In 1985, a national medical journal launched a writing contest nationwide. I entered a thesis in the contest and had the honour of winning the first prize. I was then asked to participate in a training programme the following year conducted by the National Health Ministry. The programme was to be held at the Shanghai Second Medical College, and I was the only representative from Fujian Province! I was unable to sleep, so overwhelmed by the exciting news. It was also because in Shanghai I could meet my sister-in-law, whom I had not met for over four years. After arriving at my sister-in-law's home, her father, Pastor Wang Jifa, cooked for us and I enjoyed a delicious banquet.
The second day I was there was a Sunday. My sister-in-law and I went to Zhusheng Church. According to her, the church was built in 1925 by the Anglican Church. It is a building of red brick and has a triangular roof. The concrete pillars at the front gate are artistically carved. The round-shaped rose windows on the porch are typically Western in design. Located at the northwest corner of the complex is a square tower house. The church covers an area of more than 1,000 square meters. At that time the Zhusheng Church had been open for only 3 to 5 years. From the entrance I could see that more than 500 seats were already occupied. My sister-in-law and I took a front row seat and listened to her father, Pastor Wang Jifa or Cephas Wang, delivering a sermon.
Pastor Wang Jifa was born in 1919 in Shou County, Anhui Province. Born into a Christian family, he was strongly influenced by his family. In his early days, he developed the habit of reading the Bible and praying on a daily basis. After graduating from a church-run county primary school, his father wanted him to study theology in a church school. Unexpectedly, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident changed these plans. In the national upheaval, young Wang Jifa and his sister signed up to join the anti-Japanese student army.
Wang Jifa spent half a year in the student army. Shortly after returning home, he took his brother away from their hometown and sent him to Wuhan, where he was cared for in a home run by Madam Soong Ching Ling. Wang Jaifa went on to Changsha by himself. While living in Changsha, once he traveled to Yuanling via the Yuan River when an accident had a deep impact on him. While the ship he took was sailing along the Yuan River, a young man proposed to change seats with him in the cabin. Without hesitation, Jifa did so, but he did not expect the ship to suddenly hit a reef and sink. Jifa survived, but the young man sitting in Jifa's seat never came to the surface. After the incident, he knelt by the river for a long time, weeping bitterly. He thought his being alive was at the cost of that young man's life. So he was determined to serve God for life. That was why he changed his name to "Jifa" (the Chinese transliteration of Cephas), the name of a disciple of Jesus.
In Yuanling, Cephas participated in the Southwest Transport Training Institute under the Nationalist Military Commission to learn how to drive. After completing the training, Cephas was assigned to Kunming to work as a driver for two years. In 1941, Cephas left the army. With the recommendation of a classmate from his training institute, he went to work for the Bank of Kunming as a vehicle mechanic.
During this period, he never forgot he was a Christian. Wherever he went he would attend church services. At the end of 1941, his brother was enrolled at Southwest University in Chengdu, the same school that Cephas also attended. There is a church built by the China Inland Mission located in Guan County, not far from Chengdu. In Guan County, the China Inland Mission (CIM) opened a seminary. The Dean was Pastor Jia Yuming (head of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary which moved to Chengdu during the Anti-Japanese War; Jia later became the dean of Shanghai Seminary). Having studied in the seminary for a year, Cephas began to work as a non-ordained pastor for CIM.
After the Anti-Japanese War ended in 1945, he left Chengdu and returned to his hometown in Shou County. He actively preached in various churches along the way. In Shou County, Cephas continued to be a preacher. Once, Pastor Zhao Junyin from Shanghai came to Shou County to deliver sermons. On the third day, Pastor Zhao fell ill and the church asked Cephas to do the work of Zhao, and the congregation responded well to Cephas' teaching. Pastor Zhao Junyin was very happy and graciously invited Cephas to Shanghai. So he went to Shanghai and worked as a teacher for years at the Taidong Bible College as well as the Shanghai Bible College and for Bible Societies. In 1956, he participated in the founding of the Shanghai Seminary and served as a member of the College's Board of Directors. At that time Cephas began a decades-long missionary career in Shanghai.
In May 1949, Shanghai was liberated. Many Christian pastors left the mainland, and the CIM moved its headquarters to Hong Kong, leaving only three people in Shanghai. Previously, Cephas had been ordained a pastor by the CIM. In 1951, Cephas went to Hong Kong to be appointed as the third chief executive of CIM. At that time, many people advised Wang to stay in Hong Kong, but he insisted on coming back.
