian. In the early days of liberation, because of his faith, he was taken to the town to be criticized and denounced, and then he was about to be executed. His relatives even prepared a carriage and a mat to collect his body. But he was not afraid. After calling on the Lord's name, he attacked the injustice of the old era and praised the wisdom and correctness of the new society established by the Communist Party of China at the public trial. After hearing this, the staff at the trial were shocked. Believing that the man who believed in Jesus was not as sinful as they thought but had a positive and different influence, they set him free. Later, Chen was elected as one of the first batches of people's representatives in Wenxi County.
Zhao Heshan is from Shandong Province. He started to believe in Christ while working as a cook and serving at Quwo County Church. He was baptized and has been serving there ever since. There are four brothers and more than thirty members in his family, all of whom believe in the Lord and have been living together all the time. The sisters-in-law take turns cooking every day. They would pray devotionally every night. If there is a problem between them, they will pray until they confess and apologize to each other.
Zhao once worked on the production team. One day, someone shared with him what he stole. But Zhao said, "We should act morally as we believe in God, and let us not sin against God." There was a widow living in the hills near his home who was mentally ill. She would wander about all day long and be untouchable. For several years, Zhao delivered food every day for her and hid away while she was eating. Then he would clean the dishes when she finished eating, and then deliver the food again for the next meal. A neighbor who saw this said, "That is a true Christian."
In 1996, 1.2 mu of land was purchased in Yinbao Village on the western outskirts of Jiangxian County, and Chengguan Church was established. It became the reception center for Christians and is also where the local CC&TSPM is situated in.
Since 1991, Chengguan Town, Hengshui Town, Sunwang Village, and Dajiao Town have been divided into four districts, namely, the Central District, West District, South District, and North District, with the county as the center. The local church has also gradually moved to the track of standardized management and established and improved the Patriotic Convention, Management System, Gathering System, Workers System, and the System of Making Believers Well-Off, among other 18 systems.
For seminarians, the elder assigned a standard of treatment based on the county's average wage level and gradually raised it year by year to keep them in step with society.
I, along with fellow workers, visited Donghaozhuang Church and communicated with some believers.
The fellow worker who accompanied me all the time recorded many church activities and the lives of believers at any time with a camera in hand. He meticulously sifted through vast amounts of data, gathering extensive records of local and surrounding church histories, notable church figures, and witness cases. Over a six-year period, he devoted himself to crafting the Synopsis of the Bible and the Catechism of the Scriptures.
The synopsis is a summary of each chapter of the Bible in the form of four or eight doggerel sentences.
Pastor Zheng Lingyi, director of the overseer of Taiyuan Christian Church, wrote in the preface, "This book of reading notes covers every book of the New Testament, and each chapter has a poem that summarizes the main ideas of this chapter. It's not just a generalization. It gives the reader a sense of what each chapter is about, but it's also meaningful."
The Catechism of Scripture, on the other hand, outlines a key question for each chapter of the Bible and answers it.
He completed the catechism of the Old Testament in the form of tables in cell phone files. At first, it was just for himself, and then it was forwarded throughout Jiangxian County for believers to learn spirituality and to give everyone great help in spirituality. Especially during the three-year pandemic, people could not attend physical gatherings, but through this platform, they got spiritual feeding. So far, the catechism of 1189 chapters of the Bible has been completed.
(The author is a staff writer at the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Visit to Jiangxian Christian Church in Shanxi Province
