A church in Guangdong Province celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding and the 32nd anniversary of its resumption.
On March 5, Wang Chunren, the senior pastor of Jianggao Church in Guangzhou, preached a sermon with the title “Be A Blessing to Others” based on Genesis 12:1–4 which recorded God’s call to Abraham and God’s promise of making him into a great nation and through him all the peoples of the earth would be blessed.
After the sermon, the church distributed its anniversary gifts, which were custom-made pillows with ink paintings created by Pastor Wang, as well as handmade soap and shampoo supplied by believers.
From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the Canton Villages Mission of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand arrived in Baiyun District and took Jiangcun Village as its missionary base. There were simple hospitals, churches, schools, and residences in Jianggao Town. According to historical records, the Villages Mission set up more than 20 churches in Jiangcun Village. Founded in 1903, Gaotangxu Church, the predecessor of Jianggao Church, was one of them.
Due to the deterioration of the church buildings, Gaotangxu Church was demolished in 1929 and rebuilt in situ. China’s Resistance War Against Japanese Aggression broke out in 1938, and the church was razed to the ground. After the victory of the war, the church was rebuilt on the original site in 1948 for the second time with the support of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand.
In the 1960s, church gatherings were forced to stop, and main buildings were used for other purposes. After the implementation of the religious policy in 1979, the church land was gradually recovered, and the reconstruction project was started. Jianggao Gathering Point, the “Fourth Generation Church," was set up on March 9, 1991.
With the approval of relevant government departments, it was promoted from a gathering point to a church on March 16, 2007, and renamed “Guangzhou Jianggao Church" with a celebration being held on May 12 of the same year.
- Translated by Stephen Huang
