Editor's note: This is part seven of the Christian testimony series: the stories of a Xinjiang Pastor
On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, I, living in Dalian, Liaoning, got in touch, through the internet, with the 86-year-old Pastor Li Qingzhen, the head of the Christian Church in Qinghe, Altay Prefecture in the northeast of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. I was very moved to hear the words from the pastor.
In October 2016, I co-operated with the old pastor in Nanning, Guangxi, staying together for more than ten days. This elderly woman had worked for the Lord for more than 50 years, and by faith she led her whole family, old and young, to build the first Christian church in Qinghe with bricks and stones. During "the Great Cultural Revolution", she was beaten by the rebels, causing her to lose her teeth and pass out. When she woke up, she still thanked the Lord, asking him to forgive those who beat her. She refused to admit that she was one of “the monsters and demons”. She stayed true to her faith, preached the gospel, and led three generations of her family to serve the Lord. These things moved me and benefited me much that I could hardly forget them.
Five years later, I met the old pastor on the Internet again. We spent nearly two hours talking with each other. What moved me greatly was that she led me to read Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God.” With the title "Jesus Christ is the Beginning of the Gospel", she testified about the Lord and preached to me. During the nearly one hour of preaching, the old pastor constantly quoted Bible verses to explain why the Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of the gospel. At that moment, a pastor in Xinjiang was preaching to a believer in Dalian. After the end of the sermon, Pastor Li began to sing and praise again.
She said that when she came to stay with her son Pastor Song, she had been a few years away from the church in Qinghe County. The church was closed for various reasons, the cross was knocked down, the believers could not meet together, and the flock of sheep lost. When she returned to Qinghe county, she made many trips to the various departments of the county government, making strenuous efforts to resume church meetings and exhort the congregation to return to the church. This old pastor talked about the current situation of the church. As the church is damaged, people were afraid, so few people went to church services, and the conditions of the meetings were very simple. However, she still thanked the Lord again and again without complaining. She did not lose heart but kept praying to God. When she went to the relevant departments in order to reopen the church, she never quarreled with people there, but reported in a gentle manner, asked for instructions, gained sympathy and understanding, and then she would begin to express her own reasons.
Pastor Li said that their church is a poor small church located in a remote mountainous area on the frontier. However, no matter how small or remote it is, it is also God's church, and Christ is still the head of the church. The church is poor, though, God's grace is infinite. The light of God's grace also shines on this small place.
(The author of this article is a special contributor to the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Stephen Huang
编者按：这是《我们是神的见证》系列第七集：在真实的艰难处境下，两位信徒仍持守对神的信仰。
2021年11月16日星期二，我在辽宁大连通过网络与远在祖国新疆维吾尔自治区东北部的阿勒泰地区青河县基督教会的负责人、今年86岁的李青真牧师再次取得了联系，听到牧师的话语很是感动。
2016年10月份，我在广西南宁曾经和老牧师在一起同工、生活了十多天，被老人家为主传道50多年、带领全家老少靠着信心、用一砖、一石垒砌了青河县第一座基督教堂、在“文化大革命”中被造反派打得满口牙齿脱落、昏死过去，醒来还感谢主，求主饶恕打她的人，拒不承认是“牛鬼蛇神”，痴心不改、传福音、带领家族祖孙三代人服侍主的事迹感动，受益匪浅，至今难以忘怀。
时隔五年，再次在网络见到老牧师，和我在网络交通了近两小时，特别令我感动的是她专门带领我读圣经马可福音1章1节的经文：“神的儿子，耶稣基督福音的起头。”以《耶稣基督是福音的起头》为题，为主证道、为我讲道。将近一个小时的讲道，老牧师不断引用圣经经文，讲解主耶稣基督为什么是福音的起头，此时此刻，新疆、大连的一位牧师在为一个信徒讲道、讲见证。讲道结束后，李牧师又开始了歌诗赞美。
听她讲由于到儿子宋牧师那里，暂时离开了青河教堂几年后、教堂由于各种原因被封、十字架被推倒、信徒不能聚会，群羊失散，她回到青河县以后，到县里的各个部门分别去拜访、往返多次，竭尽全力为恢复聚会不辞辛苦的奔走呼号、劝勉会众回到教会。老牧师在谈到教堂的现状的时候，面对教堂破损、聚会的人因为害怕而寥寥无几、简陋的聚会条件、资金匮乏……，丝毫没有抱怨，一再说感谢主；丝毫没有灰心，一再祷告神。她到有关部门申诉教堂复会的时候，从来不和他们争吵，而是以温和的态度汇报、请示，取得同情和理解，然后申诉自己的理由。
李青真牧师说：他们的教会是一个地处边疆的偏远山区 、穷困小教会。再小、再偏远也是神的教会，基督也是教会的元首；教会虽穷，神的恩典无限；神的恩光也同样光照这小地方。
（本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人）
我们是神的见证（7）： 一位牧师讲道 一个信徒听道
Editor's note: This is part seven of the Christian testimony series: the stories of a Xinjiang Pastor
On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, I, living in Dalian, Liaoning, got in touch, through the internet, with the 86-year-old Pastor Li Qingzhen, the head of the Christian Church in Qinghe, Altay Prefecture in the northeast of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. I was very moved to hear the words from the pastor.
In October 2016, I co-operated with the old pastor in Nanning, Guangxi, staying together for more than ten days. This elderly woman had worked for the Lord for more than 50 years, and by faith she led her whole family, old and young, to build the first Christian church in Qinghe with bricks and stones. During "the Great Cultural Revolution", she was beaten by the rebels, causing her to lose her teeth and pass out. When she woke up, she still thanked the Lord, asking him to forgive those who beat her. She refused to admit that she was one of “the monsters and demons”. She stayed true to her faith, preached the gospel, and led three generations of her family to serve the Lord. These things moved me and benefited me much that I could hardly forget them.
Five years later, I met the old pastor on the Internet again. We spent nearly two hours talking with each other. What moved me greatly was that she led me to read Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God.” With the title "Jesus Christ is the Beginning of the Gospel", she testified about the Lord and preached to me. During the nearly one hour of preaching, the old pastor constantly quoted Bible verses to explain why the Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of the gospel. At that moment, a pastor in Xinjiang was preaching to a believer in Dalian. After the end of the sermon, Pastor Li began to sing and praise again.
She said that when she came to stay with her son Pastor Song, she had been a few years away from the church in Qinghe County. The church was closed for various reasons, the cross was knocked down, the believers could not meet together, and the flock of sheep lost. When she returned to Qinghe county, she made many trips to the various departments of the county government, making strenuous efforts to resume church meetings and exhort the congregation to return to the church. This old pastor talked about the current situation of the church. As the church is damaged, people were afraid, so few people went to church services, and the conditions of the meetings were very simple. However, she still thanked the Lord again and again without complaining. She did not lose heart but kept praying to God. When she went to the relevant departments in order to reopen the church, she never quarreled with people there, but reported in a gentle manner, asked for instructions, gained sympathy and understanding, and then she would begin to express her own reasons.
Pastor Li said that their church is a poor small church located in a remote mountainous area on the frontier. However, no matter how small or remote it is, it is also God's church, and Christ is still the head of the church. The church is poor, though, God's grace is infinite. The light of God's grace also shines on this small place.
(The author of this article is a special contributor to the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Stephen Huang
Christian Testimony Series: While Pastor Preaches, Believer Listens
