On September 1st, I went to Cifu (Blessing) Church in Huanggu District, which is also a popular tourist destination in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. The crimson-colored church, with its Romanesque style, stands on the roadside in the bustling city, with a nursing home on the right.
According to Pastor Fan Wei, the church was originally located on Yalujiang Street in Yuhong District, Shenyang. The ethnic and religious bureau approved it as a place of worship in October 2010. After a regional adjustment, it moved to its current location in December 2012. The church occupies a construction area of 4,598 square meters (1.136 acres), with a floor area of 862 square meters (0.213 acres), and its affiliated senior apartment covers 1,008 square meters (0.249 acres). In October 2014, it was officially approved as a first-class place of worship.
The church features the shapes of an ark and a cross found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. There are a total of ten crosses on the church building. Over the years, the number of participants in Sunday services has increased from around 400 in 2005 to nearly 1,000 now. There are over 1,500 registered visitors, and the volunteer team has grown from around 10 members to 150.
Pastor Zhu Lixia, who is in charge of the church, accepted the gospel in August 1997 and was baptized into Christ in August 1998 at Dongguan Church. She graduated from the Northeast China Theological Seminary's specialized class in 2014. Since October 2009, Pastor Zhu has been serving as the leader of the church.
Speaking of the unique architectural style of the church, Zhu Lixia smiled and said, "Thank God! It was the Holy Spirit who inspired us to design it ourselves. Initially, the design proposal from professional designers was going to cost 12 million yuan, which the church couldn't afford. So, we relied on the Lord to do it ourselves."
During the initial construction of the church, they only had 1.2 million yuan in hand, while the land for the factory where the church is now located was priced at 14 million yuan. Pastor Zhu managed to negotiate a reduction of four million yuan from the selling price.
She did not borrow a single cent from other churches for the construction funds. She personally contributed more than 500,000 yuan from her family's finances. The congregation followed her to make contributions.
Zhu once suffered from a serious illness and was nearly on the brink of death. However, through God's healing, not only did she overcome the illness, but she also made a full recovery.
The Cifu Church is involved in charitable activities in the community. According to incomplete statistics provided by the church, during the COVID-19 pandemic, church members donated over 200,000 yuan. In their daily lives, they support families affected by illness or disability, with annual expenditures exceeding 30,000 yuan. Since 2020, they have been providing financial assistance to three university students, giving each of them a monthly living allowance of 500 yuan until their graduation.
Earlier this year, when certain areas of Jilin Province experienced flooding disasters, believers of the church donated 57,000 yuan, with a contribution of 3,000 yuan from the church itself, totaling 60,000 yuan. The money was then transferred to Songyuan CC&TSPM in Jilin to assist in purchasing supplies for churches in the disaster-affected areas, aiding them in their recovery and reconstruction efforts.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author reported from Shenyang, Liaoning.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
9月1日下午，我来到了赐福教堂。这里也是沈阳的旅游打卡地点。绛红色的、带有罗马式风格的教堂屹立在闹市区路边，右侧的建筑是养老院。
据范微教士介绍：皇姑首府基督教堂（赐福堂），原址在沈阳市于洪区鸭绿江街，叫做崇山赐福教会。2010年10月经宗教局批准为合法聚会场所后，经区划调整，于2012年12月迁入现址。占地面积为4598平方米，教堂建筑面积862平方米，赐福老年公寓面积1008平方米。2014年10月审核批准为甲级场所。
皇姑首府教堂的外观建筑设计围绕着“十架”和“方舟”这两个新旧约圣经中独特的信仰标志，教堂建筑物上共有十个十字架。多年来，现主日参加敬拜人数从2005年的400人增至近1000人左右。在册来访登记1500余人，义工团队由先前的10余人增至到150人。
朱丽霞教士1997年8月接受福音，1998年8月在东关教会受洗归向基督。毕业于东北神学院中专班，2014年毕业。 2009年10月至今朱丽霞教士一直担任皇姑首府基督教堂负责人。
谈起教堂的独特建筑风格，我问朱丽霞教士：这是哪个设计院给设计的？她笑着说：感谢神！是圣灵感动我们自己设计的。起初，由专业设计人员的设计方案居然要1200万元的设计费，教堂难以支付的。那就靠主，圣灵带领自己动手吧。
