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Where there are Chinese...

God has been at work in the South East of England. Over the last two years the Chinese Christian Fellowship in the town of Guildford has seen around 40 people come to Christ. One of the leaders tells their story …

God has a purpose for the Chinese people. We have a dream, that one day the land of China will not only be filled with the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also be a place of mission to the whole world.

In the meantime, owing to historical circumstances, the past few decades have seen many Chinese migrate overseas and scatter all over the world. Their destinations have included South East Asia and the United States, as well as Europe. For the past 20 years, China has adopted an outward open door policy, which has meant waves of Chinese students studying overseas to learn from the West. It is the vision that ‘Where there are Chinese, may Christ be there also’ that has seen the raising up of Chinese churches and fellowships around the UK.

The first great thing

In Guildford, though the Chinese community is small, the university and other colleges have brought Chinese students into the town. God is faithful. In the 1970s a Chinese Christian Fellowship (CCF) was started in Guildford. Since then some people have come and some have moved on, but a few students decided to stay, settle down in Guildford, and raise their families. Today you can see a number of generations of Chinese Christians in the town. They have faithfully served the local church here. This is the first great thing that God has done in our fellowship in the past.

There was a couple from the Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM) staying in Guildford to serve in the student ministry and to pastor the CCF in Guildford. They left in summer 2002 to be missionaries in China. Their departure marked a new phase in the life of the fellowship.

God adding

God has blessed us and added to our number. In the beginning there were seven or eight, but nowadays our meetings see an average of around 30. The work he has done in our fellowship is similar to other churches. It’s a place for evangelism and many Chinese have turned to Christ. It’s a place for discipleship, and both Chinese as well as non-Chinese Christians have received spiritual nurturing during their stay in the fellowship. It’s a place for mission, with brothers and sisters receiving God’s call to serve him now and in the future. It’s a place for love, so we are just like a family, walking together and supporting each other in our journey of life.

Individuals

Several individual stories and incidents illustrate the great things the Lord Jesus has been doing in the CCF over the last two years.

There is a lady who became a Christian in the fellowship around three years ago. Her faith was so strong, and her testimony so good, that in the end all her housemates became Christians over the course of two years. She went back to China last year. She has received a calling from God to open a Christian bookstore in her home city. God is faithful, and the bookstore opened at the beginning of this year. I am sure that God will use this bookstore greatly, to fill those who are spiritually hungry for God.

Relatively speaking, we are only a small fellowship, but God has called us not only to serve our own needs, but also to serve the greater body in Christ. In 2004, our fellowship acted as host of the South England Easter Conference (SEEC), a regional conference for the CCF in South England. The Lord has blessed us so much, and the following was the testimony we wrote after the camp.

‘Thank God for granting us this unique opportunity to serve him. Originally, I thought it would be too heavy for us to serve the other fellowships. Most of us are young Christians. It is very easy to get burned out and give the devil a foothold. In the end, it turned out to be a blessing. The Lord is gracious and has kept us. He stretched us so that we can fully realise our potential and capabilities. He enlarged our horizon so that we can see his works. He grants us unity and binds us together. It’s amazing to see that most of our friends became Christians during the camp, and at least three have responded to the call to commit their lives to serve God full time. I was surprised as I never expected God would reward our fellowship in this amazing way. This is our testimony. He is good.’

Good memories

Maybe the above testimony can also apply to our fellowship for the past three years. Looking back, serving in the fellowship has left us with a lot of good memories. We are normal. Many of us are young Christians. We still experience ups and downs in our lives when we are carrying his yoke to serve. There were times when our hearts were discouraged by the huge workload and we just wanted to escape it. There were times when we have made some silly or terrible mistakes. There were also times when we wanted to give up as the results of our work were not as we ex-pected. Still God is gracious. He never forsakes us, and he has carried us through. He has blessed us and rewards us abundantly in his timing. This is our testimony: ‘Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him’ (Psalm 126.5-6).

Please continue to remember our fellowship in your prayers. After this summer, many of us will have graduated and will move on to another place. We don’t know the future, but we know that God will provide.

Pray that his work can continue to be preserved in Guildford. Where there are Chinese, may Christ be there also. May Christ bring the gospel back to China, and through China and other nations may the gospel be brought back to Jerusalem. This is our dream.