Advent marks the beginning of the church’s preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ. According to Zhangpu County Church’s plan for staggered Christmas celebrations across local churches during the 2024 Advent season, Shancheng Church has been selected as the first venue to commence the festivities.
Shancheng Village, situated in Shiliu Town, Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, is a historic mountain village with over 1,000 residents across 300 households. Since the introduction of the gospel, the number of believers has steadily grown. With approval from the municipal government, the Shancheng Meeting Point was established. Despite its small congregation, the meeting point has consistently hosted outdoor Christmas celebrations yearly due to a lack of enough indoor space. This year, with the completion of a new church building, the community could finally celebrate Christmas in a warm indoor setting.
In recent days, church members have been preparing for festival performance rehearsals, while the church staff have been organizing Christmas gifts, inviting relatives and friends to attend, and selecting suitable performance programs. Due to the small size of the choir, the church’s minister, Pastor Wu Shanguang, has taken on the role of choir instructor, teaching them to sing and play the piano.
Additionally, local churches, including Zhangpu Puyi Church, offered support during the rehearsals, sending co-workers to the village to assist and guide the rehearsals.
The rehearsal process was demanding, but participants reported gaining spiritual insights and strengthening their sense of connection and camaraderie with fellow members.
According to the church leader, this Christmas event will involve not only urban and county churches in Zhangzhou but also several churches from neighboring districts and counties.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission, and the author is a Christian in Fujian Province.)
- Edited and translated by Poppy Chan
