Recently, Jilin Provincial CC&TSPM ordained 16 pastors, including eight Ethnic Koreans.
On September 25, nine people from Yanji City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, in China’s northeastern Jilin Province, were ordained as pastors. Most of the ordained pastors graduated from the Yanbian Korean Theology Class, according to the Jilin CC & TSPM (China Council & Three-Self Patriotic Movement)
On September 24, Jilin CC & TSPM held an ordination ceremony at Fumin Christian Church in Meihekou City. Seven pastoral staff from Liaoyuan City, Tonghua City, Baishan City, and Meihekou City were also ordained as pastors.
According to the Jilin CC & TSPM, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is located on the eastern border of the China, bordering North Korea and Russia.
Four pastors laid their hands on the pastors who were ordained. Pastor Ren Dazhong, the chairman of Jilin TSPM and president of Jilin CC, officiated at the ordination. She gave a sermon entitled, "The Mission of Pastors", based on Ephesians 4: 11-13. She emphasized that everyone who was ordained must be aware of their calling as pastors and they must be separated from the world. The mission of the pastor is to shepherd the Lord’s flock, help them to be perfect, and build up the body of Christ. In the service of God, pastors must perform their duties properly and in order. She especially emphasized that the pastor must be an example of believers and have clean hands and a pure heart to honor God. To be a loyal shepherd, pastors should learn from Jesus to lay down their lives to protect the sheep according to God's will.
According to the Jilin CC & TSPM, they ordained eight Korean pastors in Yanbian State to strengthen the border areas against the infiltration of foreign heresies. Ordaining more Korean pastors, some smaller churches in the border areas can have pastors, so the churches along the border can be more stable.
-Translated by Abigail Wu
