When discussing evangelism, many people are familiar with the phrase, life impacts life. A recent visit made me realize that when this sentence is constantly said, the hardships behind it will be diluted repeatedly. The sacrifice of evangelists is ignored, and the arrogance and stubbornness in human bones are underestimated.
Like the labor pains that women must go through to give birth, the birth of every new Christian life is accompanied by blood and sacrifice. This is not easily realized and is often easily forgotten.
In a small county town in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, several senior people told a story that happened a hundred years ago. In the late Qing Dynasty, a young missionary from England and his family came here to establish a church. He bought 40 mu (equal to 1/6 an acre) of land, built a parsonage, and planned to live there permanently. Two years later, the Boxer Movement broke out, and seven members of the missionary's family were taken to Taiyuan, imprisoned, paraded, and beheaded. Twelve of the native converts were also killed by capital punishment.
One hundred years later, there was not much left of the original 40 mu of land, and the most intact was the parsonage. The whole building can still be seen in the style of that time, with the black-brick walls, the wooden floors, the mahogany stairs, the high ceiling, the fireplace in the bedroom, and the blackened wall by the kitchen boiler. Looking out from the second-floor balcony, you can see the tallest building in the county - a pavilion. Looking through the diaries of missionaries of that era, many knew that the chances of returning to their homeland were slim. The young man who came here with his family and stood on the balcony overlooking the entire county must also be determined to stay here for this life.
In a small room, the senior pastor who showed us around pulled out a board with the word "chapel" in traditional Chinese characters, an arm-length blackboard, and a pedal organ from the Beijing Piano Factory in one corner. There are a lot of antiques of the last century in the house, just as old as the people who come here, some in their late sixties, and some in their early forties. In the old house left by the missionary, one generation left, and the next generation came in. The small blackboard was replaced by the PPT, and the old organ by the piano. But the telling of the story of Jesus Christ is never stopped.
Although the number of believers is small, the lack of pastoral care in the old church has caused many disputes in the past decade. The old pastor who received us came here more than a year ago and was appointed at the age of retirement. The pastor and his wife had to drive for an hour on the highway from home to the church, which they had become accustomed to. Soon after, the church was renovated, another old building took shape with the help of enthusiastic believers, and the workers who renovated the church also believed in Jesus. After a year of teaching bible, about 40 believers began to gather constantly in the church.
Although the funds are insufficient, they still hope to receive brothers and sisters from all over the country and tell the story of the missionary who built the church. The senior pastor is optimistic about the future of the church, "here is where the blood of missionaries has been shed," and the work of spreading the gospel will definitely go well.
According to the records, 241 people (missionaries and their families) were martyred for spreading the gospel in Shanxi Province, and 23,000 martyred local believers were recorded in the journal of the China Inland Mission alone. Now, official statistics show that there are more than 400,000 believers in Shanxi.
The sacrifice of life for spreading the gospel did not occur only a hundred years ago. A believer in Anhui told a story. There was a brother from Luan, who was not a smooth-talker. After the Wenchaun earthquake in 2008, this brother and his wife went to Wenchaun to relieve the people in disaster. Feeling that people's souls needed real comfort and guidance, they stayed there to preach the gospel. Without funds or support from the church, life there was difficult for both of them. Living in a simple shack, they had to face a variety of garbage left by the chicken farmer on the floor, and the ceiling leaked rain, so they often woke up in the morning with wet quilts due to rain. This couple did odd jobs to pay rent and activity expenses for the church. If anyone was willing to listen to the bible, they would seize every opportunity to teach. In this way, he insisted until he fell ill because of a brain tumor. With the encouragement of this couple, churches in Luan began to sponsor ministers. When this brother died, his son took over his father's work and became a pastor in a church in another city.
Without Livingstone, who had walked 30,000 miles into Africa and left his heart in it, there would be no spiritual revival in Africa today. In any geographical territory, be it a continent, a country, a city, or a village, there is always the first Christian who sheds blood and tears for the spread of the gospel. A man's heart is the smallest piece of territory. The first person to preach the gospel in this territory was the missionary of this land.
