Due to the coronavirus crisis, a church in Fujian has canceled all public gatherings and advised its congregation to have daily devotions at home.
To shepherd the flock, the century-old church in Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou with a Sunday attendance of 500 and two pastors, began to send audio messages on WeChat, but they were often interrupted by casual messages.
Aiming at creating a chapel-like Sunday service, the video production team recorded videos in advance, uploaded them on the Internet, and forwarded them to WeChat at worship time on Sundays.
The 68-year-old Elder Xu Yongzong picked up his camera that he bought seven or eight years ago. It is used to record onsite services in the church. Deacon Zheng Jinyou, 65, voluntered to be involved in video editing work. Rev. Mai Jianxin is responsible for sharing videos on WeChat circles. Surprised by the videos, the congregation say that their pastors have become online TV broadcasters.
To guarantee sound quality, the "crew" study from video production experiences shared by churches in Fujian. The subtitles for the worship order, Bible verses, and hymns are added. Four Sunday videos have been made with an average of 3,000 hits.
Meanwhile, many give their tithes and offerings by scanning the church's exclusive QR code. What's more, the team is giving instructions on video production to other nearby churches.
- Translated by Karen Luo
