Pinghe County government returned the real property to a church in China's southeastern coastal Fujian Province, as it was occupied by another organization 70 years ago.
As an ordinary house in Chinese style, Gospel Church in Jiufeng Town, Pinghe County, was occupied by other organizations after the Chinese Revolution of 1949. Following the guidelines of the State Council on the issues of real property of religious organizations, the county government held an executive meeting this year to discuss the disputes over land ownership of the church, agreeing to return all the land use rights and house ownership and informing the church to conduct the building registration.
With the gospel being introduced in 1905, a church belonging to the Church of Christ in China was established in Jiufeng Town, located in Pinghe County, which was established in 1518 and whose name was given by the emperor. Chen Shiyi, Chen Shi, and Zhang Xiangxian once nurtured believers in the church belonging to Luxi Church.
According to the Pinghe Christianity Gazetteer, the American Church of Christ sent a pastor whose Chinese name was Rev. Lu Jiubo to Pinghe in 1872 to preach the gospel. After 1892, 14 churches and chapels were successively built, including Nansheng Church, Wuzhai Church, Wenfeng Chapel, and Xiazhai Chapel. In 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded, there were 1,042 Christians in Pinghe and 35 Christians in Jiufeng. In 1946, the owner of Jiufeng Church was Liu Jihe from the Church of Christ in China.
According to the local elders in Jiufeng, before 1949, foreigners and American female believers went to give sermons at Jiufeng Church, holding services on Saturdays and Sundays and distributing milk and candy to the attendees.
Though the church was closed due to being occupied after 1949, the gospel was spread again by Sun Shujuan from Zhangzhou in Fujian. Together with other believers of Zhangzhou Church, Sun preached the gospel to his husband’s family in Jiufeng on October 1, 2000. After prayers, the Lord healed Zeng Chunhui, the youngest man of the family, of his repeated fever which did not improve even after taking medicine. Later, they led Zeng and his wife in offering prayers of confession and repentance. The next morning, the couple asked these Christians to help them remove the idols in their home, deciding to worship God wholeheartedly. In order to strengthen their faith, Zhangzhou Church sent two young pastors to serve in Jiufeng in November 2000. Arranged by the church after the Spring Festival in 2001, Zeng and his wife went to the Shencheng Church of Quanzhou City to attend a class for believers, participating in the Bible study class held by the Zhangzhou Church in Hongkeng Village, Nanjing County. On July 1 of that year, they were baptized, becoming the first Christian couple in Jiufeng after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Then they returned to Jiufeng to spread the gospel till now.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author is a Christian in Fujian Province.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
福建省有一个平和县，1518年建县，名字是皇帝所赐，其建县历史已达500多年了。从平和建县后至1949年中华人民共和国成立的这段历史，九峰镇都是平和县城。
清光绪年间（1905年）就有福音传入九峰，并在九峰设立平和中华基督教会教会，与芦溪、潭皮（东槐）礼拜堂一起隶属芦溪堂会，陈式毅、陈是、张向贤先后在这里牧会。据《平和县县志》记载，同治11年（1872年）美国基督教公会派卢九伯牧师到平和传道…..光绪18年（1892年）后相继设立坂仔、侯山、南胜、五寨等堂会和文峰、双溪、前坂、霞寨、九峰、安厚、大溪、芦溪、东槐等支会。全县计有堂、支会14处。至1949年，平和全县有教徒1042人，九峰基督教徒有35人。1946年礼拜堂的所有权人是“中华基督教堂”代理人是“刘纪河”。
据九峰当地老人们回忆，解放前曾有洋人、美国姑娘到九峰基督教堂讲道，周六、周日皆有聚会，而且有分牛奶、糖果等食物给参加的人，因此当地人称当年信教的人徒是“吃教仔”（闽南语）。
解放后，九峰信徒因教堂被占用停止了聚会。上帝仍顾念九峰百姓，福音于公元2000年借着漳州孙淑娟姐妹再次传入。2000年10月1为还传福音的债，她带漳州基督教会何德俊，李和平，温谦，彩根等弟兄姐妹到九峰夫家传福音 。当天晚上为夫家最小的儿子曾春辉祷告，求主医治他反复发烧，吃药也不见好转的疾病并带领曾春辉夫妇作了决志祷告。神迹彰显在他家中，孩子退烧了。第二天早上，曾春辉夫妇要求漳州教会的弟兄姐妹帮他们清除了家中的偶像，开始专心敬拜上帝。为帮助曾春辉夫妇在信仰上立定根基，漳州教会于2000年11月即差派李月女，郭恩秀两个年轻传道人到九峰驻点宣教。2001年春节后，在漳州市基督教会的安排下，曾春辉夫妇去泉州狮的深埕教会参加了陈勇灵举办的健康改良班，后又参加漳州教会在南靖县红坑村举行的查经班，7月1日夫妇同时受洗，成为新中国成立后平和九峰第一对信主的夫妇，返回九峰广传福音至今。