It seems that evangelism in most cases today is no longer as tragic as in the above stories, and people unconsciously overlook that any gospel seed that is truly planted and rooted must be accompanied by painful sacrifice. To truly become a believer, a person should do more than accept the call, finish the twelve lessons about the Bible, and take the stage to receive a Bible. Why else would it be that nearly a hundred new believers are baptized in the church every year, while fewer and fewer people continue to attend Sunday worship? Missionaries have to live with believers, establish Bible training courses, and keep the seed growing. Meanwhile, true evangelists today must not only spend their minds so that others can hear the gospel, but they also need to devote themselves to prayer, let the Holy Spirit work, and teach Bible lessons, let the truth take root.
Who can say that those cries made to God alone for one's soul are not sacrifices? Since time is life, those believers, volunteers, and pastors who have been involved in church service since their youth are all influencing other lives with their lives. Every believer is a beneficiary of history. Do not underestimate the sacrifices of the pastors who led you and me. Remember the history, honor it, and always be thankful.
- Edited by Abigail Wu, translated by Nicolas Cao
提到传福音，很多人耳熟能详的一句话，“生命影响生命”。近日一次走访让笔者意识到，当这句话不断被稀松平常地说出，其背后的艰辛就会被一次次稀释。传福音，生命影响生命？未免太过轻飘？低忽了传福音者的牺牲，也小瞧了人骨子里的傲慢与顽固。
就像女性生产必须要经过的阵痛，每个基督徒新生命的出生都伴有流血和牺牲——哪怕没有被意识到，又总轻易被遗忘。
山西晋中一个小县城，几位老人讲述了一个百年前的故事。晚清，一个英国年轻人携家眷来到本地，建立教堂。他们购入土地40亩，建起牧师楼，准备在此常住。短短两年后，义和团运动发生，牧师一家七口被押往太原囚禁，示众斩首，妇孺皆受难。本地皈依者之中十二人也被以极刑杀害。
百年过去，当年40亩地还剩下的不多，保留最完整的竟是一栋牧师楼。整体建筑还能看出当时的风格，青砖墙，木地板，红木楼梯，高挑楼层，卧室内的壁炉，厨房旁锅炉取暖被熏黑的墙壁。从二层阳台往外望，能清晰看见本县最高的建筑——一栋楼阁。翻看那个年代宣教士的日记，许多人都知道再回故土机会渺茫。带着一家来到这里，站在阳台眺望整个县城的年轻人，想必也决心，此生都要留在这里。只是历史给了另一种残忍的方式。
带我们参观的老牧师在一处逼仄的小房间里翻出一块牌板，上书繁体字“礼拜堂”，还有一块手臂长宽的黑板，旁边一角立着来自北京琴厂的脚踏风琴。房子里这样的老物件不少，五十年代的，八十年代的，跟来到这里的人一样，有的年近古稀，有的四十出头。传教士留下的老房子里，一代人走了，下一代会进来，从小黑板到PPT，从老式风琴到钢琴，听耶稣基督故事的总不会间断。
虽然信徒人数不多，老堂因为缺乏牧养，在近一二十年出现不少争端。接待笔者一行人的老牧师在一年多前来到这里，该退休的年纪临危受命。从家到教会，一小时的高速，老牧师和师母已经习惯。不久，教堂翻新，另一栋老建筑也在热心弟兄的帮助下初具形态，修房子的工人也都信了耶稣。一年左右的圣经培训，教堂里开始有四十左右信徒稳定聚会。
虽然资金艰难，他们依然希望能接待各地弟兄姐妹来访，到时也要讲讲当年那个传教士的故事。老牧师对教会的未来不悲观，“这里是传教士流过血的地方”，福音的工作不会差。
资料记载，当年山西全省为福音受难之传教士及家人共241人，仅中国内地会会刊记载本地信徒殉教者达23000人。今天，官方统计山西已有信徒四十余万。
为福音牺牲生命的事迹并不仅仅发生在百年之前。安徽一个信徒告知一个故事。六安有个弟兄，性格木讷，不好讲话。四川地震灾害发生后，弟兄和妻子二人前去四川赈灾，后有感人们的灵魂需要真正的安慰引导，从此留在当地传讲福音。他们二人没有富足家产，也没有教会支持，在当地的生活很艰难。住在一个简单的窝棚里，下面是养鸡人留下的各种垃圾，头顶漏雨，经常早晨起来被子都被雨水打湿。平时两人打零工供给教会租金和活动费用，有人愿意来听道，就抓紧机会给人讲圣经。就这样一直坚持，直到弟兄因为脑瘤生病才返回六安。家乡教会在两人的鼓励下，开始正式资助宣教士。弟兄过世，他的儿子长大后又接替父亲的工，在另一个城市牧养教会。
