Female believers who grow up in rural villages may probably receive an elementary education at most. Since the day this sister started to serve, she had already realized the shortcomings in her education level. In order to better serve the Lord, she not only actively participated in the Bible study classes held by her own church but also in the training courses organized by other churches in the region. Later, she even received college-level professional training at the seminary.
Besides enhancing this sister’s Bible knowledge and spiritual discipline, the long years of studying had also built up her skills in preaching sermons and church management.
Therefore, when the church board was due for renewal, this sister was elected as the leader of the whole church.
As remarked by some staff at the local churches, the gospel had been spread to the area where this sister’s church was located, which is the Huangtang community in Xu Xiake Town, for over a hundred years. More than a decade ago, there was one church in the region that was built in the 1980s that became too small and dilapidated, so local believers decided to spend more than two million yuan to build a new church on the same site.
This brand-new church building could come into being because of this sister's ability to gather the strength of the local believers after she became the church’s person in charge. When the construction work just started, they had no more than one hundred thousand yuan as the initial funds, but in the end, the construction fund of the church was over two million yuan. Yet, the debt incurred in building this church was fully paid off in less than five years; this was because the church not only received money offerings from its own believers but also from the believers of the surrounding churches, as well as the offerings from the pastoral staff headed by this sister. Also, as the government's policy tightened just a few years after the church was built, no other new churches were built in recent years.
Although there were many Christians locally and the church building could accommodate up to five to six hundred people, the Sunday service attendance was just over a hundred; among these attendees, most were non-locals, and the local believers only made up less than one-third of the group. The more disheartening thing was that these local believers were lukewarm in their faith, let alone serving in the church. In spite of this, this sister was able to drive these local members who attended church regularly to church and encourage them to serve in church; she also sought out different ways to provide them with learning opportunities. In the end, several local believers were even selected to be part of the church administration team.
As for the large group of non-local church members, she not only encouraged them to serve as ushers and greeters, sing in the choir, and take part in hymn teaching, but she was also willing to hold evening meetings at her home for church members who lived far from the church.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author is a believer from Jiangsu.)
- Translated by Joyce Leung
一个女信徒生长在农村，可能只是受过初等教育。从服侍的那一天起，她就意识到了自己的学问低。为了有更好的服侍，她不仅积极参与本教会举办的查经班，也参与本地区教会举办的培训班。再后来，接受了神学院大专程度的专业培训。
她经过长年累月的学习，在圣经知识、属灵操练，讲道技巧上和教会管理上提升了很多。
因此，教会换届的时候，她也就被推举为一方教会的负责人。
据当地一些同工反应，大姐所在地区，就是现在的徐霞客璜塘社区一带的福音传播史，足足有一百多年时间。当地一座建于八十年代的教堂，后来由于规模较小，破旧，所以当地信徒于十多年前在原址上又耗资两百多万建设一座全新的教堂。
这座全新的教堂，就是在这位女信徒成为负责人后，带领当地信徒建设的。刚建造的时候启动资金只有十多万，却建起来两百多万的教堂。并且建造这座教堂所欠下的债务在不到五年时间里全部清偿。既有信徒，周围教会的奉献，也有以大姐为首的一批同工的奉献。教堂建好数年后，政策就收紧，以至于近些年再无拔地而起的新教堂出现。
虽然当地的基督徒基数大，这所教堂可以容纳五六百人，但参加主日聚会的人刚过百人。这一百多人里面，大多数是外地人，本地信徒却不到三分之一。本地信徒的信仰很冷淡，更别说参与教会的服侍了。虽然如此，她带动那些常来聚会的本地肢体们，鼓励他们参与服侍。有些则被选入到教会管理的队伍中，并且想方设法给他们提供学习的机会。
对于大量的外地人，她不仅鼓励他们参与诗班、教唱、接待方面的服侍，更是为一些距离教会较远的信徒打开家门，提供晚间聚会。
注：本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系江苏一名传道人。
记一位爱主大姐的服侍
Female believers who grow up in rural villages may probably receive an elementary education at most. Since the day this sister started to serve, she had already realized the shortcomings in her education level. In order to better serve the Lord, she not only actively participated in the Bible study classes held by her own church but also in the training courses organized by other churches in the region. Later, she even received college-level professional training at the seminary.
Besides enhancing this sister’s Bible knowledge and spiritual discipline, the long years of studying had also built up her skills in preaching sermons and church management.
Therefore, when the church board was due for renewal, this sister was elected as the leader of the whole church.
As remarked by some staff at the local churches, the gospel had been spread to the area where this sister’s church was located, which is the Huangtang community in Xu Xiake Town, for over a hundred years. More than a decade ago, there was one church in the region that was built in the 1980s that became too small and dilapidated, so local believers decided to spend more than two million yuan to build a new church on the same site.
This brand-new church building could come into being because of this sister's ability to gather the strength of the local believers after she became the church’s person in charge. When the construction work just started, they had no more than one hundred thousand yuan as the initial funds, but in the end, the construction fund of the church was over two million yuan. Yet, the debt incurred in building this church was fully paid off in less than five years; this was because the church not only received money offerings from its own believers but also from the believers of the surrounding churches, as well as the offerings from the pastoral staff headed by this sister. Also, as the government's policy tightened just a few years after the church was built, no other new churches were built in recent years.
Although there were many Christians locally and the church building could accommodate up to five to six hundred people, the Sunday service attendance was just over a hundred; among these attendees, most were non-locals, and the local believers only made up less than one-third of the group. The more disheartening thing was that these local believers were lukewarm in their faith, let alone serving in the church. In spite of this, this sister was able to drive these local members who attended church regularly to church and encourage them to serve in church; she also sought out different ways to provide them with learning opportunities. In the end, several local believers were even selected to be part of the church administration team.
As for the large group of non-local church members, she not only encouraged them to serve as ushers and greeters, sing in the choir, and take part in hymn teaching, but she was also willing to hold evening meetings at her home for church members who lived far from the church.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author is a believer from Jiangsu.)
- Translated by Joyce Leung
The Faithful Service of God-loving Woman
