On May 19, Elder Zheng Datong, who coined the phrase "Wenzhou, China's Jerusalem" and was imprisoned for his faith three times, passed away in Wenzhou at the age of 84.
A young pastor surnamed Zhou, who lived in a city in East China, shared three impressive stories of receiving guidance and help from Elder Zheng Datong during his twenty-plus years of ministry.
Elder Zheng Datong once served at the Puxieshi Church in Lucheng District, Wenzhou, with a deep enthusiasm for church history and literature ministry. Holding a doctor of ministry degree, he was a poet and a painter. Since the 1980s, he has published books including Revelation Illustrated and The Path of Blessing: A Poetic Life in Christ in Singapore and Hong Kong.
In 1998, Elder Zheng took Zhou to attend a church worker training session in Anji, Huzhou, Zhejiang, asking him to give a sermon during the gathering. Upon hearing this, Zhou was very frightened, facing so many staff workers and pastors, as he was just starting to learn how to preach. Elder Zheng told him not to be afraid, promising to support him as much as possible.
Inspired during the meeting, Zhou intended to preach a sermon titled "Serving with Power," which he had never been involved in. Elder Zheng told him, "I once wrote an outline for a sermon on this theme. I'll find it for you and just preach boldly." After Zhou delivered the sermon, Elder Zheng told him, "You preached very well. The Holy Spirit enlightened you to give this sermon in such a meeting, so you will become a powerful witness of God in the future." From then on, encouraged and affirmed by Elder Zheng, Zhou began to serve actively in the church.
In 2002, the church where Brother Zhou was serving encountered problems. He prayed for more than six months, asking God to prepare a church where he could commit and serve. One day, Elder Zheng called Zhou to lead a Bible study in a youth fellowship, but he had not engaged in this ministry before. He recalled, "In the second half of 2002, I started leading Bible studies in this youth fellowship and have continued until now. We've studied the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of John, the Book of Romans, and Genesis, and now we're studying 1 and 2 Samuel. I can't say I've brought much to the fellowship, but through teaching and studying the Bible, my life and ministry have been completely transformed. Since Elder Zheng gave this opportunity to me, I have been serving in this fellowship till now."
On another occasion, Zhou preached about how to make life choices. He shared that when a person makes major decisions in life, his conscience should be clear. Sitting in the audience, Zheng later pointed out that he did not cite the Bible to support his argument. He suggested that Zhou change to give sermons based on Bible verses.
In conclusion, Zhou said, "I find that among the church workers we are familiar with, it is very difficult to find a few people with whom we can have deep conversations about theological issues, biblical challenges, and the problems we encounter in our ministry. Elder Zheng was an outstanding person in this regard, but now God has taken him away. I have lost a good teacher, a good pastor, a cross-generational friend, and an elder who once cared for my family like a father."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
周弟兄是在华东一座城市的一位青年牧者，服事的二十多年的时间里曾经得到郑大同长老的指导和帮助。他分享了3个让他记忆深刻的故事。
1998年，郑大同长老带着周去了浙江湖州安吉参加同工培训会。郑要求周在聚会里面讲一场道，周得知以后非常害怕。因为作为刚开始学习讲道的人，面对的都是同工、传道人。而郑长老让他不要害怕，说后面会尽量配合他。
周弟兄很想讲满有能力的服事这个主题，但是这个主题他从来没有讲过。而郑长老对他说：“这个主题的讲道提纲我以前曾经写过，现在我给你找出来，你只管放胆去讲。”在他讲完这篇道之后，郑长老对他说，“上帝让你在这样的场合讲这样一篇道，你以后要成为一个大有能力的为上帝证道的人。”从此之后，受到郑长老肯定和鼓励的周弟兄就开始在教会中参与服事。
2002年的时候，周弟兄服侍的教会出了问题。他就祷告了大概半年多的时间，求神为他预备可以委身和服事的教会。有一天郑就打电话给周弟兄，让他到一个青年团契那里带查经，在这之前他从来没有带过查经。周回忆说：“我在2002年的下半年，我就在这个青年团契开始查经，一直查到现在。我查了马太福音、约翰福音、罗马书、创世记等等书卷，现在在查撒母耳记上下。我不能说我给团契带来什么，但是我在那里上课、查经，我的生命、我的事奉、我的人生完全被改变了。这是郑老师为我开启了一条很广阔的服事之路，现在我还是在这个团契里服事。”
