Editor's note: Time flows without stopping. In our limited time, some people are busy eating, drinking and marrying, some marvels at life and death and some pursue comfortable lives. There are still some who sacrifice themselves to Chinese churches, following the call from God. This series will introduce twelve preachers in Midwest China and their lives.
Today the story begins with Ms. Lin who graduated from a theological seminary in 2002. She served in a church in town for over ten years. At the age of 30, she looked like she was more than 40 years old with her rugged face.
It was her dream since she was young to study theology and become a preacher. When Lin was a little girl, she admired her elder brother for preaching on the altar. In 1999, she got a chance to study theology and was ordained as a teacher. In the church she serves, she is a teacher and a curate who can hold communion services.
Compared to the situation when she was a teenager, the church in her hometown has lost revival now, although a church building with two floors has replaced the small house. Currently, the number of the congregation decreases from about 1,000 to around 200. In the 1980s and 1990s, the church reached its top revival and believers from surrounding villages used to go there to worship. Later, some ministers expanded their churches in the surrounding areas and the believers were scattered. Many miraculous signs like healing and driving out demons happened often in the past are now a rare sight to see. However, the main reason that causes the sharp decline of the congregation number is discord in the church.
In the 1980s, Rev. Chou led the believers to found the church. That time the church had a lack of pastors so naturally Rev. Chou became the leader. However, when he was dying, he insisted that his son should inherit his position even if his son wasn't baptized. Under his strong request, he asked an old sister to baptize his son when he was lying in bed, then announced that his son, Mr. Chou was the next head of the church.
Mr. Chou, who was a land developer before, used his business experience in managing the church. In his inauguration, he announced that the church was too poor and that several churches would be set up every year. At present, there are 20 churches in the whole town with two or three churches added each year. But the church lacks the conscience of supporting preachers and even training preachers so that no seminary students exist in town.
Of course, Lin stood on the side of her brother on the issues. Since then, she could only serve in the village church of her hometown and was not permitted to preach in other churches of the town. It was like she was left in a corner. She and her brother plan to transform the church to a house church.
In the recent two years, her relationship with Chou is getting better. Last Christmas, Chou suddenly allowed Lin to preach in other churches due to her senior fellow Mr. Wei. Mr. Wei, the head of the church in the surrounding city, often asks Chou how Lin is going these days. After knowing, Wei's Chou has made some concession.
