It has been almost seven years since Nanlou Christian Church in Yingkou, Liaoning started its Bible Transcript Project. At least 22 people have already finished one transcription. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8) Nanlou Church hopes that believers can admire the Word of God through Bible transcription, according to Pastor Yu Pilin.
Pastor Yu shared some stories regarding believers' Bible transcription. Sister Zhao Su, 80-year old, who has already finished two transcriptions, is currently working on her third effort. A believer who's right hand is paralyzed has been insisting on writing with the left hand.
When Yu visited the rural churches, he noticed the believers were so caught up in the transcript that they didn't even notice his coming.
According to Pastor Yu, in order to make the transcription be more convenient for believers, they design the notebook and have the factory manufacture them. It takes nearly 30 notebooks, and costs almost 200 CNY to finish one transcription. For believers who are financially challenged, the church provides free notebooks.
Starting in 2015, in order to motivate believers to participate, Nanlou Church started giving Honorary Certificates to whoever finished copying the Bible once. In 2015, seven people were rewarded with the certificate and in 2016 the number doubled to 15. The United Version Chinese Bible has more than 900,000 words. To finish copying the Bible once, some believers in Nanlou Church spend over a year, while some spend two to three years. It took Sister Zhao Su two years and seven months to finish her first transcription. It took Sister Chen Ximei, who watches over the church, over a year to finish Hers.
Speaking of the benefits of Bible transcription, Sister Chen, a 20-year old Christian blurted out: "It leaves a deeper impression copying the Bible than reading it." She continued, "To believe in God, one has to keep the scripture firmly in mind. To believe in Jesus, one has to know about Him."
Sister Chen reviewed her path of copying the Bible. In the time of over a year, she spent in average five hours a day copying the Bible. From 5:30 to 6:30 in the morning, she stuck to it for more than six months. Most of the time, she copied the Bible at night, and thanks to it, she got rid of the addiction of tv shows and she also spent significantly less time on her cell phone. She also shared the bonuses of Bible transcription that her hyperactive personality changed, and her handwriting is better than before.
Translated by: Grace Hubl