At the beginning of liberation, there were 17 Christian churches and groups in Luwan District, including the Chinese Mission Church, Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, Rest Baptist Church, and additional locations where believers gathered. In 1952, Christian groups in Luwan District registered with the Registration Office of Religious Groups of the Shanghai Military Control Commission, a move that severed ties with foreign countries and the churches gradually became self-reliant. The church's house and land tax were reduced by the state. In 1958, the Luwan District Christian Three Self-Patriotic Movement Liaison Group was established, and Pastor Cephas was one of its principal leaders.
During the ten-year upheaval of the Great Cultural Revolution, religious activities were suspended and Pastor Cephas worked for the Overseas Chinese Glue Factory as a laborer. When the Party's religious policy was again implemented, religious activities were resumed one by one, and the Luwan District Christian Three-Self Patriotic Association Preparatory Committee was established. Pastor Cephas served as the director of the Preparatory Committee. Pastor Wang and other commissioners did a great deal of work, and on Christmas Day 1982, the newly refurbished Zhusheng Church was reopened. In October 1982 the first Christian Conference was held in Luwan District, and Pastor Cephas was elected director of the Luwan District Christian Church. He served as a member of the Shanghai Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee, the Standing Committee, and was three-time Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Christian Education Committee. After the Cultural Revolution, he participated in beginning the East China Theological Seminary in 1985, where he worked as a teacher for many years.
In 2007, Pastor Cephas was admitted to the Huang Central Hospital of Shanghai. On October 6th, students went to his ward to pray for him and when the prayer was ended with, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ-Amen," Pastor Cephas responded: "Amen!" and died at the age of 89.
I was deeply impressed by the passionate style of his sermons, interspersed with his singing and callings. In 2002, the China Christian Council published a collection of Pastor Cephas's sermons, "Grace and Truth". Although Pastor Cephas has left us, he still speaks to us.
35年前我曾到王矶法牧师家
1985年国家医学一杂志举办了全国论文征集活动，我的论文有幸获一等奖，次年，也作为福建省的唯一代表，参加国家卫生部委托上海第二医学院举办的进修班学习，接到通知彻夜未眠，因为我和多年未见的四嫂将可以在上海会面了。到了四嫂家后，四嫂的父亲王矶法牧师亲自下厨，品赏他做的可口饭菜。
第二日正是主日，四嫂和我一起来到诸圣堂。四嫂介绍，这是1925年由英国公会建造的基督教堂，红砖，三角形屋顶，门柱为混凝土雕刻艺术，门廊上设有圆形玫瑰窗有点洋气，西北角还附有方形塔楼，教堂占地1000多平方米。当年，诸圣堂复堂才3、5年，进堂礼拜时，500多位早已座无虚。，我和嫂子坐在前排另座聆听她的父亲王矶法的证道、祷告和祝福……
王矶法牧师，1919年出生，安徽省寿县人。王牧师出身于一个基督徒家庭，在家庭影响下，年幼的王矶法每日放学回家后都要读圣经，做祷告。王矶法在教会办的县城小学毕业后，父亲希望他继续在教会学校读书，进修神学。不料“七•七”芦沟桥事变发生了，国难当头，年轻的王矶法带着妹妹报名参加了抗日学生军。
王矶法在学生军中呆了半年。回家不久，他带着弟弟离开家乡，去了武汉，把弟弟送至宋庆龄办的儿童保育院，独自一人到了长沙。在长沙去沅陵的沅江上，发生了一件事，这件事对王矶法以后的人生道路有着十分重要的影响。当时船航行在沅江上，王矶法和众旅客坐在船舱里，一位小伙子提出与王矶法换个座位，王矶法不假思索地就答应了，没想到，船突然触礁翻沉了，王矶法幸免于难，而原来坐在王矶法位子上的那个小伙子却再也没有浮出水面。事情发生后，王矶法久久跪在沅江边恸哭，他想，自己能够活着，是那个小伙子生命换来的，所以，他立志终身侍奉神。于是，他改名“王矶法”，“矶法”是耶稣的一个门徒的名字。
