MINISTRY//A church reopens

Churches in China are beginning to reopen now that the pandemic has eased. At least some churches. The government is requiring the approved churches to certify that they are supportive of the government before they can open. Unapproved churches are under closer scrutiny. They are shut down when found.

One small group of Christians that looks to 316NOW for direction, describes their return to worship.

After the long epidemic, the church can finally resume its gathering. Before the worship, we  thought that there might be few people coming. But unexpectedly, 28 people, including five children, came to the worship service last week.

Through this epidemic, we deeply realized how much we need God's grace and how much we want to worship our God and praise Him for his mercy and protection.

During this long period of isolation, we thanked God for keeping us in his loving care through two ways. He provided:

• 316NOW pastors online to minister to us through daily Word teaching, on-call personal care counseling and leadership training.

• The weekly teaching and preaching by our members. Most Sunday sermons are based on the message from the church year preaching course.

What you can do: Help 316NOW continue to provide our students who are working to form biblical congregations. Give NOW.