More than twenty years ago, five people gathered on a heatable brick bed, which planted a seed for a future church.
On the last Sunday of May, a church in Anshan, Liaoning, held a worship service. Upon arriving early at the church in Ganquan Village, Qianshan District, the attendants went about ensuring that anti-pandemic measures were followed, including scanning the believers’ health codes, taking their temperatures, registering, and guiding them to sit one seat apart.
During the service, based on the first chapter of Samuel, Elder Gao Wenxia gave a sermon titled Hannah's Inner Life and Outer Exposure, in which she shared the story of the great mother, telling the congregation to follow her to please God.
Pastor Wang Xiuping, who graduated from the secondary school of Northeast Theological Seminary and is now continuing his advanced studies in the seminary, spoke about the history of the church, which originated from a private house.
Ganquan Village Church derives its name from the village "ganquan", which means "precious waters", according to Deuteronomy 33:13.
More than two decades ago, five persons gathered on the heatable brick bed (kang) in her home with the support of Wang's parents-in-law and husband. In the spring of 1995, they moved to a sister’s house with four rooms. Twenty Christians started to read the Bible, pray, and praise on the kang beds also.
Later, they rented a temporary house for worshipping God, as the number of believers increased. As the house was in disrepair and on the verge of collapse, out of consideration for their safety, another mobile house was built in 2006, which lasted six years.
They began to prepare for a church building, as the activity site could not accommodate so many people.
After praying for two months, they received support and help from church members in Haicheng City and Anshan City. With nearly 800,000 yuan provided by God in time, they purchased an idle workshop, which became present-day Ganquan Church after decoration.
There are now theological students serving as full-time pastors, and six or seven part-time ones, up from the original situation in which there was none.
Starting from several rooms with kang beds, the church now covers a floor area of 260 square meters (0.0642 acres) and a construction area of 900 square meters (0.222 acres).
The church divides the Ganquan Town into five districts of the east, west, north, south, and middle, which are led by the director and deputy director to form cell groups.
Besides gathering, Pastor Wang leads the congregation and fellow workers in participating in community charity activities.
Once, in a village in Haicheng City where an activity site was located, more than 100 villagers suffered floods from the dyke breach while still in their sleep in an early winter morning; more than 50 people were injured, including some staff workers. She decided to visit the affected ones to show sympathy, buying underwear, velvet pants, quilted jackets, cotton trousers, and socks for them, with more than 3,000 yuan donated in cash.
In addition, joining with fellow workers from other activity sites to assist 51 children in a disaster-stricken elementary school, they bought cotton-padded clothes, cotton trousers and gloves, as well as notebooks, stationery boxes, and school bags to replace the ones which were damaged by the flood, donating more than 6000 yuan.
In 2008, in the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, the believers from Ganquan Church and other sites contributed 5,000 yuan to the disaster-stricken area.
A few years ago, they also helped a believer’s daughter who was attending high school and suffering from leukemia. The family was prepared to give up because there was no money for treatment. But they cared about the sick child and sent her cash. Two days before the child's college entrance examination, his mother died suddenly. They supported the child who was studying in a boarding high school to let her finish the exam and later sent her to Peking University, paying the tuition in time.
Moreover, they also shared the gospel with a handicapped "little bastard". The man was encouraged to turn from evil, given a wheelchair to sit in. Finally, this stubborn and rebellious boy followed Jesus and learned how to play the piano.
The meeting point also financially supported another student in a university, who is working in Beijing after graduation.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
五2021年5月末的礼拜日。笔者来到了位于辽宁省鞍山市千山区的甘泉村基督教活动点。
主日的甘泉教堂，服侍的弟兄姊妹早早站在教堂门口，按照防疫要求对前来聚会的信徒进行扫码、测温、登记等流程，然后引导信徒按照间距有序就坐。
随后，高文霞长老带领会众诵读圣经旧约撒母耳记上1章的有关经文，以《哈拿内在生命的外在流露》为讲章内容，与弟兄姊妹分享伟大母亲哈拿的事迹和见证，劝勉信徒以哈拿为榜样，做主喜悦的人。
谈到教堂的变迁，毕业于东北神学院中专班、现在又继续在神学院深造的王秀苹传道非常感慨，甘泉村基督教活动点最初是由家庭住宅“炕头活动点”兴起的、经过多年变迁，如今已经发展为在十里八村远近闻名的宗教场所。
二十多年前，王秀苹在公公婆婆和丈夫的支持下，在她的家庭的炕头上聚会活动点开始了只有5个人的聚会。1995年春，聚会搬到一个姊妹的家中，有四间房子，有了20位信徒，在家里、在炕头上读经、祷告、赞美和灵修。
后来，因为参加聚会人数的不断增加，点上便租用了一个临时房屋充当新聚会点，因为房子年久失修，濒临坍塌，出于弟兄姊妹的安全考虑，在2006年，又建了一个活动房，这一用就是六年。
随着活动点不断发展壮大，活动点开始了筹备建堂事宜。
弟兄姊妹恒切祷告了两个月，得到了海城市、鞍山市兄弟教会和众信徒的大力支持、帮助，需要的资金近80万元，神及时供给。顺利的购买了一处闲置的场房，装修之后建成：“甘泉活动点教堂”。
甘泉活动点按照神的旨意，出现了以下几个方面的更新变化：
变迁一：由原来的没有圣职传道，发展到现在有神学生担任专职的传道人，还有六、七位兼职传道人；
变迁二：由“炕头”的几间房子临时场所，变成了占地面积约900平方米、有260平方米教堂的活动点；
