An old female church leader shared the development of a rural meeting point in Jiangsu province, from a single believer herself alone to dozens of followers, from gathering at home to renting a warehouse, to building the first church and finally the new church building in use today.
A rural church (also referred to as Picheng Meeting Point) is located by the Yingfeng River in Linchang Village, Danbei Town, Danyang City, Jiangsu Province. Chen Zhenghua, an 84-year-old female believer, who used to be the church leader, lives in the churchyard, witnessing the changes of the church.
Chen was the first believer in the meeting point which started in 1980.
Chen received the gospel in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, when she visited her cousin-in-law at home who had believed in Jesus before the end of Chinese War of Liberation in 1949. She asked a pastor to pray and preach the gospel to Chen in poor health.
"Are you willing to follow Jesus?" her cousin-in-law asked. "Yes, I am. Jesus is so amazing that I can't reject Him," Chen responded happily.
After the pastor prayed for Chen, she was asked to pray as well. "I don't know how to pray, as I just listen to the gospel for the first time." But upon insistence of the pastor, Chen finally prayed briefly, "Jesus, you are God whom I trust in. You are so great that not only I should rely on you, but also other people."
After listening to Chen's prayer, the pastor happily said that it seemed Chen would share the gospel. However, Chen felt hesitant at the pastor’s comments, since she was most afraid of socializing with others, for which most of the time, she stayed at home alone. "When the time comes, God will open your mouth," said the pastor.
With the pastor’s prayer, Chen recovered her health. Once she returned to her hometown in Picheng Village, she began to preach the gospel.
"After I came back, more than a dozen people came to me to believe in Jesus within a month. In less than two months, my house was full of believers." Recalling her initial experience of doing the evangelism ministry, Chen was very excited, "Anyone turning to Jesus was immediately healed. Those who were sick got well, and those who would get divorced stayed happily married. They said it was wonderful to come to faith.”
When the number of believers increased to about three dozen, her house was not big enough to host gatherings, so some people had to sit outside the house. Finding a proper venue became urgent. Later the church rented and renovated a simple warehouse used by the local production team to raise silkworms as the meeting point venue.
The warehouse had served as the meeting venue for three years till some villagers intended to use it to set up a factory. Therefore, the church had to find another way out since they failed in negotiating to maintain the lease.
After moving out of the warehouse, the church hoped to build its own building. The only place available was a one-mu (0.165 acre) pond by the Grand Canal. Chen recalled, "Believers made up their minds to fill it up. Every weekend for a whole year, they collected and carried soil wherever they could find to fill the pond. Even 80-year-old senior people participated using their washbasins and small urinals."
"How can you build a church with no money?" Faced the doubts of others, Chen just said calmly, "Take time and ask God for help." Thanks to the efforts of all the believers, they finally had their own spiritual home.
With its own church building, the church developed a waist drum dancing team and a band, in which members played both folk and Western music instruments. Then, the church was not only able to provide a better worship environment, but also accommodated believers, receiving sick Christians to live in the church for a month, and even for up to half a year.
Because the church was built on a filled pond, unfortunately its foundation was not solid and it was also located on the edge of the Grand Canal. For these reasons, slowly cracks appeared in the church which became a dilapidated building. The church asked the relevant departments for instructions, hoping that they could rebuild a building in another location. The land was designated in 2009, in December of which year the building with a construction area of more than 2,000 square meters (0.494 acre) was completed .
Picheng Church reserved a suite for Chen in the courtyard of the new church, paying her retirement allowance. Her daily activities include growing vegetables in the open space for her own use and receiving visitors who come to ask for intercessory prayers.
