Xixia Church, the center of Christianity in Ningxia Province, plans to establish campuses and hold training for church staff in 2017. Founded in 2005, the church stands as one of the most representative churches in Yinchuan, owning more than 400 believers.
Xixia church mapped out the campus construction several years ago because some members live far away from the church and the establishment would protect believers from heresies."God guides us to establish campuses. They needn't be very large but should be arranged properly." Rev. Fang Hejun, the church's senior pastor, states.
It is said that the church has purchased houses and founded four daughter churches, owning another seventeen gatherings that hold meetings in believers' homes.In June 2016, it paid the half of the cost (3.63 million yuan) to buy two stories of a building, which would be used as the fourth gathering with a total area of about 605 m2. Now it needs to pay the balance, namely about 600,000 yuan, to get the house property, yet under a debt of 1.49 million yuan. Moreover, the follow-up decoration will consume 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, adding the difficulty of putting it into use.
Besides campus construction, the church will focus on training staff. Currently one teacher and two seminary graduates, as well as a team of volunteers, are sent to serve in the Sunday services held in afternoons on three campuses.
Regarding social service, the church has provided financial assistance to five poor students for three years since 2010 and visited lonely elderly people of a local home for the aged.
Translated by Karen Luo
