In the past few days, a video of "The Glory of the Cross" (literal translation) written and composed by a pastor in China’s southeastern coastal Fujian Province has spread in the local Christian community. People praised it, saying that it felt like a Xinjiang folk song and sounded good.
Born in 1973, Pastor Lin Youyi is a native of Baxianzhuo Village in Nansheng Town, Pinghe County, Zhangzhou City, where missionaries preached the Gospel 160 years ago. In this gospel village, his predecessors were all Christians. His aunt gave him a copy of the Bible, which he loved so much that he gradually got closer to the Lord. He often went to Nansheng Church to worship and serve. Signing up for the church choir, he later became a choir teacher of more than 60 people. Soon, he was recommended to study in a Bible class in Quanzhou and became the monitor of the class. Later, Lin decided to serve the Lord full-time. After serving in his hometown for a period of time, he was appointed as a pastor in Xicen Church, Jinjing Town, Jinjiang City in May 2006, being ordained an elder in June 2014.
Once, a staff worker told him about the grievances of serving with tears. After praying, Lin said, "The Lord is the song of your life. Frustrations and grievances are like musical notes, high and low. Such a melody is beautiful."
After the exhortation, he had mixed feelings and wrote two hymns, "The Lord is the Song of My Life", and "I Will See the Way of Life". "I'm grateful! The staff member is comforted, and I’m also strengthened in my service,” he said.
Since 2018, Pastor Lin has been working hard year after year to write lyrics in his spare time after pastoral ministry, praising God's wonderful creation and proclaiming the name of the Lord.
In the past few years, he has created 37 songs with the national style of Chinese music works, which are deeply loved by the audience. His representative works include "The Lord is the Song of My Life", "The Work of Salvation", "The Passion of Noble Service", "The Glory of the Cross Fills the World", and "Anoint Your Beauty". The last one won the silver prize in the popularity award and the third prize in the individual singing group in the 2022 Glory Blossoms Original Music Works Competition.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