Elder Chen Lingdi, chairman of Danyang Municipal TSPM, said that Chen had suffered a lot with tears to seek its development and had laid the foundation for the church. The new church leader, Yin, who respects Chen very much, gets along very well with her, setting an example of respecting and appreciating the elders, the elder added.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
在江苏丹阳市丹北镇林常村迎丰河边，有一座基督教堂（埤城聚会点），教堂院内住着该教会的老负责人——现年84岁的陈正华姊妹。从她一个人信主到几十人信主，从在家里聚会到租生产队仓库、建老教堂以及建如今的新教堂的经历。
埤城基督教聚会点开始于1980年。陈正华姊妹是该教会第一个信主的人。
陈姊妹是在镇江接受的福音。当时，身体不适的她来到了镇江的表嫂家。在解放前就信了耶稣的表嫂，看到陈姊妹患病，就请一位牧者为她祷告，还给她传了福音。
“你愿意信吗？”表嫂问她。“我信啊，信耶稣这么好我怎么能不信呢！”陈姊妹高兴地回应。
表嫂请来的牧者为陈姊妹代祷结束后，让陈姊妹也做一个祷告。“我不会祷告，我才来一次怎么会祷告呢？”但在牧者的坚持下，陈姊妹还是做了简短的祷告，“耶稣你是神，我信靠你，你这么好，我不能只是一个人得着，我要让更多的人得着。”
听完陈姊妹的祷告，那位牧者高兴地说，看来陈姊妹是要传福音啊。听到牧者的话，陈姊妹更是不敢当，因为她最害怕跟人交往，生活中大多时候是自己一个人待在家里。“到了时候神就开你的口了。”那位牧者说道。
得到牧者的代祷后，陈姊妹的身体康复了，回到埤城老家，她就开始传福音。
“回来后，一个月就有十几个人来到我这里信耶稣；不到两个月，屋子就坐得满满的了。”回忆起初传福音的经历，陈姊妹很兴奋，“来一个，好一个；来一个，好一个。生病的好了，闹离婚的也好了，他们说信教真好呢！”
当信徒人数增加到三四十人时，屋子里坐不下了，聚会时，屋里屋外都坐着人。另外寻找场地成为迫在眉睫的事。教会租用了生产队养蚕用的简陋的仓库，自己装修后使用。
在生产队仓库聚会三年后，村里有人要用那个仓库办工厂，教会多方协商无果后，只好另谋出路。
搬离生产队仓库后，教会希望能建自己的教堂。可供教会选择的唯一的地方，是一个大运河边的一亩多地的水塘。陈姊妹回忆了当时的场景：“弟兄姐妹下决心，‘填’！弟兄姐妹每个礼拜，哪里有土就挑啊抬啊，填了一年。八十岁老人都拿脸盆、小尿桶来干活。”
“你手里没钱怎么能砌个教堂起来？”面对别人的质疑，陈姊妹只是平静地说：“慢慢来，求神帮助呗！”在弟兄姐妹的努力下，大家终于有了自己固定的家。
有了自己的教堂，教会发展了腰鼓队和乐队，其中乐队中有民间乐器还有西洋乐器。教堂为信徒们提供了更好的崇拜环境，同时还发挥着接待信徒的作用。教会接待患病的信徒在教堂住，有住一个多月的，还有住半年的。
教堂因为是填水塘建造，根基不牢，加上处在大运河边上，教堂慢慢地出现了裂缝，成为危房。教会向有关负责部门请示，希望可以异地重建。2009年获得了土地批复，当年12月就建成了建筑面积2000多平方米的圣殿。
埤城教会在新教堂院内为老负责人陈姊妹预留了房子，还给她安排了退休工资。陈姊妹在教堂的空地上种了蔬菜，吃住都在教堂，平时接待一些前来寻求代祷的弟兄姐妹。
丹阳市基督教三自爱国会主席陈玲娣长老说：教会老负责人陈姊妹为了教会的发展吃了很多的苦，流了很多的泪，为教会打下了根基；新任负责人殷姊妹很尊重老负责人，二人相处得很好，树立了敬老爱老的榜样。
年过八旬的陈正华姊妹讲述丹阳埤城聚会点的发展历程
An old female church leader shared the development of a rural meeting point in Jiangsu province, from a single believer herself alone to dozens of followers, from gathering at home to renting a warehouse, to building the first church and finally the new church building in use today.
