“I have great concern for small churches, especially rural churches, and in order to help them, I set up the Christian second-hand unused equipment exchange WeChat group where people could share information with each other about their second-hand equipment such as audio and video equipment, tables and chairs and pulpits, etc. and help each other through them, " said Liu Canwei, a young Christian in Liaoning Province while adjusting audio equipment for a county-level church.
The WeChat group named "Christian Free Secondhand Resource Group" was set up in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province by Brother Liu Canwei, who has studied theology at Northeast Theological Seminary for four years and has worked for both the seminary and church. Sharing his original motivation to establish the group, Liu said, "I did some part-time job when I started serving God in the ministry. During that time, I helped maintain and repair audio equipment and teach tuning for some churches for free, through which I not only lived out my love but also accumulated some tuning experience. After visiting some churches, I have found that churches have problems concerning their audio equipment, mainly because of their financial difficulties."
The first is that some churches lack money to buy new audio equipment to replace their old and broken ones, though the sound of the old equipment is worse than the speaker of those who set up stalls in the market; the second is they lack talented people who know how to use the audio equipment, even if they can afford to buy a set of audio equipment; the third is that some churches use their money unwisely because they do not know how to choose good audio and blindly believe that expensive equipment will guarantee good quality; the fourth is the error of those controlling the church’s mixer since tuning is necessary in order for the audience to hear clearly.
Liu Chanwei also discovered a hardware problem plaguing churches: some of the "big churches" in the city have put away some of the equipment in the warehouse that still has value and can be used, while some of the "small churches" and rural churches that lack money are using broken equipment. Their chairs are falling apart and pulpits are worn out; some electronic organ keys are not working and the audio and video equipment is rudimentary; and their walls are peeling. Brother Liu then started thinking about how to better use these second-hand equipment and materials by creating a platform to connect big churches to small ones.
Then, Brother Liu established a WeChat group through the Internet, which is composed of nearly 100 ministers and members from more than 40 churches mainly located in the northeastern provinces. He set up the group hoping that the rich churches can help the poor churches with their unused materials and equipment including chairs, pews, pulpits, pianos, cars, old audio equipment, audio and video equipment, lamps, etc., as long as they are not obsolete, still usable, or can continue to be used after repairing. The owner of these equipment can donate them or sell them to a needy church at a low price.
The platform works as the bridge between the "supplying and demanding" sides who can share their needs for free in the group. At the same time, Brother Liu is providing consultation and technical advice and services on the installation, adjustment, and maintenance of audio and video equipment in the church. Although this group has not been established for a long time, there are already unused resources such as LED displays, floors, and lamps provided by its members.
- Translated by Alvin Zhou
我特别想关注一下基层小教会，尤其是农村教会，就是想通过主内的二手闲置设备，比如音响设备、桌椅讲台、视频、音频设备等等，大家互相交流，互通有无。对这个农村教会有一点儿帮忙帮助。”辽宁省沈阳市一位年轻的基督徒刘灿伟弟兄在为一间县级的教会调试教堂音响设备时说。
辽宁省沈阳市自发成立的微信群：“主内免费禾场二手资源群”。这个微信群的创建者是曾经在东北神学院学习过四年、并且在神学院和教会服侍过的刘灿伟弟兄。谈到建群的初衷时他说：“我开始一面服侍一面做兼职工作。其间我免费为一些教会做音响系统维护保养和调音教学，这不仅在爱心方面有操练，同时也积攒了一些调音经验。走了一些教会后，我发现教会在音响方面有着不同的问题，主要是教会经济上的困难。”
第一是一些教会的音响设备极其陈旧，没有钱买新设备，音响的声音还不如市场上摆地摊的喇叭好听；其次是人才的缺乏，即使有钱购置一套音响设备，但是却不会使用；第三是钱花的冤枉，由于对音响好坏不了解，盲目追求价格和高档，而效果并不好；第四是教堂调音台的错误，听众要想听得清楚，就需要调音调清楚。
