From an obsolete church that was only 464 square meters 130 years ago, to a brand-new church building that is more than 3,600 square meters in the area; from the 80 baptized believers when church meetings had just resumed in 1980, to a congregation of more than 4,000 baptized believers at present.
Protestantism first entered western Liaoning from Jinzhou. According to the relevant historical data, in 1832, German missionary Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-1851) sailed from Thailand to Northeast China to sell Bibles. He first went to Jinzhou and later to Yingkou in the province of Liaoning.
Following in the footsteps of Gützlaff, Reverend James Carson, a missionary of the Irish Presbyterian Church of England, also came to Jinzhou in 1874 to sell books and preach, and he rented a mansion on South Street in the city and founded Gospel Church. In 1886, the Irish Presbyterian Church of England sent Reverend Shao Wufei (in Mandarin) to Jinzhou. In 1891, the church was relocated outside the East Gate (now the location of Jinzhou Christian Church). From then on, other Christian denominations also began coming to Jinzhou.
In 1892, Elder Gao Qilong and Elder Deng Futang of the Jinzhou Church went to Xingcheng, which was then part of Jinzhou, and Suizhong, respectively, to plant churches. In 1894, Irish missionary John Evans and his wife Sara McMordie came to Jinzhou to form the diocesan board of trustees, which was the highest authority of the diocese.
In 1900, the Boxers set fire to the Jinzhou Church and completely destroyed it. Upon the signing of the "Boxer Protocol," churches in Jinzhou, Jinxi (now Huludao), and Heishan were rebuilt after 1905. In 1907, the Jinzhou Church bought the property on Fude Street to build the eastern part of the church building. At that time, the church had around 200 believers.
In 1958, the Seventh-day Adventist Church merged with the Chinese Christian Presbyterian Church. At the same time, the preparatory committee of Jinzhou TSPM was once again established.
In August 1983, the Jinzhou Christian Church held its first meeting of representatives and established the Jinzhou TSPM as well as its Christian Council (renamed the Jinzhou CC&TSPM in 1986). In the autumn of the same year, the dedication ceremony of the Jinxi Church, the first church newly built in the western Liaoning area, was held.
As early as 1884, John Ross, a missionary of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, had already been holding regular theological training for missionaries in Shenyang. In 1890, the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Irish Presbyterian Church decided to jointly conduct systematic theological training for evangelists throughout the northeast region. The whole training lasted for 4 years, students studied intensively for one month each year and served in various evangelical churches the rest of the time. In 1894, the Kwantung Presbyterian Church decided to add a four-year advanced theological course, which included two months of intensive study in Shenyang every year. The advanced course is the prototype of the Northeast Theological Seminary. The first advanced course in 1895 recruited seven students, and they graduated in March 1899; four of them were ordained as pastors after graduation.
The Christian church also participates in social charity work in Jinzhou, which includes medical and educational institutions.
The mission hospital ("Free Healing Hall") in Jinzhou: In 1886, an English doctor named Dr. Edward Bach (in Mandarin) purchased a piece of land in the east of Jinzhou City and established a mission hospital. In 1900, the Boxers burned down the hospital, which was rebuilt in 1905 and renamed the Christian Hospital. In 1913, Marion Macintyre, a missionary from Ireland, took over as director. She expanded the hospital premises and began to offer obstetrics and gynecology courses.
In the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920), the hospital was renamed the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. In the same year, Macintyre returned to Ireland due to illness, and Dorothy Hunter, a missionary from Ireland who was working in the mission hospital in Beizhen, came to Jinzhou to take over as the director.
In 1942, the agents of the Puppet Manchukuo in Jinzhou occupied the hospital, and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital was forced to suspend its service. In 1951, the hospital decided to cease operation on February 5.
Education: The Jinzhou School was founded by the English missionary Sara McMordie in 1895; the school accepted women of all ages, teaching them how to read and telling them about the Bible. In 1941, due to being assaulted by the Puppet Manchukuo agents and a lack of operating funds, the school had to discontinue.
In 1891, Irish doctor Thomas Brander came to Jinzhou, and, together with Reverend Shao Wufei (in Mandarin), bought 30 acres of land north of Shuangchazi Road at Dongguan in the city (now the location of the Fifth Middle School of Jinzhou City on Guohe Road), building residence buildings for pastors and teachers, as well as founding schools and mission hospitals, etc.
The old church building of the Jinzhou Church, built in 1891, which was only around 400 square meters, could no longer serve the needs of the believers. Therefore, in June 2002, the old building was demolished, and a brand-new church building with an area of up to 3,600 square meters emerged in July 2003. Presently, in the church, there are four pastors and three pastoral staff.
