On Feb 8, 2017, the Shuitang Church in Guizhou hosted its dedication ceremony with about 800 people from surrounding churches attending the ceremony.
The church was named after Shuitang Miao Village, according to Brother Yang Xingpin, the first theological student of the church.
Shuitang Miao Village is located in the southwest part of Shuicheng County, at an altitude of 1,800 meters. With over 500 households and nearly 3,000 people, it is surrounded by high mountains on three sides and a single road between two mountains is the entrance to the village.
Shuitang Church was founded in 1994, but long before its foundation, more than 20 people in the Miao Village were already touched by the faith of Manike Church (the mother church of Shuitang Church) in Yezhong Town and accepted Christ. In June that same year, the Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs asked the local People's government to allow a temporary meeting place in the house of Yang Xinghai, who had just converted. With no preachers helping them, the believers could only sing songs, and learn to read when they gathered together. However, the numbers of believers grew to over 100 at the end of the year. Pastor Xiong Jiaji, chairman of CCC&TSPM of Shuicheng County at the time, anointed Yang Xinghai as an Elder, Yang Long as a preacher, and Xiong Jiahai as deacon, thus officially founding Shuitang Church.
When the church was first founded, its teachings were to love the neighbors, serve society, glorify God, and benefit people all from Manike Church. However, teachings from some other churches, such as pursuing a spiritual life, living a consecrated life, refusing to interact with non-believers, and using serving chopsticks even between Christians to avoid contaminating each other's spirit were also introduced to them. The church chose the former and became a church with serving chopsticks to the core.
The fellow workers of the church corrected these unbiblical concepts in May 1998 and pulled the direction of the church back on track. The church recommended Brother Yang Xingpin to apply for the Guizhou Christian Theological Class (currently known as the Guizhou Bible School) in that same year and he was accepted. In 2003, Brother Yang was admitted to Sichuan Theological Seminary with a bachelor degree, and the two brothers were recommended to study in Guizhou Christian Theological Class. In 2006, one of the two brothers was admitted by Sichuan Theological Seminary.
Right now, there are a couple of people who are theological students that serve full time at the church and this basically meets the needs of the church and ministries. The church has carried out over 30 activities related to the church's self-construction and aiding the poor and weak people of both Christians and non-believers, as well as financially challenged college students.
Translated by: Grace Hubl
