At the beginning of the pandemic, our church had to close, so we went online to worship together and encourage one another. We also initiated an online 5am devotional prayer gathering.
Later, as restrictions eased, we started something called a “happiness group,” which is an outreach model that we learned from Taiwan. This model gave us an opportunity to conduct evangelistic activities together. As a result of the happiness group, our church experienced significant growth, even doubling in size. Witnessing God’s work among us during the pandemic, we went on to establish our own missionary society in X Province, dispatched a small group of individuals.
During the pandemic, God had been helping and teaching us. It became a testing ground for the faith of our local church, especially as most of the foreign missionaries had to leave. We realized this as a moment of faith testing.
Noteworthy is the dedication observed in my grandfather’s church. His church used to have a gathering at 7:00 in the morning, but now they are meeting at 4:30am. The believers are still very fired up to attend this gathering. We see that even when foreign missionaries are not with us, those who are truly willing to believe in the Lord are still very eager to come and serve God.
Throughout the pandemic, amidst our various ministry activities, we witnessed God not only initiating new ministries but also bringing in a wave of volunteer workers eager to serve him. This inspired us to further diversify our ministries, gradually developing a more systematic and mature framework to organize the influx of enthusiastic volunteers. The resilience and growth we experienced were truly a manifestation of God’s grace and provision during a challenging season.
Editor’s note: If you missed the introduction to this series, “God at Work During 3 Years of Isolation,” be sure to check it out!
Image credit: Tony Eight Media via UnSplash.
Are you enjoying a cup of good coffee or fragrant tea while reading the latest ChinaSource post? Consider donating the cost of that “cuppa” to support our content so we can continue to serve you with the latest on Christianity in China.