A senior fellowship of a church in northeast China’s Liaoning Province paid a visit to its aged members.
On Thursday, March 9th, a weekly worship meeting of Joshua Senior Fellowship was held in the Wenhua Road Church, Pulandian District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province.
At 7 am, all the senior Christians and others gathered in the church, singing and praising under the choir's leadership. At 8 am, Elder Zhou Fenglou, who is over 70, boarded the altar, led the congregation in reading the verses of Ephesians 4: 20–24, and continued to preach the second lesson on life renewal in Christ. Elder Zhou preached that we should change our minds from loving the world to loving the Lord, not relying on money, but asking the Lord to make us pursue Jesus in our hearts. The gathering ended with praise and benediction from Elder Zhou.
Liu Shu'e and Li Huiqin, leaders of the Joshua Senior Fellowship, said that the fellowship was established in 2018. The oldest one was 104 years old, with several now in their nineties. The registered members amounted to about 500. At present, more than 300 members can attend the gatherings, as some cannot come to church for some reason.
The fellowship was established under the care of the church, and the core staff workers are all volunteers. The fellowship is divided into 26 groups, mostly female believers. According to reports, almost all the elderlies have joined the fellowship. Each group leader has some important knowledge of the members, such as their names and ages, their mobile phone or telephone number and WeChat ID, their address and information of family members, their physical condition and which diseases they have, their gathering attendance, and the reason for their absence. This way, the leaders could contact them by phone or visit. In addition to the gathering on Thursday, there are also quarterly praise gatherings.
The fellowship visits the believers' homes on a regular basis, as well as on an irregular basis or in exceptional circumstances. Some elderly believers lack nothing but care and love, especially those who live alone without their children and grandchildren by their side. They are eager to talk and share their feelings.
During the fellowship visit, some people would give cash and offerings. On average, RMB 30,000 was given in cash each year.
Having so many elderly and sick people, the fellowship would give them comfort and love, spiritual support, hospice care, and help in dealing with funeral affairs after they return to the embrace of the Lord. These even satisfied their unbelieving family members.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author reported in Dalian.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
3月9日礼拜四，辽宁省大连市普兰店区文化路基督教会举办约书亚团契（老年团契）每周的崇拜聚会。
上午七点，各位老年弟兄姊妹和其他年龄段的信徒们就陆续来到教堂，在诗班的姊妹带领下歌诗赞美。八点钟，年逾古稀的教会老传道人周凤楼长老登上圣台，带领会众恭读圣经以弗所书4章20至24节的经文，继续为参加者传讲《在基督里生命更新》的第二课。周长老讲道，要心志改换，将爱世心改为爱主心，不要以钱财为依靠，求主使我们心中所追求的是主耶稣。聚会在赞美和周长老送来上帝的祝福中结束。
约书亚老年团契的负责人刘淑娥姊妹和李慧琴姊妹告知：团契建立于2018年，成员都是老年人，当时年龄最大的肢体是一百零四岁，现健在的还有几位九十多岁的肢体。在册的成员约500多人，目前由于各种原因有的老年肢体不能来到教堂，能够来参加聚会的还有300多人。
约书亚老年团契是在教会的关怀下成立的，负责的同工们都是义工服侍。团契分为二十六个小组，以姊妹居多。据介绍，团契的老年人基本都在这些小组内，每个小组长对成员做到“五知”：知道姓名、年龄；知道手机、电话、微信等联络方式；知道家庭住址和家庭成员情况；知道身体状况，包括有哪些疾病等；知道在聚会日是否来了，为什么没有来等，然后做到走访或电话的联系。团契活动除了每礼拜四的聚会之外，还有每个季度的赞美聚会。
团契定期的去年老的信徒家里探访，还有不定期的或遇到特殊情况的随时探访慰问。老年信徒有的基本不缺什么，而缺少的就是关怀和爱心，特别是子女后裔不在身边的独居老人，更是渴望有人与他们说话、分享。
团契探访的时候有的送现金、有的送慰问品，平均每年送的现金达三万元。
针对团契老年人多、有部分是体弱多病的实际情况，在信徒临终关怀方面，对于病危的信徒送去基督里的安慰和爱心、在灵性上给予鼓励和帮助，直至到归天家后帮助处理后事。有些不信主的家人也很满意。
（福音时报特约撰稿人于大连报道。）
记大连普兰店文化路教会老年团契
A senior fellowship of a church in northeast China’s Liaoning Province paid a visit to its aged members.
On Thursday, March 9th, a weekly worship meeting of Joshua Senior Fellowship was held in the Wenhua Road Church, Pulandian District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province.
At 7 am, all the senior Christians and others gathered in the church, singing and praising under the choir's leadership. At 8 am, Elder Zhou Fenglou, who is over 70, boarded the altar, led the congregation in reading the verses of Ephesians 4: 20–24, and continued to preach the second lesson on life renewal in Christ. Elder Zhou preached that we should change our minds from loving the world to loving the Lord, not relying on money, but asking the Lord to make us pursue Jesus in our hearts. The gathering ended with praise and benediction from Elder Zhou.
Liu Shu'e and Li Huiqin, leaders of the Joshua Senior Fellowship, said that the fellowship was established in 2018. The oldest one was 104 years old, with several now in their nineties. The registered members amounted to about 500. At present, more than 300 members can attend the gatherings, as some cannot come to church for some reason.
The fellowship was established under the care of the church, and the core staff workers are all volunteers. The fellowship is divided into 26 groups, mostly female believers. According to reports, almost all the elderlies have joined the fellowship. Each group leader has some important knowledge of the members, such as their names and ages, their mobile phone or telephone number and WeChat ID, their address and information of family members, their physical condition and which diseases they have, their gathering attendance, and the reason for their absence. This way, the leaders could contact them by phone or visit. In addition to the gathering on Thursday, there are also quarterly praise gatherings.
The fellowship visits the believers' homes on a regular basis, as well as on an irregular basis or in exceptional circumstances. Some elderly believers lack nothing but care and love, especially those who live alone without their children and grandchildren by their side. They are eager to talk and share their feelings.
During the fellowship visit, some people would give cash and offerings. On average, RMB 30,000 was given in cash each year.
Having so many elderly and sick people, the fellowship would give them comfort and love, spiritual support, hospice care, and help in dealing with funeral affairs after they return to the embrace of the Lord. These even satisfied their unbelieving family members.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author reported in Dalian.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
Visit to Senior Fellowship of Liaoning Church