Over the years, the church has helped needy members of the congregation, donated money and goods, defended the truth, resisted heresy, consoled the sick, the disabled, orphans, and widows, and cared for the disadvantaged. After the May 12 Sichuan earthquake in 2008, the church donated more than 400,000 yuan to the areas affected by the disaster.
(Reported by a Gospel Times freelance writer in Jinzhou, Liaoning.)
- Translated by Joyce Leung
从130多年前仅有464平方米的老教堂到现如今有建筑面积达3,600多平方米的新教堂；从1980年恢复聚会时只有80人受洗，发展到现在有4,000多位受洗的信徒。
基督教新教在辽西的传入从锦州开始。据有关历史资料介绍，1832年德国传教士郭实腊（Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff，1803年—1851年），从泰国乘船来东北出售圣经，先到辽宁锦州继而到辽宁营口。
1874年英国爱尔兰基督教长老会传教士盖雅各牧师继郭实腊之后也到锦州售书布道，在城内南街租房设立福音堂。1886年英爱尔兰基督教长老会又派邵武斐牧师来锦州，1891年移建福音堂于东门外(现锦州基督教堂位置)。此后基督教的其他教派也陆续传入锦州。
1892年，锦州教会高启隆长老去当时归属锦州的兴城建立教会，邓福堂长老去绥中建立教会。1894年，爱尔兰传教士伊约翰同其妻邸回春来锦州，建立教区董事会，为教区最高机构。
1900年义和团焚烧砸毁了锦州教会。《辛丑条约》签订后，锦州、锦西（今葫芦岛）、黑山等教堂在1905年后得以重建。1907年，锦州教会购买福德街房场，建立礼拜堂东部，当时有信徒200多人。
1958年基督教恢复临安息日会与中华基督教长老会联合，与此同时锦州三自爱国运动委员会筹委会再次成立。
1983年8月，锦州市基督教会第一次代表会议召开，成立了锦州市基督教三自爱国运动委员会，同时成立了基督教教务委员会（1986年以后改名为基督教协会）。同年秋，辽西地区第一座新建的礼拜堂——锦西教会礼拜堂举行献堂典礼。
早在1884年，苏格兰联合长老会（the United Presbyterian Church ）宣教士罗约翰（John Ross）就在沈阳为传道员定期举办神学培训。1890年苏格兰联合长老会与爱尔兰长老会决议联合对全东北传道员进行系统神学培训，学期4年，每年集中学习一个月，其余时间在各福音堂服事。1894年，关东长老会决议增设神学高级班课程，学制四年，每年在沈阳集中学习两个月。此高级班即为东北神学院的雏形。1895年首届高级班学员有7人，于1899年3月毕业。其中4名毕业被按立为牧师。
基督教在锦州还有一些社会公益，包括医疗卫生和教育机构。
锦州施医院：1886年，英国医生白多马在锦州城东，购置土地设立施医院。1900年，义和团焚烧医院。1905年重建，改名基督教医院。1913年，由爱尔兰人马泽民接任院长。他增建房舍，还开设妇产科学习班。
民国9年(1920年)，该医院改名为妇婴医院。同年，马泽民因病回国，爱尔兰人很爱贞由北镇施医院到锦州接任院长。
1942年，锦州伪满特务占用医院，妇婴医院被迫停止。1951年2月5日，决定停办。
教育方面：锦州学道馆于1895年，由英国教士邸回春创办，招收不同年龄的妇女，主要教识字启蒙和《圣经》。1941年因日伪特务冲击，且因缺经费无法办下去，学道馆遂告结束。
1891年英国爱尔兰人白多玛医生来锦州，同邵武斐牧师在城内东关双岔子路北(今国和里市第五中学位置)购地30亩，建牧师府、教师楼、办育贤学校、创施医院等。
始建于1891年，锦州教会400多平方米的老教堂已不能满足信徒的需要，2002年6月拆掉老堂，2003年7月，一座新的、建筑面积达3600多平方米的基督教堂拔地而起。现有牧师四位、教士三位。
多年来，他们在教会内帮扶有需要的肢体、捐款捐物、维护真道、抵制异端、慰问孤寡病残、关爱弱势群体等。在2008年5月12日汶川大地震中，为灾区捐款40多万元
（福音时报特约撰稿人于辽宁锦州报道。感谢锦州教会提供的有关老照片和历史资料。）
百年传承、继往开来的辽宁锦州教会
From an obsolete church that was only 464 square meters 130 years ago, to a brand-new church building that is more than 3,600 square meters in the area; from the 80 baptized believers when church meetings had just resumed in 1980, to a congregation of more than 4,000 baptized believers at present.
Protestantism first entered western Liaoning from Jinzhou. According to the relevant historical data, in 1832, German missionary Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff (1803-1851) sailed from Thailand to Northeast China to sell Bibles. He first went to Jinzhou and later to Yingkou in the province of Liaoning.
