Brother Wu has been serving full-time in Hainan Province for almost four years. Rather than just being a Sunday Christian, he expects more young Christians to stand up and respond to God's call to treat the church as a family and devote themselves to it.
"The mission of Sanya Bihai International Church is clear: to be a missionary church." Brother Wu, a co-worker from Haixiu Church in Haikou, was sent last year to help with the Sanya church planting project. This is what he said about the church.
Sanya is home to migratory birds during migration season, so believers in Sanya churches come and go just like migratory birds. According to Brother Wu, the church pastors some people who, in a year or two or three, may go elsewhere again. Nevertheless, Sanya Bihai International Church remains committed to pastoring such a group so that they can one day serve their communities as salt and light.
As far as the youth fellowship is concerned, one or two hundred people have been pastored, but only one or two dozen still remain.
Recently the church is sending a brother to study theology and has contacted the seminary for him. He is planning to serve in a church in another city after graduating from seminary. "That's okay, I think he has the calling from the Lord and it's God's blessing, right?" he said.
The middle-aged and elderly believers who come to Sanya to pass the winter are relatively stable in their attendance. They go to churches in Sanya and in their hometowns. When they come to Sanya in winter, they will go to the church on their own initiative and do not need to be reminded by the church.
Brother Wu was sent to Sanya Bihai International Church this time to help expand the ministries of the Happiness Group (an approach to reach seekers) and the Nurturing Class (mainly for the newly baptized believers). The Happiness Group at the church started a few years ago but stopped off and on for a year. This year, it was re-launched in May and the congregation was more enthusiastic to participate.
During his time in Sanya, Brother Wu hopes to help the church discover and raise up people with passion and encourage them to rise up and serve. Happiness Groups and Nurturing Classes contain discipleship lessons, and the believers will be trained to serve independently as evangelists.
Talking about his conversion experience, Brother Wu said, "It wasn't that I chose God, but that God kicked me in at the door."
Since he was a child, his Christian grandmother had preached the gospel to him, but at that time he did not get touched by God. When he learned by chance in high school that there was a church near his school, he went to the Sunday service with his classmates. After the service, one of the older sisters in the church led him in a prayer of determination. After that, he went to church every Sunday for worship.
During his high school and college years, he also used his spare time to participate in some church services.
In October 2018, Brother Wu came to Haixiu Church to serve full-time.
Brother Wu's major was engineering construction, and he worked on construction sites for a while after graduation, which was very hard and he also felt spiritual fatigue at that time.
He was eager to go to church. After this project was over, he returned to Haikou and worked as a store manager in a sales company. His work was still very busy, and sometimes he had to work night shifts.
"Haixiu Church's youth fellowship needed people at that time, and I was eager to get involved." During that time, he often talked to the church preacher and the preacher suggested, ‘You are working in a company for two or three thousand yuan, and a full-time job in the church is almost two or three thousand yuan. You love the work inside the church, why don't you come and work here?'
His non-Christian parents were authentic Hainanese with a tradition of idolatry. In this case, God opened the way in a wonderful style. His mother was complaining about his sales job and wanted him to change his job, so she agreed to let him go to work at the church full-time. When his mother tried to change her mind, Brother Wu told her, "It's too late, I've already told the company I'm quitting, and I've already confirmed full-time service with the church."
"Some of my previous ministry experiences have taught me to be accepting and tolerant; working on a construction site has taught me to rely on God in difficult circumstances and wait for His call." Brother Wu said, "I believe all of this is God's way of preparing me to be able to respond to His love in full-time service. Everything is just right, hallelujah to the Lord!"
- Translated by Richard Zou