到了沅陵，王矶法参加了国民党军事委员会下属的西南运输人员训练所，学习驾驶技术。从训练所结业，王矶法被分配到昆明，当上了驾驶员，一干就是两年。1941年，王矶法离开了部队，经训练所同学介绍，进了昆明银行任汽车队技术员。在这期间，王矶法始终没有忘记自己是基督徒，无论是在仰光，还是在保山、下关、昆明，他都要到教堂做礼拜。1941年底，他的弟弟考进位于成都的西南联大，王矶法也去了成都，成都有个基督教内地会，内地会在离成都不远的灌县，开办了基督教灵修神学院，当时的院长是贾玉铭牧师（南京金陵神学院院长，抗战期间到成都，后任上海灵修神学院院长)，王矶法在灵修神学院进修了一年，便在内地会任传道。
1945年抗战胜利后他踏上回故乡之路。他从成都出发，最后回到寿县，每到一处，王矶法都要去教堂传道。在寿县，王矶法继续做传道人。一次，来自上海的赵君影牧师来寿县讲道。第三天，赵牧师病了，教会就请王矶法上台讲道，结果信徒们反应很好。赵君影牧师十分高兴，盛情邀请王矶法到上海去。于是，他来到上海，在霞飞路中华传道会总部所在地的上海泰东圣经学院、新闸路圣经学社、上海圣经学院担任教师多年。1956年参与上海灵修神学院的筹建工作，曾任学院理事会的理事。从此，王矶法开始了在上海几十年的传道生涯。
1949年5月，上海解放了。基督教的许多牧师都离开大陆，中华传道会（原中国基督徒布道十字军）也把总部迁到香港，上海只留下三人。此前，王矶法被中华传道会按立为牧师。1951年，王矶法去香港被按立为中华传道会第三任监督。当时，许多人都劝王矶法留在香港，但是他执意要回来。
解放初期，卢湾区基督教堂和团体共有17个，如中华传道会、浸会、卫理公会、圣公会、安息浸礼会、聚会处等。1952年，卢湾区的基督教团体向上海市军事管制委员会宗教团体登记处登记，断绝了与国外联系，逐步自立自养，教堂的房捐、地税由国家减免。1958年，卢湾区基督教三自爱国运动联络组成立，王矶法牧师是主要负责人之一。
十年动乱期间，宗教活动全部停止，王矶法牧师到华侨胶木厂当了一名工人。而当党的宗教政策得到了落实，宗教活动相继恢复，成立了卢湾区基督教“三自”爱国会筹委会，王矶法牧师任筹委会主任。王牧师和其它委员们做了大量的工作，1982年圣诞节，修缮一新的诸圣堂重新开放。1982年10月卢湾区召开第一次基督教代表大会，王矶法牧师当选为卢湾区基督教两会主任。他历任上海基督教三自爱国运动委员会一至六届委员、常委、上海基督教教务委会员一至三届副主席。文革后于1985年一度参与华东神学院的筹建，曾在该院兼任教学工作多年。
2007年王矶法牧师因病重期间住进上海外滩黄中心医院，10月6日迷弥之际，学生到床为王矶法牧师做祷告，当祷告最后说：“奉耶稣基督名求阿们时”王牧师张开口说了：“阿们！”就即刻荣归天家，享年89岁。
他的讲道中时而慷慨激昂，时而高歌一曲，时而呼召会众，给我留下了深刻的印象。2002年中国基督教协会出版了王矶法牧师的讲道集——《恩典与真理》。王牧师虽然离开了我们，但至今，他仍然在说话。
https://www.gospeltimes.cn/portal/article/index/id/51553
In 1985, a national medical journal launched a writing contest nationwide. I entered a thesis in the contest and had the honour of winning the first prize. I was then asked to participate in a training programme the following year conducted by the National Health Ministry. The programme was to be held at the Shanghai Second Medical College, and I was the only representative from Fujian Province! I was unable to sleep, so overwhelmed by the exciting news. It was also because in Shanghai I could meet my sister-in-law, whom I had not met for over four years. After arriving at my sister-in-law's home, her father, Pastor Wang Jifa, cooked for us and I enjoyed a delicious banquet.
The second day I was there was a Sunday. My sister-in-law and I went to Zhusheng Church. According to her, the church was built in 1925 by the Anglican Church. It is a building of red brick and has a triangular roof. The concrete pillars at the front gate are artistically carved. The round-shaped rose windows on the porch are typically Western in design. Located at the northwest corner of the complex is a square tower house. The church covers an area of more than 1,000 square meters. At that time the Zhusheng Church had been open for only 3 to 5 years. From the entrance I could see that more than 500 seats were already occupied. My sister-in-law and I took a front row seat and listened to her father, Pastor Wang Jifa or Cephas Wang, delivering a sermon.
Pastor Wang Jifa was born in 1919 in Shou County, Anhui Province. Born into a Christian family, he was strongly influenced by his family. In his early days, he developed the habit of reading the Bible and praying on a daily basis. After graduating from a church-run county primary school, his father wanted him to study theology in a church school. Unexpectedly, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident changed these plans. In the national upheaval, young Wang Jifa and his sister signed up to join the anti-Japanese student army.
