In the south of China lies a very unique city. Many people say that for every kilometer you drive in Wenzhou you will find two christian churches. Here pastor Ted Wilson and a GC delegation met with many faithful Seventh-day Adventist members and pastors.
The local leadership and committed dedication has inspired through the years a Church that exists without a formal administrative structure such as that found in other regions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church around the world.
Believing in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, more than 400,000 members have enthusiastically been part of a Church that keeps the Sabbath and expects the soon return of Jesus Christ in the clouds of Heaven.
The city of Wenzhou has 9 million inhabitants and one million Christians. With such a high density of Christians, the city is called "the Jerusalem of China".
Pastors Ted Wilson, GT Ng and Robert Lemon, GC President, Secretary and Treasurer, are visiting churches in China with pastor Jairyong Lee, NSD President, and pastor David Kok Hoe Ng, Chinese Union President and Eugene Hsu, former GC Vice-president. Also Williams Costa Jr, GC Communication Director, Andre Brink GC Communication Associate Director and Suk Hee Han, NSD Communication Director are part of the delegation. In Wenzhou, the delegation met with pastors and members from the Church in the south of China. On this trip, the leaders’ wife’s were invited to join.
"In the Wenzhou area there are 40,000 Sabbath keepers that expect the second coming of Jesus. They are approximately 10% of China’s Seventh-day Adventist membership and the second largest Christian group in the region", said Dr Eugene Hsu, former GC Vice-president. "Here there is the largest Adventist concentration in the country", he concluded.
China has more than 1.3 billion people and a growing Christian community. Our brothers and sisters in many cases worship in the same churches that are used by other Protestants. Nevertheless our Church members keep the Sabbath and live with the same hope that we have.
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GC and NSD delegates during the worship service at Wuxi church
GC & NSD delegates with the choir members of the Wuxi church
Wison visits Sir Run Run Shaw hospital
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Welcome banner of the Shenyang Beiguan Church
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Welcome Flowers
Visiting Beiguan Church
Wilson encourages Pr. Hao Ya Jie, Shenyang Beiguan Church
"It is touching to see how God’s love unites us as a world family and how the Holy Spirit works even without a formal Church structure and external assistance in this country" said GT Ng.
Pastor Wilson preached last Sabbath in the Shanghai Mu’en Church during the divine service and met with more than 1500 members full of enthusiasm and thankful hearts. The special music presentations and the congregational singing were unforgettable.
In the afternoon the delegation went to the city of Wuxi, two hours drive from Shanghai, and found an enthusiastic group of Seventh-day Adventist believers in the Wuxi Xi’an Church that through music and prayer expressed their joy and commitment to the faith that they embraced.
Finally on Sunday night a special program was presented at the Jingshi Church in the city of Wenzhou, … miles south of Shanghai.
In all the Churches pastor Ted Wilson delivered a special message of encouragement to the Chinese members. "It is so encouraging to meet personally with these members of the Seventh-day Adventist family in this part of the World. We came to inspire but meeting with them, we get inspired" said Wilson. Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, and other church leaders, are in the middle of a 10-day official visit to China, seeking to strengthen ties between the global Adventist family and an estimated 400,000 Adventist believers in the People’s Republic of China.