A church in Zhejiang held a baptism ceremony in 2024, where 91 seekers were baptized.
At Ningbo Centennial Church on July 28, Rev. Zhang Yaobo, vice president and general secretary of the Ningbo Christian Council, led seekers in reciting the Statement of Faith and conducted an inquiry for those preparing for baptism, according to the church. He asked if they would faithfully believe in the Triune God and if they would love Him, people, and the church throughout their lives, to which they responded in unison, "I am willing."
Then, Pastor Zhou Yuekun delivered a sermon titled "Baptized into the Lord to Be a New Creation," encouraging these new believers to die and rise with the Lord and become new creations through baptism.
During the baptismal ceremony, some people received baptism by sprinkling, while others received it by immersion.
Receiving baptism certificates, bibles, and flowers, the newly baptized members were encouraged to study the Bible daily to encounter the Lord and live out the life of Christ while receiving God’s guidance.
Located at No. 63, Daliang Road, Jiangsha Street, Haishu District, Ningbo Centennial Church, the first reopening church after the Cultural Revolution, resumed worship on April 8, 1979. The Gothic-style building, one of the most famous churches in the history of Christianity in China, greets people with red letters that read, Jesus loves you. Despite its name, this church was not built a hundred years ago. The present building of this church was first completed in May 1948 at Daliang Street by the Yincheng Pastoral District of the Zhejiang Diocese of the Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui (or the Anglican-Episcopal Province of China). The purpose of this church was to commemorate the onset of preaching activities by the Anglican Church in Ningbo in 1848, so it was named the "Centennial Church."
It is currently the central church of Ningbo, where the municipal CC&TSPM is stationed.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
