Zhanggong District CC&TSPM, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, held a thanksgiving testimony service last Saturday for a 100-year-old pastor at Gospel Church in Xijin Road.
Pastor Ju Zengxi cited Psalms 103:1-5, 116:8, 12-13, and 89:1, to describe God’s grace in his life during the service, according to Ganzhou CC&TSPM.
Born into a Christian family in 1921, he was saved from death several times by God in his childhood. Together with four other persons, he was baptized in the Ji'an branch of the China Inland Mission after the Dragon Boat Festival in May 1937.
After studying in Shanghai Spirituality Training Theological Seminary starting from 1950, he worked as a full-time pastor in Ganzhou Church at the age of 32. Although having retired in 1990, he still worked for the Lord so that people in remote mountainous areas could hear the gospel. He was very grateful to the Lord that he had the "five good qualities". First, he had a good memory, so he could always keep in his heart the Bible verses which he could share with other faithful. Second, he had a good and sonorous singing voice, so he could lead everyone to sing and worship the Lord wherever he went. The third were his good ears, so he could communicate with others since retirement until now. Fourth, with good strong legs and feet, he could walk 100 miles a day to work for the Lord. The last was his good popularity, with which he could get along well with men, women and children.
He had brought the good news to 18 counties’ churches in southern Jiangxi. He missed the Ji'an churches in his hometown, so he also gave sermons in churches in Taihe, Suichuan, Yongfeng, and Shuinan Town in Jishui County. He was welcomed by church members, as he was approachable and his sermons were simple and easy to understand. Many brothers used their cars to drive him to different places to work for the Lord. Some believers in the mountains also brought food, vegetables, clothes and shoes to him. What was more to be grateful was that a brother insisted on cutting his toenails for him for more than 20 years since he became old.
Ju Jianrong shared some of his father’s little-known experiences. In her memory, though his father was a poor pastor, he once pulled around a handcart while working on earthwork in order to earn money, and also hemmed shoes in a shoe factory despite suffering from high myopia (shortsightedness). Even though he was classified as a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, he still did not lose his confidence. Sometimes she saw her father sighing up to the sky and sometimes singing, playing the piano and the flute. She said this kind of joy could only be enjoyed in Christ. Although he had no sons, he had more spiritual children in Christ.
Elder Zhu Wenhui witnessed that among all the pastors, the area of places Mr. Ju had served was the widest, while his attendance was the highest in 52 meeting points in Ganzhou city. The places where he served most were churches in Ruijin. There are 18 towns in Ruijin City, and he had served in almost all of them. It is also the place with the highest number of believers in Ganzhou City. With at least 5,000 yuan given to churches every year, he was among the pastors who contributed most. He provided his own savings of 10,000 yuan and more than 4,900 yuan which other believers gave to him for the construction of Gospel Church in Xijin Road, Ganzhou City. Over the years, he had supported countless number of theological students who returned to the church to serve after graduation. Mr. Ju also had the most gifts, as he could play the piano, teach poetry, preach, and speak the dialects of Ji'an, Nanchang, Shanghai and Ruijin, as well as Hakka. It is likely the only case in Jiangxi and one of the few in the country, where a 100-year-old pastor could still preach from the podium.
Nearly 800 believers in churches of Ganzhou City and staff from churches the pastor had served in attended the testimony meeting. The latter churches include Gospel Church in Ji’an City, Shuinan Church in Jishui County, Gospel Church in Suichuan Town, and other churches in Ruijin County, Yudu County, Nankang District, Dayu County, Chongyi County, Longnan County, Huichang County, Gan County, Xingguo County, Tandong, Tankou, Sanjiang, Fenggang, and Tangjiang.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