A rural church (also referred to as Picheng Meeting Point) is located by the Yingfeng River in Linchang Village, Danbei Town, Danyang City, Jiangsu Province. Chen Zhenghua, an 84-year-old female believer, who used to be the church leader, lives in the churchyard, witnessing the changes of the church.
Chen was the first believer in the meeting point which started in 1980.
Chen received the gospel in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, when she visited her cousin-in-law at home who had believed in Jesus before the end of Chinese War of Liberation in 1949. She asked a pastor to pray and preach the gospel to Chen in poor health.
"Are you willing to follow Jesus?" her cousin-in-law asked. "Yes, I am. Jesus is so amazing that I can't reject Him," Chen responded happily.
After the pastor prayed for Chen, she was asked to pray as well. "I don't know how to pray, as I just listen to the gospel for the first time." But upon insistence of the pastor, Chen finally prayed briefly, "Jesus, you are God whom I trust in. You are so great that not only I should rely on you, but also other people."
After listening to Chen's prayer, the pastor happily said that it seemed Chen would share the gospel. However, Chen felt hesitant at the pastor’s comments, since she was most afraid of socializing with others, for which most of the time, she stayed at home alone. "When the time comes, God will open your mouth," said the pastor.
With the pastor’s prayer, Chen recovered her health. Once she returned to her hometown in Picheng Village, she began to preach the gospel.
"After I came back, more than a dozen people came to me to believe in Jesus within a month. In less than two months, my house was full of believers." Recalling her initial experience of doing the evangelism ministry, Chen was very excited, "Anyone turning to Jesus was immediately healed. Those who were sick got well, and those who would get divorced stayed happily married. They said it was wonderful to come to faith.”
When the number of believers increased to about three dozen, her house was not big enough to host gatherings, so some people had to sit outside the house. Finding a proper venue became urgent. Later the church rented and renovated a simple warehouse used by the local production team to raise silkworms as the meeting point venue.
The warehouse had served as the meeting venue for three years till some villagers intended to use it to set up a factory. Therefore, the church had to find another way out since they failed in negotiating to maintain the lease.
After moving out of the warehouse, the church hoped to build its own building. The only place available was a one-mu (0.165 acre) pond by the Grand Canal. Chen recalled, "Believers made up their minds to fill it up. Every weekend for a whole year, they collected and carried soil wherever they could find to fill the pond. Even 80-year-old senior people participated using their washbasins and small urinals."
"How can you build a church with no money?" Faced the doubts of others, Chen just said calmly, "Take time and ask God for help." Thanks to the efforts of all the believers, they finally had their own spiritual home.
With its own church building, the church developed a waist drum dancing team and a band, in which members played both folk and Western music instruments. Then, the church was not only able to provide a better worship environment, but also accommodated believers, receiving sick Christians to live in the church for a month, and even for up to half a year.
Because the church was built on a filled pond, unfortunately its foundation was not solid and it was also located on the edge of the Grand Canal. For these reasons, slowly cracks appeared in the church which became a dilapidated building. The church asked the relevant departments for instructions, hoping that they could rebuild a building in another location. The land was designated in 2009, in December of which year the building with a construction area of more than 2,000 square meters (0.494 acre) was completed .
Picheng Church reserved a suite for Chen in the courtyard of the new church, paying her retirement allowance. Her daily activities include growing vegetables in the open space for her own use and receiving visitors who come to ask for intercessory prayers.
Elder Chen Lingdi, chairman of Danyang Municipal TSPM, said that Chen had suffered a lot with tears to seek its development and had laid the foundation for the church. The new church leader, Yin, who respects Chen very much, gets along very well with her, setting an example of respecting and appreciating the elders, the elder added.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
Over 80-Y-O Church Leader Tells Story of Gathering Site in Jiangsu
