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Loving Jesus
August 24, 2006
We had read information on the internet about some persecution in the western district of the city we were visiting. So, after arriving we decided to walk around that area to see what we could find. We found some ladies who were sitting in their doorway having just finished their afternoon rest. They began to tell us a little about the area. We asked them if they knew if there was a church nearby. We were a little surprised when they told us that in China, there were many Christians. They told us that on Sunday mornings at 7:30 there were some people who met in their home, and that they would be willing to take us there.
So, very early Sunday morning we found our way to a small home filled with two young leaders and ten older women ranging in age from 60 to 90. Two of the women sat bent over on their tiny stools, their bound feet covered in embroidered slippers. There was a praise song written on a black board and one of the younger women led everyone in learning the song. After singing a few more memorized songs a little off-key (they had no praise song books), the other young leader, Sister Cheng*, began to teach the unresponsive crowd. When the meeting concluded we asked the leaders if they were a meeting point or a house church. They told us that they were indeed a house church. They proceeded to offer to take us to a young persons' meeting that was going on all that day.
The two young women took us on a five-minute taxi ride to the next location. Immediately after we got in the taxi, they started asking the driver if he believed in God and then told him that he should! We arrived at a larger house that had over 100 high school students, college students and young working people. We discovered that this was their annual two-day summer meeting. The day before, 200 people had come, with the believers inviting non-believing friends so that they could hear the Gospel. Although there was some adult leadership, there were about five to ten young people who were very involved in the planning of the event. Except for the teaching, they were in charge of performances, playing games and a prize system with books and notebooks given out. The "Aunts" that were there were only involved in cooking and in praying for the young people during the meeting.
All around the room hung balloons and streamers. The was a sign written
in garland hung on the wall that said in Chinese, "God loves me." The teacher
that morning was Sister Yuan*. She taught the students that God is love,
which happened to be the theme of the weekend. Unlike the majority of Chinese
teachers, Sister Yuan was animated, asking for responses from the kids,
and asking them questions from the day before making sure that they remembered
what she had taught. If the students started getting antsy or distracted,
all she did was say, "Hallelujah!" to which they responded "Amen!" Then
the room would be quiet again. Almost every student wrote notes during the
sermon, some of them even taping it on audio cassette. Around the room,
you could see each one wearing a different T-shirt (made for the meeting)
with the words, "God Loves China," "I ♥ Jesus," "Jesus Loves Me," and "The
Lord Loves China' on the black, white, orange and blue shirts.
During praise and worship time, students raised their hands in worship, closing their eyes with their faces toward heaven, and they sang the songs with a passion that only comes from truly believing the words that are being sung. They all had their own stories and talked about their friends having noticed a change in their lives — all the while giving credit to God. When asked about sharing their faith, these young believers knew that they were to share their stories. They knew their lives must exemplify the Great Commission to the world around them. Each Sunday, 20 to 30 young people meet together for their own service. The older students have been meeting together since middle school. There is also a middle school age group that meets in another location. Praise God for passionate youth!
* Name Changed
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