A Christmas thank you note

Among the Christmas greetings 316NOW received from friends in China was a note from a pastor of one of the churches we visited in October.   

The church

This church is on the edge of a city that is rapidly building forests of high-rise apartments and creating huge meadows of business parks.  The construction  will soon engulf the congregation’s property.  God willing, the city will provide room for this government-approved church to rebuild and continue its ministry.

When our team of pastors visited this church, 40 church leaders from this congregation and from area churches attended.  While our team was there, these leaders expressed heartfelt gratitude for our teaching.  But the pastor’s Christmas note demonstrated that our teaching has had a continuing impact.

We miss you

“Our church members are missing your pastors.  Their teaching laid the solid foundation of the truth for the spiritual growth of our church body,” the pastor wrote.   

But the truly gratifying part of the note followed.  Understand that this church usually brings in a well-known Chinese Christian speaker over the Christmas holiday.  But not this year.  “In this holiday season, we didn't invite a famous preacher to preach at our church.  You helped us  realize that the ministers we had invited  didn't speak a sound message.”