November 18, 2018, saw the celebration of the 170th anniversary of Xinjie Church, which is located in the central area of the old district of Xiamen, Fujian, and well known as "the first Holy Church of China" for Sunday church service for Chinese in mainland China.
During the celebration, Rev. Xie Liren examined the inadequacies of the church and himself together with staff, trying to seek ways to revive the church. He pointed out that there was no shortcut for reviving the church, and everyone should start by doing his or her own part. Xie also encouraged the staff to revitalize themselves and to spur on another, as well as be willing to serve God.
Elder Zhou Changji from the elder and deacon board introduced the history of the building of the Xinjie Church and its present programs, including literature work and combating heresies. He pointed out that the church is now short of coworkers and those now serving the church should strengthen their spiritual lives.
An ordination ceremony was also held during the celebration to ordain four female staff members as deacons.
A brief introduction to the Xinjie Church:
On February 4, 1842, Rev. David Abeel was sent by the Reformed Churches in America (RCA) to Xiamen before it became a treaty port. In December of 1847, Uncle Wang Fugui, one of the first converts, bought a piece of land in Taigoumu (now Taiguang Street) where the first Christian church was built by Pohlman in 1948 after he had collected $3000 from America. On February 11, 1849, the dedication ceremony for the Xinjie Church was held.
In 1928, the church was torn down after the roof collapsed due to being in disrepair for many years. The new Romanesque church of today with a plaque inscribed with the Chinese words, "The First Christian Church of China" and "The Place Where Jehovah Resides" began to be built in 1933 and was completed in 1935.
In 1958, the Taishan Church founded by the London Missionary Society was incorporated into the Xinjie Church when combined worship with other churches was started in China to merge different denominations of Christianity. The Xinjie Church was forced to close for 13 years after Cultural Revolution in 1966. In 1982 it was listed as a protected building by the municipal cultural relics protection unit of Xiamen, and as one of the 6th provincial protection units in 2005.
The Xinjie Church is also a good example of the localization of Christianity in China. Though it was a co-operative effort of the Reformed Churches in America, the English Presbyterian Mission and the London Missionary Society, the first elders and deacons elected in 1850s and pastors elected in 1860s had equal rights with the missionaries from these societies.
The first two pastors of the first church of China are Luo Zhao (also named Jiayu) and Ye Hanzhang. In January 1900, Huang Hecheng, the third pastor joined the discussion of building the Jinmen Houpu Church. It was completed in 1902 with Lin Baode as its first president.
- Translated by Lin Changfeng
