Guanlin Church is situated in the town of Guanlin, an important economic area in the city of Yixing. The church, an important landmark in Guanlin, is located at the crossroad of Old Yijin Line and Duyang road.
Christianity was brought to Guanlin in the early days of Liberation by a preacher named Wang Minshen, who came from the church in Changzhou to Guanlin to preach. He did not have a fixed location nor a specific number of people who came to the church. By the 1960s, the number of believers increased and though there was no designated pastor, the believers spontaneously gathered in the home of Mr Jiang in the village of Zhangwudu.
In the 1970s, a house in Guandu was turned into a meeting place, a church body was formed, and a time for worship was fixed. The Three-Self Committee of Yixing appointed a pastor and elders to preach and lead the congregation.
By the end of 1994, the number of believers had increased to more than 600 people and because the church building could not accommodate them, the church building was relocated to a new place with a construction area of about 1200 square meters.
The new building was built in the 1990s with a steel roof beam and brick-concrete walls. And after many years of use, some parts of the building were damaged and unsafe. For the sake of security, the plan to rebuild the church at its original position started in 2012. At that time there were only 600,000 yuan available, so the believers were active in contributing to the reconstruction of the building.
The construction area of the new building was about 4500 square meters, and it had a cross-shaped plane. The main sitting hall was 24 meters wide and 50 meters long with a height of nearly 19 meters inside. The main body of the building has two floors with seven parts. The external main tower was 49 meters in height. The total expenses were about 15 million, and the church building was dedicated on the 18th of October, 2016.
The church building was designed in the Gothic style. The idea behind the design includes: to take the relationship between God and man as the main line, which predicts the human crossroad of life, and will foretell man’s “juvenile, youth and old age” life experience through three levels(ten steps for each level).
On both sides of the gate are relief sculptures which represent God’s grace and blessing; The Lord is my shepherd at the entrance represents God’s feeding, care, guarding and presence; Entering inside the 40meters long sanctuary represents the spiritual experience of the people of Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years; The seven complete pillars on each side represents the complete love and grace of Christ.
The 66 pictures of the cross on both sides represent the inspiration of the 66 books of the Bible; The two pillars of the holy archway represent the pillars and foundations of the truth; The cross represents God’s redemption; The Bible represents God’s truth; The shepherd’s staff and key represent God’s commitment and mission; The fish represents Jesus as Christ the Son of God, our saviour; The rose pattern represents Jehovah as God and His throne; And the entire domed roof surrounds the oneness of heaven and humanity, which is the highest state of eternal harmony with God.
- Translated by Merry
官林基督教堂地处宜兴市经济重镇-官林镇，坐落于老宜金线与都杨路的人字道口，成为官林镇重要的地标性建筑之一。
官林基督教始于解放初期，由常州教会的王敏慎来官林传道，无固定的地点和人数。到60年代，信教人数越来越多，信徒自发聚会在张五渎村蒋姓家，仍无固定的牧师传道。
70年代，观渎村一房屋辟为教堂，并开始建立组织，定期做礼拜，由宜兴市基督教三自爱国会指派牧师、长老来传道讲经。
1994年底信教者发展到600多人，原有教堂容纳不下，于1995年初，移地建造教堂，建筑面积约1200多平方。
原始建筑为90年代所建，钢结构桁架屋面，砖混结构墙体，历经多年使用，局部存在安全隐患。
从安全考虑，于2012年着手开始原地重建的规划，当时账面资金只有60万，信徒踊跃奉献。
新建教堂建筑面积约4500平方米，十字形平面，主坐堂宽24米，长50米，堂内通高近19米，教堂主体二层，局部七层，外部主塔顶高49米，总造价约1500万，于2016年10月18日献堂。
教堂设计采用哥特式风格。设计理念：以神与人关系为主线，预意在人生的人字道口，通过三层（每层十级）台阶，预示人生经历“少年时期、青年时期、老年时期”。
大门两侧浮雕预表神的恩典和祝福；入厅耶和华是我们的牧者，预表神的牧养、看顾、保守、同在 。进入40米通长的圣堂，预表以色列民在旷野40年的灵性经历；两边各七个完整的柱子，预表基督完全的爱和恩典。
两侧66个十字图案，预表六十六卷圣经的默示；圣台拱门两柱预表真理的柱石和根基。十字架代表神的救赎；圣经代表神的真理；牧人的杖和钥匙代表神的托付和使命；鱼代表耶稣是基督是永生神的儿子，我们的救主。玫瑰图案代表耶和华是神及他的宝座；整个穹顶围绕天人合一，永久与神和谐的最高境界。
江苏省宜兴市官林基督教堂简介
Guanlin Church is situated in the town of Guanlin, an important economic area in the city of Yixing. The church, an important landmark in Guanlin, is located at the crossroad of Old Yijin Line and Duyang road.
Christianity was brought to Guanlin in the early days of Liberation by a preacher named Wang Minshen, who came from the church in Changzhou to Guanlin to preach. He did not have a fixed location nor a specific number of people who came to the church. By the 1960s, the number of believers increased and though there was no designated pastor, the believers spontaneously gathered in the home of Mr Jiang in the village of Zhangwudu.
In the 1970s, a house in Guandu was turned into a meeting place, a church body was formed, and a time for worship was fixed. The Three-Self Committee of Yixing appointed a pastor and elders to preach and lead the congregation.
By the end of 1994, the number of believers had increased to more than 600 people and because the church building could not accommodate them, the church building was relocated to a new place with a construction area of about 1200 square meters.
The new building was built in the 1990s with a steel roof beam and brick-concrete walls. And after many years of use, some parts of the building were damaged and unsafe. For the sake of security, the plan to rebuild the church at its original position started in 2012. At that time there were only 600,000 yuan available, so the believers were active in contributing to the reconstruction of the building.
The construction area of the new building was about 4500 square meters, and it had a cross-shaped plane. The main sitting hall was 24 meters wide and 50 meters long with a height of nearly 19 meters inside. The main body of the building has two floors with seven parts. The external main tower was 49 meters in height. The total expenses were about 15 million, and the church building was dedicated on the 18th of October, 2016.
The church building was designed in the Gothic style. The idea behind the design includes: to take the relationship between God and man as the main line, which predicts the human crossroad of life, and will foretell man’s “juvenile, youth and old age” life experience through three levels(ten steps for each level).
On both sides of the gate are relief sculptures which represent God’s grace and blessing; The Lord is my shepherd at the entrance represents God’s feeding, care, guarding and presence; Entering inside the 40meters long sanctuary represents the spiritual experience of the people of Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years; The seven complete pillars on each side represents the complete love and grace of Christ.
The 66 pictures of the cross on both sides represent the inspiration of the 66 books of the Bible; The two pillars of the holy archway represent the pillars and foundations of the truth; The cross represents God’s redemption; The Bible represents God’s truth; The shepherd’s staff and key represent God’s commitment and mission; The fish represents Jesus as Christ the Son of God, our saviour; The rose pattern represents Jehovah as God and His throne; And the entire domed roof surrounds the oneness of heaven and humanity, which is the highest state of eternal harmony with God.
- Translated by Merry
Introduction to Guanlin Church in Yixing, Jiangsu Province