建堂初期，他们手中只有12万元，而购买现在教堂的厂房和地，要价就是1400万元！当朱丽霞教士将售价足足砍掉了400万元！
她在建堂资金方面没有到外面兄弟教会借一分钱。她带头拿出了自己家的钱，先后共计奉献50多万元。信徒接着努力奉献,筹到了建造的钱。
朱丽霞教士曾经罹患严重的疾病，几乎就在死亡的边缘。但是靠着神的医治，不仅是战胜了疾病，而且康复如初。
赐福堂还参与社会的公益慈善活动。据教会提供的不完全统计：在疫情期间皇姑首府教堂信徒捐款高达20余万元。同时在日常的生活中常年一直都关怀因病致贫、因残致贫等家庭，每年固定探访支出3万余元。自2020年至今资助三名大学生，每人每月500元生活费，直到大学毕业。
今年前段时间吉林省个别地区出现洪涝灾害，皇姑首府基督教堂号召信徒捐款57000元，教会拿出3000元，汇总60000元转到吉林松原基督教两会，协助松原基督教两会采购物资后送到灾区教会，帮助教会和信徒恢复重建工作。
（福音时报特约撰稿人于辽宁沈阳。感谢朱丽霞教士、范微教士提供的教堂活动历史资料图片。）
访辽宁沈阳首府赐福基督教堂
On September 1st, I went to Cifu (Blessing) Church in Huanggu District, which is also a popular tourist destination in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. The crimson-colored church, with its Romanesque style, stands on the roadside in the bustling city, with a nursing home on the right.
According to Pastor Fan Wei, the church was originally located on Yalujiang Street in Yuhong District, Shenyang. The ethnic and religious bureau approved it as a place of worship in October 2010. After a regional adjustment, it moved to its current location in December 2012. The church occupies a construction area of 4,598 square meters (1.136 acres), with a floor area of 862 square meters (0.213 acres), and its affiliated senior apartment covers 1,008 square meters (0.249 acres). In October 2014, it was officially approved as a first-class place of worship.
The church features the shapes of an ark and a cross found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. There are a total of ten crosses on the church building. Over the years, the number of participants in Sunday services has increased from around 400 in 2005 to nearly 1,000 now. There are over 1,500 registered visitors, and the volunteer team has grown from around 10 members to 150.
Pastor Zhu Lixia, who is in charge of the church, accepted the gospel in August 1997 and was baptized into Christ in August 1998 at Dongguan Church. She graduated from the Northeast China Theological Seminary's specialized class in 2014. Since October 2009, Pastor Zhu has been serving as the leader of the church.
Speaking of the unique architectural style of the church, Zhu Lixia smiled and said, "Thank God! It was the Holy Spirit who inspired us to design it ourselves. Initially, the design proposal from professional designers was going to cost 12 million yuan, which the church couldn't afford. So, we relied on the Lord to do it ourselves."
During the initial construction of the church, they only had 1.2 million yuan in hand, while the land for the factory where the church is now located was priced at 14 million yuan. Pastor Zhu managed to negotiate a reduction of four million yuan from the selling price.
She did not borrow a single cent from other churches for the construction funds. She personally contributed more than 500,000 yuan from her family's finances. The congregation followed her to make contributions.
Zhu once suffered from a serious illness and was nearly on the brink of death. However, through God's healing, not only did she overcome the illness, but she also made a full recovery.
The Cifu Church is involved in charitable activities in the community. According to incomplete statistics provided by the church, during the COVID-19 pandemic, church members donated over 200,000 yuan. In their daily lives, they support families affected by illness or disability, with annual expenditures exceeding 30,000 yuan. Since 2020, they have been providing financial assistance to three university students, giving each of them a monthly living allowance of 500 yuan until their graduation.
Earlier this year, when certain areas of Jilin Province experienced flooding disasters, believers of the church donated 57,000 yuan, with a contribution of 3,000 yuan from the church itself, totaling 60,000 yuan. The money was then transferred to Songyuan CC&TSPM in Jilin to assist in purchasing supplies for churches in the disaster-affected areas, aiding them in their recovery and reconstruction efforts.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author reported from Shenyang, Liaoning.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
History of Liaoning Church Built 13 Years Ago
