Located in the northeastern part of the Jinzhong Basin, Taigu County in Jinzhong City in Shanxi Province has a long history and profound cultural heritage, being famous for its Courtyards of Shanxi Merchants.
The local church also has a long history. According to the Gazetteer of Taigu County written in the 20th year of the Republic of China (1931): “In the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign (1906), the American church appointed H. H. Kung, a graduate of Oberlin College with a bachelor's degree and [of Yale University with a master's degree,] as a principal. The funds were raised by the American church over and over again, which was sufficient. Now the total number of senior and junior students is more than 300, making it the largest in the province.”
In Jiabao Village, in the northwest of the county, a five-story building with a peaked roof attracts people’s attention. It has blue windows and doors, with a red cross on its steeple. At the top, there are engraved, large red characters reading “Grace Church” and "Immanuel.”
Initially, more than 400 believers attended the worship, but later the church was overcrowded because of its limited space. So the church decided to have another one. To build the church, the congregation bought 10 acres of land in 2000 and spent five years completing all the necessary procedures. The construction began in 2005, even though they were still in debt. It faced many difficulties in building the church. For example, they had just gathered over 50,000 yuan to buy steel when the price of steel dropped. The same happened with purchasing cement and gravel, which saved a considerable amount of money. Elder Qi Yanfu, who is in charge of Grace Church in his seventies, with his own construction team, earned money by working on external projects to build the church.
The process witnessed the dedication of the believers as if they were one person, which moved Elder Qi. To save money, they built the church themselves with their own money and labor, as well as 24-hour uninterrupted prayer. For example, a person sold his house for money. Some people devoted their salaries, while others donated their small pension money. Completed in August 2011, the whole project took six years. With an area of 2,700 square meters, it can accommodate 1,200 people. The church has become a multi-functional modern church with offices, training, fellowship, lodging and catering.
The construction cost 5.2 million yuan in total. The church held a dedication celebration on October 22, 2015, with more than 1,000 pastors, elders, co-workers, and believers from 24 other churches across the province attending.
- Translated by Olinda Wang
太谷县地处晋中盆地东北部，历史悠久，人文底蕴深厚，以晋商大院闻名。
教会传入历史也很长。据民国二十年《太谷县志》记载：“清光绪三十二年，美国总教会遴选欧柏林大学毕业硕士、邑人孔祥熙创立，并担任校长一职。学校基金由总教会筹拨，近复经美国屡次筹集，颇为充足，现高中部初中、高级、初级学生共三百余人……为全省之最。”
在县西北郊的贾堡村中，一座尖顶的五层楼房引人瞩目。配以蓝色门窗，上部尖顶安装红色十字架，楼上有红色大字“蒙恩堂”“以马内利”字样。
当时的教会礼拜时有400多人，后来因地方狭窄，时常人满为患。于是教会就有了建教堂的想法。2000年买了10亩地，花了5年跑完了全部手续。2005年开始动工，当时还欠着外债。建堂过程面临重重困难，刚凑了5万多元准备买钢筋，后遇到了钢材降价，买水泥、石子也是这样，节省了不少资金。齐长老自己有工程队，没钱时就带领大家在外施工，有点钱就施工。
在建堂中看到了信徒们如同一人的侍奉奉献，时至今日年已七旬、蒙恩堂的齐廷付长老仍非常感动。为节省资金，他们自己动手建造，大家有钱出钱有力出力，还有人24小时不间断祷告。有一位肢体把自己的房子卖了，有的奉献了工资，有的捐上了不多的养老钱。整个工程历时六年。2011年8月竣工，教堂建筑面积2700平方米，能容纳1200人。该教堂是集办公、培训、团契、住宿、餐饮为一体的多功能现代化教堂。
整个工程共花费520万元。2015年10月22日，太谷县蒙恩堂举行了献堂庆典，来自全省24个兄弟教会的1000多位牧长、同工同道、信徒一起见证了这一时刻。
山西晋中市太谷区教会建堂蒙恩记
Located in the northeastern part of the Jinzhong Basin, Taigu County in Jinzhong City in Shanxi Province has a long history and profound cultural heritage, being famous for its Courtyards of Shanxi Merchants.
The local church also has a long history. According to the Gazetteer of Taigu County written in the 20th year of the Republic of China (1931): “In the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign (1906), the American church appointed H. H. Kung, a graduate of Oberlin College with a bachelor's degree and [of Yale University with a master's degree,] as a principal. The funds were raised by the American church over and over again, which was sufficient. Now the total number of senior and junior students is more than 300, making it the largest in the province.”
In Jiabao Village, in the northwest of the county, a five-story building with a peaked roof attracts people’s attention. It has blue windows and doors, with a red cross on its steeple. At the top, there are engraved, large red characters reading “Grace Church” and "Immanuel.”
Initially, more than 400 believers attended the worship, but later the church was overcrowded because of its limited space. So the church decided to have another one. To build the church, the congregation bought 10 acres of land in 2000 and spent five years completing all the necessary procedures. The construction began in 2005, even though they were still in debt. It faced many difficulties in building the church. For example, they had just gathered over 50,000 yuan to buy steel when the price of steel dropped. The same happened with purchasing cement and gravel, which saved a considerable amount of money. Elder Qi Yanfu, who is in charge of Grace Church in his seventies, with his own construction team, earned money by working on external projects to build the church.
The process witnessed the dedication of the believers as if they were one person, which moved Elder Qi. To save money, they built the church themselves with their own money and labor, as well as 24-hour uninterrupted prayer. For example, a person sold his house for money. Some people devoted their salaries, while others donated their small pension money. Completed in August 2011, the whole project took six years. With an area of 2,700 square meters, it can accommodate 1,200 people. The church has become a multi-functional modern church with offices, training, fellowship, lodging and catering.
The construction cost 5.2 million yuan in total. The church held a dedication celebration on October 22, 2015, with more than 1,000 pastors, elders, co-workers, and believers from 24 other churches across the province attending.
- Translated by Olinda Wang
Moving Story of Building New Church in Jinzhong City