Wang Jifa spent half a year in the student army. Shortly after returning home, he took his brother away from their hometown and sent him to Wuhan, where he was cared for in a home run by Madam Soong Ching Ling. Wang Jaifa went on to Changsha by himself. While living in Changsha, once he traveled to Yuanling via the Yuan River when an accident had a deep impact on him. While the ship he took was sailing along the Yuan River, a young man proposed to change seats with him in the cabin. Without hesitation, Jifa did so, but he did not expect the ship to suddenly hit a reef and sink. Jifa survived, but the young man sitting in Jifa's seat never came to the surface. After the incident, he knelt by the river for a long time, weeping bitterly. He thought his being alive was at the cost of that young man's life. So he was determined to serve God for life. That was why he changed his name to "Jifa" (the Chinese transliteration of Cephas), the name of a disciple of Jesus.
In Yuanling, Cephas participated in the Southwest Transport Training Institute under the Nationalist Military Commission to learn how to drive. After completing the training, Cephas was assigned to Kunming to work as a driver for two years. In 1941, Cephas left the army. With the recommendation of a classmate from his training institute, he went to work for the Bank of Kunming as a vehicle mechanic.
During this period, he never forgot he was a Christian. Wherever he went he would attend church services. At the end of 1941, his brother was enrolled at Southwest University in Chengdu, the same school that Cephas also attended. There is a church built by the China Inland Mission located in Guan County, not far from Chengdu. In Guan County, the China Inland Mission (CIM) opened a seminary. The Dean was Pastor Jia Yuming (head of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary which moved to Chengdu during the Anti-Japanese War; Jia later became the dean of Shanghai Seminary). Having studied in the seminary for a year, Cephas began to work as a non-ordained pastor for CIM.
After the Anti-Japanese War ended in 1945, he left Chengdu and returned to his hometown in Shou County. He actively preached in various churches along the way. In Shou County, Cephas continued to be a preacher. Once, Pastor Zhao Junyin from Shanghai came to Shou County to deliver sermons. On the third day, Pastor Zhao fell ill and the church asked Cephas to do the work of Zhao, and the congregation responded well to Cephas' teaching. Pastor Zhao Junyin was very happy and graciously invited Cephas to Shanghai. So he went to Shanghai and worked as a teacher for years at the Taidong Bible College as well as the Shanghai Bible College and for Bible Societies. In 1956, he participated in the founding of the Shanghai Seminary and served as a member of the College's Board of Directors. At that time Cephas began a decades-long missionary career in Shanghai.
In May 1949, Shanghai was liberated. Many Christian pastors left the mainland, and the CIM moved its headquarters to Hong Kong, leaving only three people in Shanghai. Previously, Cephas had been ordained a pastor by the CIM. In 1951, Cephas went to Hong Kong to be appointed as the third chief executive of CIM. At that time, many people advised Wang to stay in Hong Kong, but he insisted on coming back.
At the beginning of liberation, there were 17 Christian churches and groups in Luwan District, including the Chinese Mission Church, Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, Rest Baptist Church, and additional locations where believers gathered. In 1952, Christian groups in Luwan District registered with the Registration Office of Religious Groups of the Shanghai Military Control Commission, a move that severed ties with foreign countries and the churches gradually became self-reliant. The church's house and land tax were reduced by the state. In 1958, the Luwan District Christian Three Self-Patriotic Movement Liaison Group was established, and Pastor Cephas was one of its principal leaders.
During the ten-year upheaval of the Great Cultural Revolution, religious activities were suspended and Pastor Cephas worked for the Overseas Chinese Glue Factory as a laborer. When the Party's religious policy was again implemented, religious activities were resumed one by one, and the Luwan District Christian Three-Self Patriotic Association Preparatory Committee was established. Pastor Cephas served as the director of the Preparatory Committee. Pastor Wang and other commissioners did a great deal of work, and on Christmas Day 1982, the newly refurbished Zhusheng Church was reopened. In October 1982 the first Christian Conference was held in Luwan District, and Pastor Cephas was elected director of the Luwan District Christian Church. He served as a member of the Shanghai Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee, the Standing Committee, and was three-time Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Christian Education Committee. After the Cultural Revolution, he participated in beginning the East China Theological Seminary in 1985, where he worked as a teacher for many years.
In 2007, Pastor Cephas was admitted to the Huang Central Hospital of Shanghai. On October 6th, students went to his ward to pray for him and when the prayer was ended with, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ-Amen," Pastor Cephas responded: "Amen!" and died at the age of 89.
I was deeply impressed by the passionate style of his sermons, interspersed with his singing and callings. In 2002, the China Christian Council published a collection of Pastor Cephas's sermons, "Grace and Truth". Although Pastor Cephas has left us, he still speaks to us.
A 35 Years Ago Visit to Pastor Cephas Wang's Home