没有深入非洲三万里，留下心脏在其中的利文斯顿，也不会有今天非洲的属灵复兴。任何地理疆域，不管是一个大洲，一个国家，一个城市，一个乡村，总有第一个为她的福音留下血泪的基督徒。一个人的心田就是最小的一块疆土。第一个向她传福音的人就是这块土地的宣教士。
今天似乎大多数场合下的传福音，不会再有以上故事中那么惨烈，人们也就不知不觉忽视了，任何一颗福音种子真正得以埋下生根发芽，一定都伴随着苦痛的牺牲。一个人真得成为信徒，不是接受了呼召就可以，不是完成了慕道班十二节课程就结束，不是在布道会上愿意上台领本圣经就行。否则为什么教堂里每年新增近百人受洗，坚持参加礼拜的人数却越来越少？就如宣教士还要与信徒一起生活，建立圣经培训班，不断让幼小的种子发芽长大，今天真正向人传福音的人也是如此，不仅花费心思让别人能听到福音，传了还要养，还要呕心沥血地祷告，让圣灵做工，要教导圣经课程，让真理扎根。
谁能说那些为一个人的灵魂独自向神献上的哭泣不是牺牲呢？既然时间就是生命，那些从青年时期就投身教会服侍的信徒、义工、牧者们，哪一个不是在用生命浇灌另一个生命呢？如今的每个信徒，都是历史的受益人。望不轻忽带领你我的牧者的牺牲，纪念历史，尊重他们，常常怀感恩之心。
生命孕育生命！——观殉教士所建教会之传承有感
When discussing evangelism, many people are familiar with the phrase, life impacts life. A recent visit made me realize that when this sentence is constantly said, the hardships behind it will be diluted repeatedly. The sacrifice of evangelists is ignored, and the arrogance and stubbornness in human bones are underestimated.
Like the labor pains that women must go through to give birth, the birth of every new Christian life is accompanied by blood and sacrifice. This is not easily realized and is often easily forgotten.
In a small county town in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, several senior people told a story that happened a hundred years ago. In the late Qing Dynasty, a young missionary from England and his family came here to establish a church. He bought 40 mu (equal to 1/6 an acre) of land, built a parsonage, and planned to live there permanently. Two years later, the Boxer Movement broke out, and seven members of the missionary's family were taken to Taiyuan, imprisoned, paraded, and beheaded. Twelve of the native converts were also killed by capital punishment.
One hundred years later, there was not much left of the original 40 mu of land, and the most intact was the parsonage. The whole building can still be seen in the style of that time, with the black-brick walls, the wooden floors, the mahogany stairs, the high ceiling, the fireplace in the bedroom, and the blackened wall by the kitchen boiler. Looking out from the second-floor balcony, you can see the tallest building in the county - a pavilion. Looking through the diaries of missionaries of that era, many knew that the chances of returning to their homeland were slim. The young man who came here with his family and stood on the balcony overlooking the entire county must also be determined to stay here for this life.