变迁三：活动点在甘泉镇还设立了东西南北中的片区，由片长和副片长带领会众，形成了犹如细胞小组的管理模式。
变迁四：他们再也不是仅仅聚会而已，而是在王秀苹带领起初“创业”的同工和全体会众，关注社区村镇的慈善公益活动。
一次，活动点所在的海城市一个村，有100多户村民在冬季的凌晨睡梦中遭受堤坝决口的水灾，50多人受伤，有的是同工、有的是普通的群众。 她决定带领教会的同工，到受灾村镇慰问灾民，为他们购置了内衣、绒裤、棉袄、棉裤、袜子等御寒衣物，并捐出现金3000余元。
除此之外，联合其他活动点的同工们为小学51个孩子买了棉衣、棉裤、手套等送到受灾学校，并且为孩子们送去了因水灾遗失损害的笔记本、文具盒、书包等等，另有捐款6000多元。
2008年，四川汶川特大震灾心，甘泉点的弟兄姊妹会同其它点，为灾区捐款5000元；
几年前，他们还帮助了一位信徒家患白血病、在读高中的女儿。家里因为没有钱治病，准备放弃了。但是活动点伸出了手，关心这个患病的孩子，并且送去现金。这位孩子高考的前两天，母亲突然去世。大家瞒着在高中寄宿读书的孩子，并且及时交纳了学费，送这个孩子到北京大学读书；
此外，他们还帮助了一个身有肢残的“小混混儿”，大家为他传福音，鼓励他弃恶从善，并送给他轮椅，送上安慰。最后，这个顽梗悖逆的“社会人”，信了主，也学会了弹琴；
聚会点还帮助、资助了另外一个学生读大学，现在这个孩子毕业之后在北京工作；
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/56685
甘泉村“炕头活动点”的变迁
More than twenty years ago, five people gathered on a heatable brick bed, which planted a seed for a future church.
On the last Sunday of May, a church in Anshan, Liaoning, held a worship service. Upon arriving early at the church in Ganquan Village, Qianshan District, the attendants went about ensuring that anti-pandemic measures were followed, including scanning the believers’ health codes, taking their temperatures, registering, and guiding them to sit one seat apart.
During the service, based on the first chapter of Samuel, Elder Gao Wenxia gave a sermon titled Hannah's Inner Life and Outer Exposure, in which she shared the story of the great mother, telling the congregation to follow her to please God.
Pastor Wang Xiuping, who graduated from the secondary school of Northeast Theological Seminary and is now continuing his advanced studies in the seminary, spoke about the history of the church, which originated from a private house.
Ganquan Village Church derives its name from the village "ganquan", which means "precious waters", according to Deuteronomy 33:13.
More than two decades ago, five persons gathered on the heatable brick bed (kang) in her home with the support of Wang's parents-in-law and husband. In the spring of 1995, they moved to a sister’s house with four rooms. Twenty Christians started to read the Bible, pray, and praise on the kang beds also.
Later, they rented a temporary house for worshipping God, as the number of believers increased. As the house was in disrepair and on the verge of collapse, out of consideration for their safety, another mobile house was built in 2006, which lasted six years.
They began to prepare for a church building, as the activity site could not accommodate so many people.
After praying for two months, they received support and help from church members in Haicheng City and Anshan City. With nearly 800,000 yuan provided by God in time, they purchased an idle workshop, which became present-day Ganquan Church after decoration.
There are now theological students serving as full-time pastors, and six or seven part-time ones, up from the original situation in which there was none.
Starting from several rooms with kang beds, the church now covers a floor area of 260 square meters (0.0642 acres) and a construction area of 900 square meters (0.222 acres).
The church divides the Ganquan Town into five districts of the east, west, north, south, and middle, which are led by the director and deputy director to form cell groups.
Besides gathering, Pastor Wang leads the congregation and fellow workers in participating in community charity activities.
Once, in a village in Haicheng City where an activity site was located, more than 100 villagers suffered floods from the dyke breach while still in their sleep in an early winter morning; more than 50 people were injured, including some staff workers. She decided to visit the affected ones to show sympathy, buying underwear, velvet pants, quilted jackets, cotton trousers, and socks for them, with more than 3,000 yuan donated in cash.
In addition, joining with fellow workers from other activity sites to assist 51 children in a disaster-stricken elementary school, they bought cotton-padded clothes, cotton trousers and gloves, as well as notebooks, stationery boxes, and school bags to replace the ones which were damaged by the flood, donating more than 6000 yuan.
In 2008, in the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, the believers from Ganquan Church and other sites contributed 5,000 yuan to the disaster-stricken area.
A few years ago, they also helped a believer’s daughter who was attending high school and suffering from leukemia. The family was prepared to give up because there was no money for treatment. But they cared about the sick child and sent her cash. Two days before the child's college entrance examination, his mother died suddenly. They supported the child who was studying in a boarding high school to let her finish the exam and later sent her to Peking University, paying the tuition in time.
Moreover, they also shared the gospel with a handicapped "little bastard". The man was encouraged to turn from evil, given a wheelchair to sit in. Finally, this stubborn and rebellious boy followed Jesus and learned how to play the piano.
The meeting point also financially supported another student in a university, who is working in Beijing after graduation.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Testimony of a Village Church: "The Lord Blesses His Land With Precious Waters"
