Beijing Shouwang Church Announcement on May 22nd Outdoor Worship Service
Dear brothers and sisters:
Peace in the Lord! On May 22nd, Shouwang had her seventh Sunday outdoor worship service. Many believers invited each other in advance and agreed to go to the planned location together on Sunday, to continue to experience victory in Christ.
May 22nd, Beijing, sunny. Most believers, identified as those who would join the outdoor service by local police, were detained at home since Friday, and were not able to go out. Therefore, only a few dozen people arrived at the planned location for outdoor worship on Sunday. Some small groups had Sunday service nearby. Some believers who tried to enter and those who managed to enter the planned location were taken away by plainclothesman waiting there. As far as we know, twenty-five believers were taken away on Sunday morning (including an elder sister who is in her eighties). They were then sent to thirteen different local police stations. Like the last time, believers taken away were treated more gently by the police. Till the evening of 22nd, except one sister, the other twenty-four believers were released within twelve hours. As one sister witnessed, the elder sister who is in her eighties, shared her faith and proclaimed the gospel in powerful ways in a police station; she is a great testimony for our Lord, and is a great example for us.
In the past few weeks, brothers and sisters, week after week, wave after wave, went to the planned location, were taken away, yet continued to worship on the bus or in police stations, and witnessed their faith before policemen and government officials. From the bottom of our hearts, we are thankful for them; we are proud of being their sisters and brothers in Christ to serve our Lord together in the same church. By saying this, we do not mean that we are able to do these by ourselves, but that we do see the presence of God in our church; we are weak, but God sustains us with his faithfulness and with his mighty hands. We believe that no force is able to overcome the power from our Lord Christ, for Christ has overcome the world. Therefore, no single force is able to separate us from the love of Christ. Though “for Lord’s sake we are being killed all the day long and we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered,” we “in all these things are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
We give thanks to the Lord. We all witnessed that the love of the Lord is among us, and we are able to experience the love in the body of Christ in a deeper sense in this battle. When people were taken away, there were believers waiting outside the police stations to pick them up. Believers visit each other, join small group and fellowship activities, and especially fervently pray for each other in Christ. As more than then ten pastors, co-workers and other believers were detained at home and were watched 24 hour by guards, many believers visited them and expressed their care and love. All these enable us to have a closer relationship with each other, and our lives are connected in a deeper way. We believe that, as long as there are witnesses of God’s love among us, Satan’s trick of splitting the church is bound to fail.
As we experience the victory in Christ, we also need to be alert; we ought to give all the glory to our God. We need to be aware of our weakness, and not to be slack, since this battle is not over yet. Therefore, we need to pray more fervently and ask God for perseverance and hope, so that we can gain strength from the peace and joy granted by God to hold on, until he makes a way out for us. We sincerely believe that, those who look up to him will experience victory, complete victory, with him.
May peace and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the mercy and love of Father God, and the console and the unifying work of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, be with each brother and sister of Shouwang Church and all the churches who remember Shouwang Church in prayers, from this time on and forevermore! Amen.
Beijing Shouwang Church
05/23/2011
Photo posted by ChinaAid: Shouwang Church met outdoor on Nov. 1, 2009 in a snowstorm
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