还有一次在讲道中，周弟兄讲了如何进行人生选择。他说每一个人在自己的人生做重大选择的时候，都一定要遵循良心平安的原则。当时郑长老就坐在台下听，后来指出他没有引用具体经文为他的论点作证。他说作为传道人，宣讲的是真理的信息，一定要有圣经经文作为依据。
周最后说：“我个人有一种很深的一种感受。今天在教会当中、我们所熟悉的同工当中，想要找几个可以跟我们很深入的交流的人却很难。神学难题、圣经难题、服事当中遇到的问题等等，可以与之进行深刻地交谈，这样的牧者却很难找得到。郑老师是其中很杰出、很优秀的人，但是现在上帝把他接走了。我失去了一位好师长、好牧者、忘年交，失去了一位像父亲一样关心我的家庭非常慈祥的老人。”
华东一青年牧者怀念郑大同长老
On May 19, Elder Zheng Datong, who coined the phrase "Wenzhou, China's Jerusalem" and was imprisoned for his faith three times, passed away in Wenzhou at the age of 84.
A young pastor surnamed Zhou, who lived in a city in East China, shared three impressive stories of receiving guidance and help from Elder Zheng Datong during his twenty-plus years of ministry.
Elder Zheng Datong once served at the Puxieshi Church in Lucheng District, Wenzhou, with a deep enthusiasm for church history and literature ministry. Holding a doctor of ministry degree, he was a poet and a painter. Since the 1980s, he has published books including Revelation Illustrated and The Path of Blessing: A Poetic Life in Christ in Singapore and Hong Kong.
In 1998, Elder Zheng took Zhou to attend a church worker training session in Anji, Huzhou, Zhejiang, asking him to give a sermon during the gathering. Upon hearing this, Zhou was very frightened, facing so many staff workers and pastors, as he was just starting to learn how to preach. Elder Zheng told him not to be afraid, promising to support him as much as possible.
Inspired during the meeting, Zhou intended to preach a sermon titled "Serving with Power," which he had never been involved in. Elder Zheng told him, "I once wrote an outline for a sermon on this theme. I'll find it for you and just preach boldly." After Zhou delivered the sermon, Elder Zheng told him, "You preached very well. The Holy Spirit enlightened you to give this sermon in such a meeting, so you will become a powerful witness of God in the future." From then on, encouraged and affirmed by Elder Zheng, Zhou began to serve actively in the church.
In 2002, the church where Brother Zhou was serving encountered problems. He prayed for more than six months, asking God to prepare a church where he could commit and serve. One day, Elder Zheng called Zhou to lead a Bible study in a youth fellowship, but he had not engaged in this ministry before. He recalled, "In the second half of 2002, I started leading Bible studies in this youth fellowship and have continued until now. We've studied the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of John, the Book of Romans, and Genesis, and now we're studying 1 and 2 Samuel. I can't say I've brought much to the fellowship, but through teaching and studying the Bible, my life and ministry have been completely transformed. Since Elder Zheng gave this opportunity to me, I have been serving in this fellowship till now."
On another occasion, Zhou preached about how to make life choices. He shared that when a person makes major decisions in life, his conscience should be clear. Sitting in the audience, Zheng later pointed out that he did not cite the Bible to support his argument. He suggested that Zhou change to give sermons based on Bible verses.
In conclusion, Zhou said, "I find that among the church workers we are familiar with, it is very difficult to find a few people with whom we can have deep conversations about theological issues, biblical challenges, and the problems we encounter in our ministry. Elder Zheng was an outstanding person in this regard, but now God has taken him away. I have lost a good teacher, a good pastor, a cross-generational friend, and an elder who once cared for my family like a father."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Young Pastor Remembers Wenzhou Elder