Following in the footsteps of Gützlaff, Reverend James Carson, a missionary of the Irish Presbyterian Church of England, also came to Jinzhou in 1874 to sell books and preach, and he rented a mansion on South Street in the city and founded Gospel Church. In 1886, the Irish Presbyterian Church of England sent Reverend Shao Wufei (in Mandarin) to Jinzhou. In 1891, the church was relocated outside the East Gate (now the location of Jinzhou Christian Church). From then on, other Christian denominations also began coming to Jinzhou.
In 1892, Elder Gao Qilong and Elder Deng Futang of the Jinzhou Church went to Xingcheng, which was then part of Jinzhou, and Suizhong, respectively, to plant churches. In 1894, Irish missionary John Evans and his wife Sara McMordie came to Jinzhou to form the diocesan board of trustees, which was the highest authority of the diocese.
In 1900, the Boxers set fire to the Jinzhou Church and completely destroyed it. Upon the signing of the "Boxer Protocol," churches in Jinzhou, Jinxi (now Huludao), and Heishan were rebuilt after 1905. In 1907, the Jinzhou Church bought the property on Fude Street to build the eastern part of the church building. At that time, the church had around 200 believers.
In 1958, the Seventh-day Adventist Church merged with the Chinese Christian Presbyterian Church. At the same time, the preparatory committee of Jinzhou TSPM was once again established.
In August 1983, the Jinzhou Christian Church held its first meeting of representatives and established the Jinzhou TSPM as well as its Christian Council (renamed the Jinzhou CC&TSPM in 1986). In the autumn of the same year, the dedication ceremony of the Jinxi Church, the first church newly built in the western Liaoning area, was held.
As early as 1884, John Ross, a missionary of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, had already been holding regular theological training for missionaries in Shenyang. In 1890, the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Irish Presbyterian Church decided to jointly conduct systematic theological training for evangelists throughout the northeast region. The whole training lasted for 4 years, students studied intensively for one month each year and served in various evangelical churches the rest of the time. In 1894, the Kwantung Presbyterian Church decided to add a four-year advanced theological course, which included two months of intensive study in Shenyang every year. The advanced course is the prototype of the Northeast Theological Seminary. The first advanced course in 1895 recruited seven students, and they graduated in March 1899; four of them were ordained as pastors after graduation.
The Christian church also participates in social charity work in Jinzhou, which includes medical and educational institutions.
The mission hospital ("Free Healing Hall") in Jinzhou: In 1886, an English doctor named Dr. Edward Bach (in Mandarin) purchased a piece of land in the east of Jinzhou City and established a mission hospital. In 1900, the Boxers burned down the hospital, which was rebuilt in 1905 and renamed the Christian Hospital. In 1913, Marion Macintyre, a missionary from Ireland, took over as director. She expanded the hospital premises and began to offer obstetrics and gynecology courses.
In the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920), the hospital was renamed the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. In the same year, Macintyre returned to Ireland due to illness, and Dorothy Hunter, a missionary from Ireland who was working in the mission hospital in Beizhen, came to Jinzhou to take over as the director.
In 1942, the agents of the Puppet Manchukuo in Jinzhou occupied the hospital, and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital was forced to suspend its service. In 1951, the hospital decided to cease operation on February 5.
Education: The Jinzhou School was founded by the English missionary Sara McMordie in 1895; the school accepted women of all ages, teaching them how to read and telling them about the Bible. In 1941, due to being assaulted by the Puppet Manchukuo agents and a lack of operating funds, the school had to discontinue.
In 1891, Irish doctor Thomas Brander came to Jinzhou, and, together with Reverend Shao Wufei (in Mandarin), bought 30 acres of land north of Shuangchazi Road at Dongguan in the city (now the location of the Fifth Middle School of Jinzhou City on Guohe Road), building residence buildings for pastors and teachers, as well as founding schools and mission hospitals, etc.
The old church building of the Jinzhou Church, built in 1891, which was only around 400 square meters, could no longer serve the needs of the believers. Therefore, in June 2002, the old building was demolished, and a brand-new church building with an area of up to 3,600 square meters emerged in July 2003. Presently, in the church, there are four pastors and three pastoral staff.
Over the years, the church has helped needy members of the congregation, donated money and goods, defended the truth, resisted heresy, consoled the sick, the disabled, orphans, and widows, and cared for the disadvantaged. After the May 12 Sichuan earthquake in 2008, the church donated more than 400,000 yuan to the areas affected by the disaster.
(Reported by a Gospel Times freelance writer in Jinzhou, Liaoning.)
- Translated by Joyce Leung
Jinzhou Church: A Century-Old Church Still Thriving
