On Sept 23, after nearly 7 years of preparation, Anqing Church Music Training Center had its opening ceremony in Anhui, with 30 students enrolled from Anqing and other affiliated rural church choirs.
At the start of the ceremony Preacher Guo Yangbing, the class' teacher, led the students and other preachers in "Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus" and prayed with people for the opening ceremony. Pastor Zheng Yuguo, chairman of Anqing Christian Love Committee shared the reason of starting the Music Class, as well as the meaning, prospect and purpose of it.
Pastor Zheng said they had been planning to start a holy music training center since early 2010, when 400 choir members gathered together praising from eight counties near the city. Since then, all the churches would host a union praise meeting in the city, while the choir members agreed they needed to improve after they exchanged their opinions. Four years ago, a group led by Pastor Zheng went to Xiamen to study in their holy music training center in order to prepare their own.
It is with the help from the preachers and teachers in Xiamen that the Anqing music training center finally started this year. The class lasts one year. 30% of studies consist of Bible Study taught by the Anqing Church pastors, and the rest is music class taught by the teachers from Xiamen holy music training center. "The opening of the Music Training Class is a milestone for the development of the choirs of the entire city" said Pastor Zhang.
At the ceremony, Pastor Yao Youquan from Tongcheng Church encouraged the students to study hard and grow their spiritual life together with their music skills to better serve the church afterwards. Preacher Guo Yangbing also encouraged the students to follow the class rules, keep a positive attitude toward study, work hard and do not let down the expectation of the church. The delegate for the teachers, Chen Yi, said that the students should have a correct understanding of the holy music, "We hope everyone will improve greatly in their overall music accomplishment through a year's study and take the lead in future choir service.
The ceremony successfully concluded in the hymn "Voice of Praise" and a prayer by Pastor Yao.
