At the end of August, I visited a church in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province. The ancient city is the political, economic, and cultural center of Northeast China.
On August 27, Sunday, at Grace Church Liaoyang County, Elder Zhang Jinfang preached a sermon titled “Noah Was Separated From the World,” citing Genesis 6:9 and Luke 17: 26–27. She explained the differences in faith, behavior, and endings between believers and nonbelievers.
The church was built in 2005, covering a construction area of more than 2000 square meters (0.494 acres) and a floor area of 774 square meters (0.184 acres). Built in the Gothic style, it was originally a stinking puddle and a dump. Now behind the church is the East Wangzhuang lotus pond, a popular scenic spot with a length of 1000 meters and an area of several acres.
When the church was planned to be built, some people did not believe it and said, "How is it possible for a few women to build a church from scratch?" When funds were scarce, they relied on believers’ offerings, as well as lent money. Elder Zhang offered all the money originally intended to buy a house, and some believers donated 100,000 yuan or even 200,000 yuan. The foundation stone was laid on June 6, 2005, and the main body of the church was completed three months later.
The number of believers has grown from less than 100 to over 300 now. A few years after its construction, the church had neither internal nor external debts. They have a pastoral team and other functional teams. There is a main hall, an auxiliary hall, sound equipment, and musical instruments in the church which has sound rules and regulations.
This church participates in social charity and has been awarded the titles of “Liaoyang Charity Star” and“Place of Civilized Religious Activities.”
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author reported in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
