Jiangsu CCC Ordains 48 Pastoral Staff

On August 6, 48 pastoral staff were ordained as pastors, curates or elders by the provincial CCC in Suqian, Jiangsu. The ordinands from five areas in the province include three curates promoted to be pastors.

The ordination ceremony was presided by Rev. Zhang Keyun, the president of the provincial TSPM and assisted by other pastors from the local government's umbrella organization for the church. Rev. Zhang encouraged the ordained staff to have abundant spiritual life with knowing God who only makes things grow in the sermon.  

According to Wikipedia, Christianity in Jiangsu can be traced back to the 1850s when missionaries from the UK and the United States brought the Gospel in the region. In the early twentieth century, a revival took place and the believers grew to 50,000. After the Cultural Revolution, the open venues for gatherings and believers reached 4390 and over 1.6 million respectively. Currently, eighty percent of all the believers in the province are from the five cities of Suqian, Xuzhou, Huai'an, Yancheng and Lianyungang.