On July 18, Beijing Municipal CC&TSPM held a retirement ceremony for Rev. Li Jian'an at Kuanjie Church in Dongcheng District, Beijing, marking his 38 years of dedicated ministry.
During the ceremony, a commemorative video highlighting Rev. Li's nearly four decades of service was presented, reported the church. Representatives from the local government and the municipal CC&TSPM affirmed his long-standing contributions to the church and encouraged him to continue supporting the growth of the Christian community in Beijing. Rev. Li was presented with a retirement certificate and a commemorative Bible in recognition of his service.
Rev. Li, a theology graduate, began his ministry at Kuanjie Church in the late 1980s and became its senior pastor in 2000. Over the years, he also served as vice president of Beijing CC, a deputy to the 12th Dongcheng District People's Congress (1991–1996), and a member and standing committee member of the 9th through 14th sessions of the Dongcheng District Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from 1996 to 2021.
Kuanjie Church traces its roots to one of the eight churches originally founded in Beijing by the American Methodist Episcopal Church. In the 1920s, local believers raised funds to purchase a property and convert it into a chapel. It was officially registered in 1943 as a "Local Church," becoming the first self-governed church in Beiping (now Beijing). In 1958, it became a joint worship venue named "Beitang." Services resumed in 1987, and the congregation relocated to the current Chinese-style church building in 2000, which accommodates approximately 1,000 worshippers. The church currently has three pastoral staff and around 150 volunteers, as well as 800 registered believers. Each Sunday, it holds three worship services.
Notably, in 2006, Kuanjie Church hosted U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Karen Hughes. During the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, it successfully carried out its diplomatic mission by hosting then-U.S. President George W. Bush and his family for a Sunday worship service.
