A senior fellowship of a church in northeast China’s Liaoning Province paid a visit to its aged members.
On Thursday, March 9th, a weekly worship meeting of Joshua Senior Fellowship was held in the Wenhua Road Church, Pulandian District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province.
At 7 am, all the senior Christians and others gathered in the church, singing and praising under the choir's leadership. At 8 am, Elder Zhou Fenglou, who is over 70, boarded the altar, led the congregation in reading the verses of Ephesians 4: 20–24, and continued to preach the second lesson on life renewal in Christ. Elder Zhou preached that we should change our minds from loving the world to loving the Lord, not relying on money, but asking the Lord to make us pursue Jesus in our hearts. The gathering ended with praise and benediction from Elder Zhou.
Liu Shu'e and Li Huiqin, leaders of the Joshua Senior Fellowship, said that the fellowship was established in 2018. The oldest one was 104 years old, with several now in their nineties. The registered members amounted to about 500. At present, more than 300 members can attend the gatherings, as some cannot come to church for some reason.
The fellowship was established under the care of the church, and the core staff workers are all volunteers. The fellowship is divided into 26 groups, mostly female believers. According to reports, almost all the elderlies have joined the fellowship. Each group leader has some important knowledge of the members, such as their names and ages, their mobile phone or telephone number and WeChat ID, their address and information of family members, their physical condition and which diseases they have, their gathering attendance, and the reason for their absence. This way, the leaders could contact them by phone or visit. In addition to the gathering on Thursday, there are also quarterly praise gatherings.
The fellowship visits the believers' homes on a regular basis, as well as on an irregular basis or in exceptional circumstances. Some elderly believers lack nothing but care and love, especially those who live alone without their children and grandchildren by their side. They are eager to talk and share their feelings.
During the fellowship visit, some people would give cash and offerings. On average, RMB 30,000 was given in cash each year.
Having so many elderly and sick people, the fellowship would give them comfort and love, spiritual support, hospice care, and help in dealing with funeral affairs after they return to the embrace of the Lord. These even satisfied their unbelieving family members.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times and the author reported in Dalian.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
