On November 13, 2019, a five-person delegation from the Ningde Christian Council & Three - Self Patriotic Movement (CC&TSPM) of Fujian paid a visit to local churches in the subordinate Gutian County.
According to the WeChat account of "Ning News", the trip included interviewing three unregistered gathering points and a meeting.
You Qiaohua, president and chairman of Gutian County CC&TSPM, introduced the church in Gutian which has a history of more than 150 years. Its growth has slowed in recent years. There are still deficiencies in delivering social insurance to pastoral workers and in training young theological students. Besides, there are three church house properties which are yet to be recovered, owing to historical factors.
A leader from a local church reported about internal disputes to the local leaders and the team, hoping the new county-level CC&TSPM could enhance its cohesion and care more about the life of the pastoral staff who have not enjoyed social insurance in Ningde. The biggest problem facing the church in Gutian was a lack of young leadership.
The group also drove to Shanyang Church in Shanyang Town and investigated a matter of the church's clergy house still being occupied by the villagers. A meeting was held at the church in which the older generation believers shared the church history.
This trip marked the last stop of the team's nine visits to Ningde's lower-tier cities and counties.
