china hope booklet -final
DESCRIPTION
Helping the Church in China through the sale of Chinese Christian artwork.TRANSCRIPT
ChinaHope
Helping the Church in China through the sale of Chinese Christian artwork.
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What is China Hope?
China Hope is a project started by a small group of Christians in China, France, and the U.S. to assist the Church in China finan-cially through the sale of Chinese Christian artwork. The focus
for our initial project is the Protestant Church of Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, China.
The funds raised through the sale of the art work will go towards train-ing pastors and lay leaders, and assisting the church in setting up social outreach programs. The church would also like to open a center for the elderly, as there are many elderly members of the church.
China Hope was inspired by Hongyu, a Chinese man who came to know Jesus while visiting his daughter in Grenoble, France. (Read his testi-mony on page 10.)
After returning to China and settling into a local registered church, Hongyu began to see many needs within the church and wanted to do something to help. He especially sensed the need for trained pastors and lay leaders to meet the needs of an ever growing congregation.
Many Chinese leaders today say the one of the greatest needs in Chinese churches today is trained leaders. Without adequately trained leaders, strange beliefs, heresies, and even cults can develop. New and existing churches need well-trained leaders who can help in discern-ment and keep churches biblically sound.
Sunday morning worship service.
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The Protestant Church ofLianyungang City Jiangsu Province, China
In 1910, an American Southern Presbyterian Pastor, John W. Vinson, and
Doctor Mu Geng Yang came to Lianyungang City and Xinpu (the district where the church is currently located) and began to preach the gospel.
They rented a private house at Xinpu and turned it into a church. In the late 1920s, Pastor Gan Ruilan became the first pastor.
During the “Cultural Revolution” from 1966 to 1976, the church building was occupied by a children’s clothing factory.
After 1978, the new govern-ment started reforms and implemented a policy of religious freedom. In August 1981, the Xinpu church re-opened and the building was restored. The church is a registered church and a member of both the Three-self Patriotic Movement (TSP) and the Chinese Council of Churches (CCC).
The church started to thrive. As it continued to grow, the original 4,500 sq. ft. building could no longer meet the needs of a
growing congregation. Believers earnestly prayed for
the construction of a new building, and God heard their prayers. The government approved their application for land. The faithful, enthusiastic members contributed to the funding.
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In December 1993, a new church building was constructed. Today, it holds about 1,700 people.
Three worship services are held every Sunday to accommodate the approximately 4,000 members.
In addition to Sunday worship, a Bible study conference is held twice a week, a prayer meeting once a week, a social meeting once a week, and a youth gathering once a week. About 85 smaller Bible study groups meet twice a week in various homes.
In TSP churches, sermons are generally conservative expositions of a biblical text, focusing on topics like salvation, ethics, or seasonal themes. They encourage believers to help society as part of their witness to Christ’s love.
The Senior Pastor, Gan Liming, is the youngest daughter of Pastor Gan Ruilan, the church’s first pastor. She is joined by two other
pastors, two elders, five preachers (3 of whom are the pastors), and eight deacons who serve the church.
Many of the church members are poor and uneducated —some are illiterate. Many are elderly and the majority are women.
Besides the need for trained lay leaders to serve an ever growing congregation, the church has a wish to build a retirement home for the elderly.
Despite the financial poverty of the members, they are faithful to the Bible’s teaching on giving. Between 2004 and 2010, the Protestant Church of Lianyungang City, along with other churches in the area, gave 1.05 million yuan (approximately $142,000) for disaster relief and social care.
The church has a good reputation in the area, and they give to the glory of the Lord.
Leaving church.
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The images on each scroll are
hand painted in traditional
Chinese free-hand style on rice
paper using Chinese ink and
watercolor.
Scripture verses are hand
caligraphied. The painting is
then hand mounted on a scroll
made from cotton damask & silk.
Each scroll is stamped with the
artists personal artist“chop” or
seal.
The scrolls presented in this
catalog are just a few examples
of the many scrolls available.
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Jeremiah 29:11For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
China Hope
30 cm x 70 cm
Philippians 4:13For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
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1 Corinthians 13:4, 7-8Love is patient; love is kind; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
Chinese Christian Art
Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and ac-ceptable and perfect.
