Starting from scratch, a Guangxi church has more than one thousand churchgoers of Zhuang, Miao and Han nationalities.
Built in 1875 by a British pastor in Yongtai Street, Shangsi County Gospel Church had five pastors and other clergy in 1939. After that, all activities were stopped due to bombing by Japanese planes.
By the end of 1996 after the reform and opening up, Pastor Ling Daiming, who had been living in Taipei County, Taiwan Province, nearly 70 years old, returned alone to Shangsi County, his hometown. He found that there were no Christians among the villagers who still adhered to folk beliefs. He felt obliged to preach the gospel to his folks. So the Bible sharing gathering was started 60 years after the church was closed at the home of his sister, Ling Ruqing, who lived in the Bell and Drum Tower. This gathering made up for the blank world of faith in the county.
Without churches but only a private house, Rev. Ling overcame all kinds of difficulties to invite Rev. Paul Liang, chairman of the Guangxi TSPM, to give sermons. In January 1997, 28 believers including Huang Xiang, who is now the head of the church, were baptized, becoming the first batch of Christians in the county after the reform and opening up. Thirty were baptized in the second batch, 35 in the third, and 50 in the fifth... At present, there are more than one thousand believers of Zhuang, Miao and Han nationalities.
In order to have a legal gathering organization, the first batch of believers applied for restoration of the church, which was approved.
After that, they began to plan on how to build a church, as the family gathering site could not accommodate the increasing number of faithful. After many setbacks, they received government permission to build the church. Despite the absence of design and construction teams, and funds for the construction, God opened the way. The first Christian church in Shangsi County was built, starting from March 2004 until July 2005.
In the early days of gathering after the church was built, pastors from Guangxi CC&TSPM (Christian Council & Three-self Patriotic Movement) were invited to preach and preside over the communion on the first Sunday of each month, as there were no full-time pastors except Rev. Ling. Having finished one-year training in the Guangxi CC&TSPM, Sister Zeng Bihui went to Hunan Bible School to study for three years. After returning to her hometown and serving in the church for three years, she was ordained as a pastor, becoming the first pastor in Shangsi County after the reform and opening up. At the same time, eleven staff workers from the church went to the Guangxi CC&TSPM to be trained as volunteer evangelists. Currently, the church has two full-time and five volunteer pastors.
The church is a three-story building combining Chinese and Western elements, with a usable area of 600 square meters (0.148 acres) and a floor area of 1,400 square meters (0.346 acres). The church sits northward, with a striking cross on the wall of the west gate on the second floor. Different from other churches with "Immanuel" as background, there is a big map of the world under the cross inside the sanctuary of the church. On the map, bold red letters are written to express the grace of God: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)
Located in Shangsi County, Fangchenggang City, the church is the first multi-ethnic church mainly composed of Zhuang, including Yao and Han nationalities. They contribute a certain amount of cash every month to the pastors in the surrounding meeting points.
In order to better shepherd the congregation, they hold two Sunday services, the first in local dialect and the second in Mandarin.
Another highlight of this church is the openness of its finances. They disclose the financial affairs once a week to the congregation in the form of a table, including how much is contributed by the believers, raised by the church, and how the money is used.
Decorated with lights and festoons on each Christmas, Easter, Spring Festival, and other traditional Chinese festivals, the church organizes its members to perform artistic programs to praise God through hymns, dances, sketches, and Nativity plays. In response to the government’s request of participating in public welfare activities, the church makes donations to the disabled, the sick, poor students and people in disaster.
(The original article is published by Gospel Time)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
2020年12月11日，笔者有幸拜访了广西壮族自治区的防城港市上思县福音堂。
上思教会早在1875年，英国牧师就在上思州城永泰街建立了基督教福音堂。1939年，福音堂有牧师等神职人员5名，之后由于日军飞机的轰炸，随即停止了活动。
改革开放后，到了1996年底，在我国台湾省台北县年近七十岁的零代明牧师孤身一人返乡回到上思县，他看到家乡父老乡亲依旧崇拜民间信仰，也没有基督徒，深感亏欠乡亲们福音的债。于是在其钟鼓楼旧居、零如清姊妹的家里开始了上思县六十年后的基督教圣经分享聚会。这个聚会点点亮这空白的信仰天地。
在没有教堂，只有民宅代替的聚会点，零代明牧师克服各种苦难，邀请时任广西基督教三自爱国运动委员会主席梁保罗牧师，宣讲福音。到了1997年1月份，黄享等28位弟兄姊妹接受洗礼，成为改革开放后上思县第一批的基督徒。有了这第一批信徒，于是就发展了第二批30人受洗、第三批35人，第四批是50人……直到现在有一千多位的壮族、瑶族、汉族信徒。
为了有一个合法的聚会组织，第一批信徒奔走于政府机关，恢复成立“上思县基督教福音堂”，后获批准。
随着信徒的增加，现有的家庭式聚会点，已经不适应了,之后就开始策划如何建立一座教堂。找到一块适合建堂的地点，几经周折后他们得到政府审批获准建立教堂。在建堂资金的短缺、没有设计队伍、没有施工队伍的情况下，上帝打开了道路。从2004年3月开工，到2005年7月竣工，终于建成了上思县第一座基督教堂。
福音堂在聚会和建堂初期，除了零代明牧师外，是没有专职的牧师或者传道人。当时邀请广西两会牧师每个月第一个礼拜天来讲道和主持圣餐礼。曾碧慧姊妹去自治区两会培训一年，后来考试通过又到湖南圣经学校深造三年。学成后返回家乡上思福音堂，三年后被按立为牧师。这是改革开放后上思县第一位牧师。与此同时，教堂还有十一位同工先后到自治区两会接受培训，成为义工传道人。现在，上思福音堂已经有专职传道人两位、义工传道人五位。