解放后的平和九峰中华基督教堂（九峰镇东街 130号、130-1号、132号）被外单位占用，其建筑风格与一般民居无异，是一所中国式礼拜堂，也是中华基督教会自立运动的产物。70多年来，该教产归属未能解决。今年9月27日，平和县为进一步落实《国务院批转宗教事务局、国家建委等单位关于落实宗教团体房产政策等问题的报告的通知》（国发〔1980〕188号）文件精神，县政府召开第十二次常务会，研究平和九峰基督教聚会点土地权属争议案件事宜，原则同意将平和县九峰镇东街 130号、130-1号、132号土地使用权及房屋所有权全部退还平和九峰基督教聚会点。根据县政府第十二次常务会会议精神及《平和县自然资源局关于解决不动产登记若干历史遗留问题处理意见（试行）》有关规定，已向平和县九峰基督教聚会点发出办理教产登记的通知。
注：本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系福建福州一教会信徒。
福建省平和县九峰福音堂
Pinghe County government returned the real property to a church in China's southeastern coastal Fujian Province, as it was occupied by another organization 70 years ago.
As an ordinary house in Chinese style, Gospel Church in Jiufeng Town, Pinghe County, was occupied by other organizations after the Chinese Revolution of 1949. Following the guidelines of the State Council on the issues of real property of religious organizations, the county government held an executive meeting this year to discuss the disputes over land ownership of the church, agreeing to return all the land use rights and house ownership and informing the church to conduct the building registration.
With the gospel being introduced in 1905, a church belonging to the Church of Christ in China was established in Jiufeng Town, located in Pinghe County, which was established in 1518 and whose name was given by the emperor. Chen Shiyi, Chen Shi, and Zhang Xiangxian once nurtured believers in the church belonging to Luxi Church.
According to the Pinghe Christianity Gazetteer, the American Church of Christ sent a pastor whose Chinese name was Rev. Lu Jiubo to Pinghe in 1872 to preach the gospel. After 1892, 14 churches and chapels were successively built, including Nansheng Church, Wuzhai Church, Wenfeng Chapel, and Xiazhai Chapel. In 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded, there were 1,042 Christians in Pinghe and 35 Christians in Jiufeng. In 1946, the owner of Jiufeng Church was Liu Jihe from the Church of Christ in China.
According to the local elders in Jiufeng, before 1949, foreigners and American female believers went to give sermons at Jiufeng Church, holding services on Saturdays and Sundays and distributing milk and candy to the attendees.
Though the church was closed due to being occupied after 1949, the gospel was spread again by Sun Shujuan from Zhangzhou in Fujian. Together with other believers of Zhangzhou Church, Sun preached the gospel to his husband’s family in Jiufeng on October 1, 2000. After prayers, the Lord healed Zeng Chunhui, the youngest man of the family, of his repeated fever which did not improve even after taking medicine. Later, they led Zeng and his wife in offering prayers of confession and repentance. The next morning, the couple asked these Christians to help them remove the idols in their home, deciding to worship God wholeheartedly. In order to strengthen their faith, Zhangzhou Church sent two young pastors to serve in Jiufeng in November 2000. Arranged by the church after the Spring Festival in 2001, Zeng and his wife went to the Shencheng Church of Quanzhou City to attend a class for believers, participating in the Bible study class held by the Zhangzhou Church in Hongkeng Village, Nanjing County. On July 1 of that year, they were baptized, becoming the first Christian couple in Jiufeng after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Then they returned to Jiufeng to spread the gospel till now.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author is a Christian in Fujian Province.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Government Returns Church Building Property