刘灿伟还发现一个困扰教堂的硬件问题：就是一些城里的“大教会”淘汰下来的一些还有利用价值的设备有的放在仓库里“睡大觉”，不能充分发挥作用；而有的“小教会”、农村教会用的板凳快散架，讲台破旧、电子琴按键失灵、音视频设备简陋、墙面脱皮等，教会无钱购买也无钱修复，又处于一种缺乏的状况等。刘就想到了怎么样将主内的一些设备、物资等变闲置为利用、把供和求链接起来。
于是刘弟兄就通过网络建立了一个微信群，群内成员主要是来自东北三省和其它省份的40多间教会、近百名的教会教牧同工和肢体。建群的目的就是希望有条件的教会帮助条件较差的教会，将闲置的物资、设备，例如，座椅、凳子、讲台、钢琴、汽车、旧音响设备、音频视频设备、灯具等等，只要不是报废、还能用的，或者是经过修复后还能继续使用的，看看是否哪间教会需要，或是资助奉献或是便宜卖给有需要且经济匮乏的教会都可以。
在这里，“供求”双方可以直接“见面”、直接交流；可以免费发布多余物资的供应信息、可以免费发布需求的信息，起到了一个供需双方的桥梁和纽带作用。同时，刘弟兄在教堂的音视频设备方面提供咨询和安装、调试、维修等技术方面的咨询和服务。这个群虽说是建立的时间不长，但是已经有人提供了LED显示屏、地板、灯具等闲置物资。
记辽宁一家主内免费禾场二手资源群
“I have great concern for small churches, especially rural churches, and in order to help them, I set up the Christian second-hand unused equipment exchange WeChat group where people could share information with each other about their second-hand equipment such as audio and video equipment, tables and chairs and pulpits, etc. and help each other through them, " said Liu Canwei, a young Christian in Liaoning Province while adjusting audio equipment for a county-level church.
The WeChat group named "Christian Free Secondhand Resource Group" was set up in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province by Brother Liu Canwei, who has studied theology at Northeast Theological Seminary for four years and has worked for both the seminary and church. Sharing his original motivation to establish the group, Liu said, "I did some part-time job when I started serving God in the ministry. During that time, I helped maintain and repair audio equipment and teach tuning for some churches for free, through which I not only lived out my love but also accumulated some tuning experience. After visiting some churches, I have found that churches have problems concerning their audio equipment, mainly because of their financial difficulties."
The first is that some churches lack money to buy new audio equipment to replace their old and broken ones, though the sound of the old equipment is worse than the speaker of those who set up stalls in the market; the second is they lack talented people who know how to use the audio equipment, even if they can afford to buy a set of audio equipment; the third is that some churches use their money unwisely because they do not know how to choose good audio and blindly believe that expensive equipment will guarantee good quality; the fourth is the error of those controlling the church’s mixer since tuning is necessary in order for the audience to hear clearly.
Liu Chanwei also discovered a hardware problem plaguing churches: some of the "big churches" in the city have put away some of the equipment in the warehouse that still has value and can be used, while some of the "small churches" and rural churches that lack money are using broken equipment. Their chairs are falling apart and pulpits are worn out; some electronic organ keys are not working and the audio and video equipment is rudimentary; and their walls are peeling. Brother Liu then started thinking about how to better use these second-hand equipment and materials by creating a platform to connect big churches to small ones.
Then, Brother Liu established a WeChat group through the Internet, which is composed of nearly 100 ministers and members from more than 40 churches mainly located in the northeastern provinces. He set up the group hoping that the rich churches can help the poor churches with their unused materials and equipment including chairs, pews, pulpits, pianos, cars, old audio equipment, audio and video equipment, lamps, etc., as long as they are not obsolete, still usable, or can continue to be used after repairing. The owner of these equipment can donate them or sell them to a needy church at a low price.
The platform works as the bridge between the "supplying and demanding" sides who can share their needs for free in the group. At the same time, Brother Liu is providing consultation and technical advice and services on the installation, adjustment, and maintenance of audio and video equipment in the church. Although this group has not been established for a long time, there are already unused resources such as LED displays, floors, and lamps provided by its members.
- Translated by Alvin Zhou
A Christian Free Secondhand Resource Group in Liaoning Province
