In Chengcheng County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, located on the Loess Plateau, there was a pastor I knew in my early years. He had served in Shanxi for a year before, and we became good friends. More than ten years later, I renewed my understanding of him through hearing and witnessing his diligent service.
Pastor Ye Quanmin is of medium height and has a dark red face. He is simple and honest and speaks with a sense of humor. At the age of 60, he exudes maturity and sophistication. His intriguing growth and service experience are full of twists and turns.
He ran away three times and was "caught" by God's love.
Pastor Ye Quanmin was born in 1962 to a poor farmer's family in Chengcheng County. His parents came to Jesus in the 1970s, and he grew up in the village. When he graduated from high school at the age of 19, his father wanted him to believe in the Lord. To escape that, he took his luggage and went to work in a nearby brick factory. After returning home, his father wanted him to believe in the Lord, but he refused and went out to work again. However, he was cheated this time, and his wages were not paid. The third time his father wanted him to believe in the Lord, he still carried his luggage to look for work. As a result, he did not earn money, and even his clothes and bedding were stolen. So he had to return home.
Pastor Wen, in his eighties, was staying at his house at the time. He was from Dali County and had come to the village of Ye Quanmin to preach. During the meal, the old pastor preached the gospel to him, patiently talking about the salvation of Jesus. And Ye didn't think there was a God. The pastor said, "Whether there is a God, you have to find out by yourself."
And so Ye went to church for the first time in his life. Sitting in the church, he was filled with tears, his heart full of guilt because of his conscience, and he was deeply sorry for his previous disobedience. So he surrendered himself to the Lord Jesus Christ.
After he attended ten examinations, God opened the door of edification for him.
When he first went to church, he would blush in front of people, could not express himself clearly, and did not like to talk. But at that time, there were few young people in the church, so his parents encouraged him to serve and let him learn to sing hymns. He often participated in some training classes during the day and lived with old pastors at night, during which he helped to serve meals, pour water, and clean the bedpan for old pastors. He often went with them to visit, to pray for those in need, to cure the sick, and to cast out demons. In his daily life, he was busy farming, and he would work with the pastor when he was free, and he gradually embarked on the road of service.
In 1985, after attending a 105-day volunteer training course at the Shaanxi Bible School in Sanyuan County, Ye returned and began leading meetings in Chengcheng County. However, he deeply felt that what he had learned could not adapt to the needs of the church, so he had an urgent desire to study theology. With a family to support, he worked in farming and business while serving the church, leaving little time to concentrate on preparing for the exam. He insisted on taking the exam for ten years in a row from 1984 to 1994, but was not admitted.
In the spring of 1994, in order to find an annotated Bible, he and his wife came to the CC&TSPM of Shaanxi Province. They came across Pastor Yang Zihua, then chairman of the Shaanxi Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee. Pastor Yang immediately took a recommendation form for him to fill out after his wife inadvertently said, "My husband has failed to pass the theological examination for ten years." After suffering, the door for further study finally opened to him.
Equipping theology and laying the foundation for service
After that, he attended a training class at Yanjing Theological Seminary for a year. Then he took the seminary's undergraduate entrance exam and was one of only 18 out of 360 who passed the exam.
At that time, Ye was 33 years old, and there was a lot of pressure on him to learn knowledge (especially foreign languages), and he had to work very hard. Every morning he would pray and shed tears, asking God for wisdom and supporting his learning with prayer. To have more time to study, he took the initiative to take on the task of turning off the lights at night. In addition, there are many famous teachers and pastors in the seminary, and there are abundant book resources, as well as students from North China and Northwest China. Ye has been responsible for logistics, and class affairs and is the president of the Student Union. He even had the opportunity to meet some pastors from abroad.
During his studies, Ye took advantage of his expertise in the vegetable business and was responsible for the procurement of the canteen, which improved the living conditions of teachers and students. Besides, he also volunteered to cut the hair of classmates, help repair the circuit, and so on. He became acquainted with a large number of spiritual partners, and this was the five years in which he changed his destiny.
Practicing preaching and constantly sharpening himself for God's use
In 2000, after graduating from seminary, Ye came to serve the church in the Yaodu District of Linfen City. He served in Sunday service and led village meetings. He also led training classes in subordinate counties and preached almost every day. Some pastors who now serve the church in Linfen still remember the scenes of taking him by motorcycle or by car to travel all over mountains and rivers to meet in various places.
A year later, he returned to Weinan Church, the church in his hometown. From 2013 to 2018, he often taught in training courses. Later, he came to serve the church in Chengcheng County and was invited to lead gatherings in Ningxia and surrounding areas of Chengcheng County many times.
Serve faithfully and preach the Gospel only for the revival of the Church
In 2012, Ye was ordained as a pastor. He often visited weak brothers and sisters with believers. One night, he went to visit a sister who was possessed by a demon and could not hold down even by five people. Ye and his co-workers asked them to step aside and prayed earnestly three times. That sister fell and came to her senses and is never possessed ever again.
In 2018, he began copying the Bible, drawing on the experience of some churches in Beijing and has copied it eight times so far. Then some sisters followed and began to copy. Every time he copied a volume, he bound it, printed a special cover, and put it on display. The copyist would gain a sense of accomplishment by doing that. There was a sister who copied the Bible, whose husband did not believe in the Lord and was often hospitalized for illness and was in a bad mood. Later, when he saw his wife copying the Bible, he also wanted to copy it. After copying for some time, his temper changed greatly, and he was hospitalized less. In the end, that brother admitted the existence of God.
Pastor Ye said that he is a vessel used by God, and he will continue to be faithful to the Lord, be a humble servant of the Lord, and complete the Great Commission entrusted by the Lord.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission and the author is a Christian contributor. )
-Edited by Karen Luo, and translated by Nicolas Cao