In a small room, the senior pastor who showed us around pulled out a board with the word "chapel" in traditional Chinese characters, an arm-length blackboard, and a pedal organ from the Beijing Piano Factory in one corner. There are a lot of antiques of the last century in the house, just as old as the people who come here, some in their late sixties, and some in their early forties. In the old house left by the missionary, one generation left, and the next generation came in. The small blackboard was replaced by the PPT, and the old organ by the piano. But the telling of the story of Jesus Christ is never stopped.
Although the number of believers is small, the lack of pastoral care in the old church has caused many disputes in the past decade. The old pastor who received us came here more than a year ago and was appointed at the age of retirement. The pastor and his wife had to drive for an hour on the highway from home to the church, which they had become accustomed to. Soon after, the church was renovated, another old building took shape with the help of enthusiastic believers, and the workers who renovated the church also believed in Jesus. After a year of teaching bible, about 40 believers began to gather constantly in the church.
Although the funds are insufficient, they still hope to receive brothers and sisters from all over the country and tell the story of the missionary who built the church. The senior pastor is optimistic about the future of the church, "here is where the blood of missionaries has been shed," and the work of spreading the gospel will definitely go well.
According to the records, 241 people (missionaries and their families) were martyred for spreading the gospel in Shanxi Province, and 23,000 martyred local believers were recorded in the journal of the China Inland Mission alone. Now, official statistics show that there are more than 400,000 believers in Shanxi.
The sacrifice of life for spreading the gospel did not occur only a hundred years ago. A believer in Anhui told a story. There was a brother from Luan, who was not a smooth-talker. After the Wenchaun earthquake in 2008, this brother and his wife went to Wenchaun to relieve the people in disaster. Feeling that people's souls needed real comfort and guidance, they stayed there to preach the gospel. Without funds or support from the church, life there was difficult for both of them. Living in a simple shack, they had to face a variety of garbage left by the chicken farmer on the floor, and the ceiling leaked rain, so they often woke up in the morning with wet quilts due to rain. This couple did odd jobs to pay rent and activity expenses for the church. If anyone was willing to listen to the bible, they would seize every opportunity to teach. In this way, he insisted until he fell ill because of a brain tumor. With the encouragement of this couple, churches in Luan began to sponsor ministers. When this brother died, his son took over his father's work and became a pastor in a church in another city.
Without Livingstone, who had walked 30,000 miles into Africa and left his heart in it, there would be no spiritual revival in Africa today. In any geographical territory, be it a continent, a country, a city, or a village, there is always the first Christian who sheds blood and tears for the spread of the gospel. A man's heart is the smallest piece of territory. The first person to preach the gospel in this territory was the missionary of this land.
It seems that evangelism in most cases today is no longer as tragic as in the above stories, and people unconsciously overlook that any gospel seed that is truly planted and rooted must be accompanied by painful sacrifice. To truly become a believer, a person should do more than accept the call, finish the twelve lessons about the Bible, and take the stage to receive a Bible. Why else would it be that nearly a hundred new believers are baptized in the church every year, while fewer and fewer people continue to attend Sunday worship? Missionaries have to live with believers, establish Bible training courses, and keep the seed growing. Meanwhile, true evangelists today must not only spend their minds so that others can hear the gospel, but they also need to devote themselves to prayer, let the Holy Spirit work, and teach Bible lessons, let the truth take root.
Who can say that those cries made to God alone for one's soul are not sacrifices? Since time is life, those believers, volunteers, and pastors who have been involved in church service since their youth are all influencing other lives with their lives. Every believer is a beneficiary of history. Do not underestimate the sacrifices of the pastors who led you and me. Remember the history, honor it, and always be thankful.
- Edited by Abigail Wu, translated by Nicolas Cao
Life Begets Life: Reflections on the Legacy of a Church Built by Martyrs
