On January 6, the memorial service of Brother Zhang Guiyan, Wang Mingdao's chief assistant in his last decade, was held in Shanghai.
Brother Zhang died at the age of 79 at his residence in Shanghai on January 3.
Zhang not only assisted in the collection of many of Wang Mingdao's papers, diaries, and sermons but also in the organization and publication of many books and biographies of Wang after his death. He was also an active participant in various ministries. He had spent over 30 years obtaining authorization to promote the distribution of Bibles to remote churches, arranging books to develop church libraries, and assisting in the construction of buildings for needy churches in Yunnan Province.
Zhang’s family and co-workers spoke at the memorial service to honor his life dedicated to the Lord, remarking, “He had been concerned about the family and churches of God with continuous assistance to the churches in sharing appropriate connections and resources. He also helped churches establish their libraries, spending considerable effort in the printing and publication of the Chinese Bible and other biblical books."
Furthermore, in the hopes of providing comfort to Zhang's family, a male believer shared passages from Revelation, “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.’”
Some other believers prayed for everyone to find strength through their grief, asking for work from God’s spirit and extending blessings as well as encouragement to all present believers.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
