Elder Yu came to Christ by singing Christian songs at a time when there was no Bible available. Comforted by the Holy Spirit in tears and prayers, he has grown along the way to the Lord's servant.
Born in 1955, Yu lost his mother at the age of five. His brothers passed away in the later years. He lived with two sisters.
There were few Christians when he was young. A Christian woman shared the gospel with him when he was seven. The woman did not meet in a church or have no Bible, but she could sing Christian songs. He followed her to sing those songs even though he was unaware that the lyrics were adapted from the Bible. The lyrics went on like this: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son...” When he heard the name of God’s one and only son, he burst into tears because he remained the only son in his family...
As the seed of faith was planted in his heart, while he was working the day and night, he sang hymns. Some other believers heard his singing and gathered people together to sing together. When they sang “God Loved the World”, they all cried and then prayed together.
When Yu was a teenager, a village woman was suddenly caught in madness. Her family worshiped a variety of gods, Buddha, and other supernatural beings to bed for healing, but there was no effect. Her husband wanted Yu to have a try. Singing a Christian song, he prayed for her. She gradually recovered. Then the villagers began to spread the news that the god whom Yu believes in is capable.
Yu walked to different villagers to attend prayer meetings every Wednesday and Friday and he walked for several kilometers at times. He was warmly received by other congregations each time. He “sang Christian songs all day along” in spite of poverty.
In 1980, he moved to another province and lived in an apartment near a church. He eventually had the opportunity to read the Bible. He attended the church and often volunteered to help. He received baptism in 1989. Later the church needed to relocate and asked if they could meet in Yu’s apartment. He agreed and bought some facilities including a large loudspeaker. He began to lead the increasing congregation.
In early 2000, he led other members to preach the gospel to people in a garden, distributing gospel tracts to passersby with one hand and holding the Bible in the other. Evangelism groups were founded for each garden. There were around 15 or 16 meeting points at the peak time.
He encountered Brother Xie who was doing mission from northeastern China in a garden. He introduced Xie to local pastors and Xie was engaged in church planting.
Now Elder Yu is ministering to several online groups in addition to intercessory prayer for some onsite churches. He gets up for preparation around 3 am and sends Bible verses and intercessory prayers to each online group at 4 am.
- Translated by Karen Luo
