Source: Asia Harvest, December 2020
Sister Hu shares the amazing story of how their house church movement started in northeast China:
Some years ago, my son fell seriously ill with kidney disease. I visited numerous temples where I earnestly worshiped all the idols, but he got worse. Then someone at the hospital told me that if I believed in Jesus my son could be healed.
I had no idea how to pray to this Jesus, or even what prayer was. How many times must I pray? What words should I recite and what postures should I take? It occurred to me that I should take my son to Beijing and shout aloud to Jesus on the streets, in the hope that this mysterious person would hear me and find us. However, I lacked the money to travel to Beijing or to make offerings to Jesus once I found him.
My fellow workers at the factory all laughed at me when I pleaded for their help to sell my house so I could take my son to Beijing. I cried so hard that I had a stroke and was unable to talk. Feeling ashamed, my co-workers loaded me onto a cart and pushed it to a medical clinic. Two doctors treated me, and strangely one of them said, ‘God must have a plan for your life.’
Guilt-ridden because of the way they had treated me, my co-workers had a change of heart and decided to help raise money for our trip. I had no idea where to go once we reached Beijing, but the hospital administrator also had to go to Beijing for a meeting, so he accompanied us on the long train journey.
I felt overwhelmed by the crowds of people and the hustle and bustle of the big city, but the administrator took us to a hospital, where there happened to be a doctor who specialized in kidney disease. He took one look at my son and said he must be admitted immediately. We stayed in Beijing, with my son receiving treatment as I recovered from my stroke.
One day I visited a big cathedral in the city. It was the first time I had ever set foot inside a church building, but somehow, I felt at home. I began attending services there, and some sisters encouraged me to follow Jesus and dedicate my son to him. I told God that if he healed my son, I would always serve him and would share the gospel with as many people as I could.
We traveled back home on the train, and I told my boss I had enough money either to buy food or to pay the medical bills, but not both. I was perplexed about what to do, but then I remembered my vow to God, so I quit my job and began sharing the gospel with everyone I met. Soon, a small group of believers emerged, and we began a class to train evangelists and pastors. The fellowship grew quickly and became so large that it caused traffic jams in our town whenever we held a service! We rented a larger building to meet in.
Over time, the Holy Spirit revealed that we should focus on two things: evangelizing the lost and training leaders. We formed teams with five people in each, and we targeted 18 towns with the gospel. As we approached each town we prayed, and then we would look for the poorest household to share the Good News of Jesus with.
Each team was supported by an intercession and fasting chain, which operated around the clock, with believers rotating in two-hour shifts. We fasted for seven days before a campaign, and to this day we still gather every morning at 4:30 a.m. for prayer, even in winter when it’s minus 30 degrees outside.
Now, our church has grown to 40,000 believers, and we have 1,000 evangelists and pastors. We have seen God perform many remarkable things, which have helped spread his salvation message more widely. Some towns have been so thoroughly saturated with the gospel that now over 80 percent of the people are Christians.
» Read the full story. Also check out The China Chronicles, available in paperback and Kindle editions. Looks like a volume about the growth of the Church in Henan Province coming out next month.