30 cm x 70 cm
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Isaiah 55:12For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace. The mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
China Hope
Psalm 23:1-3The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me be-side quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
30 cm x 70 cm
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$ ea.
30 cm x 70 cm
Psalm 121:1-2I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who make heaven and earth.
Chinese Christian Art
30 cm x 70 cm
Exodus 33:15For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.
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My name is Hongyu, I am 71 years old and I am from China.
I used to be an atheist. In China, we have many ethnic
groups, and each has its own belief or religion. I never had an interest in any of the religions and I never wanted to know them.
I was an engineer and researcher. I did a lot of industrial design and robotic production. I be-lieved that all life was based on materialism; that the earth was a result of natural selec-tion and competition among species, and that humans evolved from apes. I be-lieved that materialism was the source of everything, and that science was the only way to find and test the truth.
However, when I met difficulties that I couldn’t deal with, or when I saw unfair things, I would cry out to whatever god was in the sky: “God, open your eyes, help me!” I didn’t know the God I cried out to was Jesus.
The day after we arrived in France to visit our daughter, my wife and I had a big quarrel with her. She asked us to believe in Jesus. She said that if we believe, our soul can go to heaven; if we don’t believe, our soul
will go to hell. She also said that “we are equal in the sense that we are all created by God.” Our opinion was, everyone has the freedom to choose to believe or not. We stopped the quarrel, but I felt very frustrated and upset.
My wife and I discussed the quar-rel; what had caused it? Was it our
daughter’s belief or some-thing else? I thought there was some misunderstanding. So we decided to read the Bible. I didn’t want to believe in God, but I wanted to understand the Bible, so that I could correct my daughter’s
opinions. I wanted to be able to dis-cuss with her, so that she would listen to us and follow our instructions as her parents.
I started reading the Bible and I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t know why I was so excited when I read it. My eyes became tearful, my voice began to break up, and I couldn’t talk. I continued to read, there were a lot of things that I didn’t under-stand. My daughter suggested that we read some Chinese Christian books and watch some preaching DVD’s in Chinese. We listened to some famous Chinese pastors. Then we started to
How We Found Jesus:Two Testimonies
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re-read the Bible. With the help of my daughter, and especially the help from her friends Howard and Dona, I got to know God. I felt like a lamp was light-ing up my heart.
We went to activities at our daugh-ter’s church—some meals and Bible studies. I couldn’t understand the lan-guage, but I liked the church services, the atmosphere, and the close relation-ships among Christians. They were so harmonious, so loving to each other. Our hearts were touched profoundly and we enjoyed them very much. Through reading the Bible and reading Christian books, we came to know the only God and we decided to believe in him.
Knowing Jesus is the best gift I received during my visit to France. All my sins that had cumulated for 71 years were washed away. I felt relief; I felt a new life in me. I'm given a new job, to work for Jesus in China.
. . . .
My name is Shoulou. I’m 64 years old and I’m From China.
Before I retired, I worked for the state. In the small village where grew up,
most families believed in gods. When we built a house, there was a big lounge-hall in the middle. In the lounge was an altar. On the altar was a piece of red paper on which was written the order of things that we should respect: “Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents,
Teacher.” Whenever we walked into the door, we could see them and remember them. When we had traditional festivals, we put offerings in front of them; we worshiped first heaven, then earth, then ancestors. When there was a marriage, the new couple would kneel down four times before it. When we met difficulties or when someone was ill, we would pray to them and ask for a blessing.
My grandmother and my father all believed there was a god, but I don’t know if they believed in the true God. I didn’t believe in God at all.
When I went to France with my husband, we participated in activities organized by my daughter’s church. I saw that Christians were sincere, friendly, sympathetic, and I was very touched. I started to read the Bible with my husband.
Through studies, I got to know God. He is the creator and manager of the world, he is the only true God, and I decided to believe in him. I realized I was sinful. I believe Jesus is God’s only son, and to redeem our sin he was crucified on the cross and resurrected after three days.
I prayed that Jesus would wash away my sin and give me eternal life. I opened my heart and let the Holy Spirit come and live in it, to control my life, supervise my action. I want to be a good daughter who satisfies her heavenly Father.
