On July 4, believers who came to the Sunday worship service at the church in Yaodu District, Linfen, Shanxi Province, all received a special gift - a four-page Sunday Weekly Newspaper - after registering and taking temperatures.
In the upper left corner of the newspaper was the logo of the church, a circle with the name of the church written on it in black and white; below it was an English logo “The Christian Church in Yaodu District Linfen”.
In the center of the newspaper were the cross and the open scroll, demonstrating the concept of faith and ministry which focuses on both the cross and the Bible. The cross and the open scroll were both composed of three lines, indicating that the church would uphold the good tradition of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and revive the work of God. Above the cross is the Chinese character "山" (mountain), indicating that Linfen geographically belongs to Shanxi Province, and the character "1878" below, showing the year when Christianity was first introduced to Linfen. The annual pastoral theme of 2021 was prominently marked on the newspaper: "Uphold the Truth. Be the Disciples of the Lord", and also the pastoral theme of July: "Work Diligently. Hope for Lord’s Praise".
In addition to the above, the first page of the Sunday Weekly Newspaper had the procedure of Sunday worship service and the list of service personnel for the day. The second page contained the time, preachers, the scriptures, and outline of the sermon of the two Sunday services for that day, as well as the weekly golden verse. On the third page, there were meditations on biblical figures and the Westminster Larger Catechism. And the fourth page contained the prayer of Niebuhr (a famous British theologist and founder of Christian realism), the schedule of Christian Sunday services, major fellowship activities during the week of the church, tips on epidemic prevention and control, real-name reservations, as well as the pastoral hotline which would facilitate the believers’ queries about their faith at any time.
It is reported that the issue of the Sunday Weekly has been a major initiative of the Yaodu District CC&TSPM to promote church ministry based on overseas experience and extensive consultation.
- Translated by Elle Wang