上思县福音堂的教堂是中西合璧的3层楼，使用面积为600平方米，占地1400平方，具有壮族风格特色。教堂坐南朝北，二楼西门墙上有一个醒目的十字架。与其他教会教堂的主堂为“以马内利”等为背景不同，上思教会主堂十字下面为世界大地图，地图上用醒目的红色大字表述基督徒信仰的恩典：“当信主耶稣，你和你一家都必得救。”（使徒行传16章31节)
上思县基督教福音堂，是防城港市、上思县第一个由壮族为主，包括瑶族、汉族在内的多民族的教会。他们每月都要拿出一定的现金去给周边的聚会点的传道人补贴。
为了更好地牧养会众，上思教会的主日崇拜，分为两场。第一堂是本地话聚会，第二堂是普通话聚会。
这个教堂还有一个亮点，就是财务的公开。财务每周都要公开一次，面向会众，把信徒所奉献的款项、教堂所募集的资金，都做什么用了、用在哪里、花销多少，用表格的形式向全体信徒公布。
每到圣诞节、复活节、春节各个节期和中国传统节日，上思福音堂都是张灯结彩的气氛。教会组织弟兄姊妹进行文娱活动和表演，大家通过赞美诗、舞蹈、小品、圣剧等表达对上帝恩惠的赞美。也响应和参加政府号召的公益活动，为抗灾救灾、为治病救人做出了多次的奉献、还帮残助学……。
（本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人。）
https://m.gospeltimes.cn/portal/article/index/id/54693
广西上思福音堂简介
Starting from scratch, a Guangxi church has more than one thousand churchgoers of Zhuang, Miao and Han nationalities.
Built in 1875 by a British pastor in Yongtai Street, Shangsi County Gospel Church had five pastors and other clergy in 1939. After that, all activities were stopped due to bombing by Japanese planes.
By the end of 1996 after the reform and opening up, Pastor Ling Daiming, who had been living in Taipei County, Taiwan Province, nearly 70 years old, returned alone to Shangsi County, his hometown. He found that there were no Christians among the villagers who still adhered to folk beliefs. He felt obliged to preach the gospel to his folks. So the Bible sharing gathering was started 60 years after the church was closed at the home of his sister, Ling Ruqing, who lived in the Bell and Drum Tower. This gathering made up for the blank world of faith in the county.
Without churches but only a private house, Rev. Ling overcame all kinds of difficulties to invite Rev. Paul Liang, chairman of the Guangxi TSPM, to give sermons. In January 1997, 28 believers including Huang Xiang, who is now the head of the church, were baptized, becoming the first batch of Christians in the county after the reform and opening up. Thirty were baptized in the second batch, 35 in the third, and 50 in the fifth... At present, there are more than one thousand believers of Zhuang, Miao and Han nationalities.
In order to have a legal gathering organization, the first batch of believers applied for restoration of the church, which was approved.
After that, they began to plan on how to build a church, as the family gathering site could not accommodate the increasing number of faithful. After many setbacks, they received government permission to build the church. Despite the absence of design and construction teams, and funds for the construction, God opened the way. The first Christian church in Shangsi County was built, starting from March 2004 until July 2005.
In the early days of gathering after the church was built, pastors from Guangxi CC&TSPM (Christian Council & Three-self Patriotic Movement) were invited to preach and preside over the communion on the first Sunday of each month, as there were no full-time pastors except Rev. Ling. Having finished one-year training in the Guangxi CC&TSPM, Sister Zeng Bihui went to Hunan Bible School to study for three years. After returning to her hometown and serving in the church for three years, she was ordained as a pastor, becoming the first pastor in Shangsi County after the reform and opening up. At the same time, eleven staff workers from the church went to the Guangxi CC&TSPM to be trained as volunteer evangelists. Currently, the church has two full-time and five volunteer pastors.
The church is a three-story building combining Chinese and Western elements, with a usable area of 600 square meters (0.148 acres) and a floor area of 1,400 square meters (0.346 acres). The church sits northward, with a striking cross on the wall of the west gate on the second floor. Different from other churches with "Immanuel" as background, there is a big map of the world under the cross inside the sanctuary of the church. On the map, bold red letters are written to express the grace of God: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)
Located in Shangsi County, Fangchenggang City, the church is the first multi-ethnic church mainly composed of Zhuang, including Yao and Han nationalities. They contribute a certain amount of cash every month to the pastors in the surrounding meeting points.
In order to better shepherd the congregation, they hold two Sunday services, the first in local dialect and the second in Mandarin.
Another highlight of this church is the openness of its finances. They disclose the financial affairs once a week to the congregation in the form of a table, including how much is contributed by the believers, raised by the church, and how the money is used.
Decorated with lights and festoons on each Christmas, Easter, Spring Festival, and other traditional Chinese festivals, the church organizes its members to perform artistic programs to praise God through hymns, dances, sketches, and Nativity plays. In response to the government’s request of participating in public welfare activities, the church makes donations to the disabled, the sick, poor students and people in disaster.
(The original article is published by Gospel Time)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Brief Introduction of Guangxi Shangsi Gospel Church
