Pastor Zhang Guanru went to be with the Lord at 2 p.m. on August 4, 2020, aged 97.
The CC&TSPM of Xianyang, Shaanxi issued an obituary on WeChat on the next morning. The obituary stated that to honor the memory of Pastor Zhang, a memorial service will be held at the Sanyuan County Dongguan Church on Friday. A second memorial service will be held on Saturday at the same church. In accordance with his last wishes, the funeral will be kept simple. Believers may remain in their homes as they remember Pastor Zhang, and those who are not in Sanyuan County do not have to come.
Hearing the news that the old pastor passed away, some of his students expressed their condolences with texts and photos taken with the old pastor in their early years in the WeChat Circle of Friends.
Among them, Sister Xue, who had often been in contact with Pastor Zhang, said she was reluctant to see him go. She recalled her first meeting with her teacher, "When I first met Pastor Zhang, he told me the history of the church and encouraged me to work hard for the Lord.”
Recalling the teachings of the old pastor, she said: “I remember again Pastor Zhang’s warm and powerful smile, and his firm and urgent teaching! 'Rise up for the Lord and remain faithful until death.' The words are both encouragement and a testimony of his life!"
Pastor Zhang was a former member of the CCC&TSPM and the Theological Education Committee, former deputy chairman, deputy president, honorary chairman, and honorary president of the Shaanxi CC&TSPM, former deputy president of Shaanxi Bible School, and former Chairman, Honorary Chairman, Honorary president of Xianyang CC&TSPM and senior pastor of Sanyuan County Dongguan Church.
-Translated by Abigail Wu
