Fifteen years ago, in a small city in northern China, Sister Ren began each morning by starting up her taxi. Newly baptized at the time, she kept a stack of church-issued gospel tracts in her car. Whenever passengers got in, she would greet them, ask about their destination, and offer a blessing, "Blessed are you, God bless you," along with a tract. Some declined, others accepted, and some glanced at it briefly before setting it aside, yet she managed to distribute nearly all of them each day, which made her very joyful.
Despite this, she did not enjoy attending church services then but focused on earning a living. Even so, she was always willing to provide transportation for church activities and liked listening to fellow believers share their reflections during the rides. Over time, however, excessive work led to a severe herniated disc, forcing her to stop driving, exhausting her savings, and leaving her in both physical and financial hardship.
Her turning point came through a Christian woman surnamed Zhang, who visited her almost daily during that period to give her a massage. While doing so, Zhang would encourage her, saying, "Why are you still lying down? Get up and come to the gathering." Deeply moved, Ren responded, "I'd rather attend the meetings than continue lying here."
Sister Zhang later earnestly encouraged Sister Ren to join a training program in another city. Initially, Ren hesitated, thinking, "Bible study is for preachers; how could I be worthy of that?" But Zhang's words, "Let the pastors lay hands on you and pray for your healing," moved her, and she agreed to go.
In the three-month training, she engaged in serious, structured Bible study for the first time. On the first day, during introductions, participants shared the churches they served and the roles they held, explaining that they had come to better equip themselves for ministry. Feeling increasingly self-conscious, Ren finally stated honestly that she had joined the training for physical healing, which raised an unexpected round of applause. The teacher told her, "Your faith has healed you."
Although the instructor never prayed for her specifically, the sisters who lived in the same dormitory prayed for her daily. Within a week, her pain had eased significantly. At the conclusion of the program, she wrote in her notebook, "From now on, when I return home, I will actively attend gatherings and will no longer wait for others to urge me to go."
However, when she returned to her hometown and attended a gathering with great anticipation, she found herself in an awkward situation. It turned out that Sister Zhang had already arranged for her to take over the previous preacher. Feeling unqualified, she declined. Tensions escalated, and one Sunday, Sister Zhang publicly demanded she leave, declaring, "If she doesn't leave, we will not preach!"
Two or three dozen fellow believers looked on in silence; even her own sister said nothing. With no one persuading her to stay, she quietly got up and walked out, thinking to herself, "I will never attend another gathering."
Afterward, she left her hometown and returned to work. It was during this period that she first realized, "I can no longer rely on my family; I can only rely on the Lord." In the unfamiliar city, burdened by grief and distress, she could only turn to prayer in the stillness of the night.
While working as a postpartum nanny, she noticed a calendar with a cross hanging in a small basement room of her employer's home, which led her to meet an illiterate yet devout elderly Christian woman. Although they could not understand each other's dialect, the woman would nod repeatedly whenever the name "Jesus" was spoken. Sister Ren felt excited and deeply moved, thinking, "I have finally found my family again."
From then on, she set aside time each day to read Scripture to the elderly woman and pray with her. Before long, five or six other elderly individuals, including a visiting couple from southern China and a migrant cleaning worker, began joining them. She marveled at how God's guidance unfolds gradually. He does not place overwhelming burdens on people all at once, nor did He suddenly require her to preach, as Sister Zhang had once attempted. Instead, God led her out of an unsuitable situation and began teaching her how to rely on Him.
The following year, she returned to her hometown and found that the once-vibrant church had become nearly empty, with only a few people remaining. "All the spiritually gifted ones have left," someone said. Although saddened, she remained determined: "Then let those of us who are left continue to gather as well."
But when they sat together, no one knew how to lead the meetings. She recalled her three months of Bible training, and the desire expressed by her former classmates to study "for the building up of the church" stirred within her. The tuition for that training was covered by the fellow believers; now it was time to respond. So she stepped forward to guide their study.
She began preparing Bible lessons, studying on her own, researching, and taking notes. She organized Bible study on Wednesdays, prayer meetings on Fridays, and worship services on Sundays.
Reflecting on her spiritual transformation, she said, "When I came to understand God's love and blessings, I realized the need to respond rightly. I no longer focus on worldly matters, nor am I overly concerned with the opinions of others. In the past, I feared what people might say, but now I strive to live according to the Lord's perspective. As long as my actions are clear before God, that is enough."
Today, the small fellowship group Sister Ren leads in her hometown has been meeting regularly for nearly a decade, becoming a spiritual home for many of those who remained.
Originally published by the Christian Times
- Edited and translated by Poppy Chan
