A different meal fellowship

"The Gospel of Siloam Restaurant"

Picture provided/Liao Meihui, Zhang Dejun, Zheng Nanmei

▲Praying with one heart and one mind: At the "Siloam Meal Blessing" evangelistic meeting, the congregation raised their hands together in prayer.

"I have traveled all over the world and seen many meal fellowships, but I have never seen such a special, lovely, energetic, large number of people, and different meal fellowships... Thank the Lord, I know, All this was done by God’s own hands!”

On Monday, June 7, 2010, at 3 pm, a time convenient for restaurant employees, Pastor Liu Lin Huizhong, the director general of the "World Federation of Chinese Christian Restaurant Gospel Ministry Missions", came to Brooklyn, New York, to hold an evangelistic meeting. I was deeply impressed by this "Siloam Restaurant Gospel" fellowship with 200 people.

The founding period: freezing winter nights and early morning worship

In the words of Liulin Huizhong, this "special, lovely, and energetic" and unique "Siloam Blessing" fellowship has its origins from the "Harvest International Center" in New Jersey four years ago. ) Speaking of.

The development of "Siloam Meal Blessing" can be roughly divided into two major stages. The first phase of the establishment period: from September 2006 to the end of 2007. The meeting time is every Sunday from 11pm to 1am; the location is at the "Evangelism Center".

The founder, Brother Zheng Qinli (Peter), smuggled himself to the United States from Fuzhou in the early 1990s. He went through a hard and bitter struggle and now manages two restaurants. In 2006, Zheng Qinli was called by the Lord: "Go to the hundreds of thousands of compatriots who are scattered in the United States and work in restaurants! You understand their language, you know their customs, and their background is also your background. They You understand the situation, go, you will not be alone, I will be with you!"

Brother Zheng recalled with gratitude that when he shared the meal blessing vision with Xu Zongshi, the senior pastor of the "Evangelization Center", he immediately received Pastor Xu's affirmation and strong support. He distributed the "Meal Blessing Ministry Registration Form" in the church, and soon fifteen people responded to participate. One of the main co-workers, Brother Wang Qihua, accompanied him every week during the founding period, visiting restaurants and inviting gospel friends. Even today, Wang Qihua is still serving faithfully.

With the church providing the venue and enthusiastic co-workers helping us, we welcomed the first batch of thirty restaurant friends in a completely accepting atmosphere. Fellowship activities include: praise and worship, English conversation classes, group discussions, Bible explanations, question answering... From strangers to each other, we established a relationship step by step.

"At that time, the biggest challenge was in the winter. I was worried that as the temperature dropped, the number of co-workers would gradually decrease. Think about it, who would not want to hide under the quilt to keep warm during the Sunday party, the freezing cold night, and the next day at work. Unexpectedly , the co-workers care about the needs of their friends in the restaurant to be cared for and loved; they think about how lovely they are who are not tired after work and are willing to continue to come to church..." The colder the weather outside, the hotter the co-workers' hearts are, and they work harder to lead. These sheep outside the fold enter the true God’s sheepfold.

"I remember that at 11 o'clock at night, two co-workers stood at the entrance of the road with no street lights and freezing weather, guiding restaurant friends into the parking lot. Drivers could see their flashlights from a distance, as if they were in the dark. A bright light..."Zheng Qinli is very grateful to the more than a dozen co-workers of the "Evangelization Center" in the early days for their assistance in laying a solid foundation for "Siloam Meal Blessing".

Almost all the members of "Siloam Dinfu" are from Fuzhou. On Christmas Eve 2006, the first seven members were baptized. Their common feeling was: "I feel love and home here!"

▲ Harvest Restaurant Hetian: On August 9, 2010, at the "Siloam Blessing" fellowship, as many as 130 believers were baptized on the beach of Coney Island, New York, led by Pastor Lai Zhongzhi of the Taiwanese Reformed Church in New Jersey ( The drummer in the front row) led the worship, and Brother Zheng Nanmei (Uncle Button the clown in the front row) preached and encouraged.

Growth Period: Telephone Fellowship, God’s Army

During the founding period, Zheng Qinli and several brothers took turns driving a "gospel van" for two hours every Sunday night to pick up gospel friends in Brooklyn. Relying on "word of mouth", one after another, we brought new friends to "Siloam Dining Blessing".

"There are about 600,000 Fuzhou people in New York City, and Brooklyn is the base. The gospel van can no longer accommodate the demand. The only way is for us to 'change' and get closer to them!" After discussion and prayer by co-workers, "Siloam Meal" "Fu" officially moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn in January 2008, renting the Baptist Church venue on Seventh Avenue; the meeting time is every Monday at 3 p.m.

▲They are our children: When the children of the fellowship got married, their parents were not around. Li Dong (right) and Zhang Dejun (Julia’s mother) hosted the wedding as the bride’s officiants. Zheng Qinli (left) also came to express his congratulations.

Another soul co-worker at Siloam Blessing, Zhang Dejun (Julia), was also one of the earliest co-workers recruited by Zheng Qinli four years ago. Most of the members of "Siloam Blessing" are young people between the ages of seventeen and thirty-five. They all call her affectionately: "Mother Julia!" Almost every newcomer who comes to the fellowship, De You will give them a warm hug, just like a mother welcoming her child "home". Not only Dejun, but also her husband Lin Dong put his heart and soul into it.

▲A group that fits and loves each other: The young people in the "Telephone Fellowship" grow in the love of God and the church.

A few months ago, "Siloam Blessing" established a telephone fellowship. Using the phone not only saves time, but also breaks through the barriers of location, distance and space. In addition to going to church every Monday, brothers and sisters can also share, pray, and read the Bible through telephone fellowship, connecting, watching, and building each other up with the love of Christ.

Each telephone fellowship has ten to twelve members. First, two people are responsible for contacting people, establishing a group, and following up. Then, two more spiritually mature brothers or sisters are responsible for leading and watching over the entire fellowship. We talk on the phone once a week for about one to an hour and a half. Through instant chat on the phone (QQ), everyone in the fellowship shares their testimony of the week, things they are thankful for, as well as their own difficulties, weaknesses, and things that require others’ prayers.

“A sister told me that every time we had a telephone fellowship, she would kneel on the ground, cry and pray….I believe that these children have a "willing" heart. God has seen it and will raise them up. I hope that after they are equipped, they will all go out and have a telephone fellowship, two by two, to lead troops and watch, because we are all God’s army! "As soon as he mentioned the telephone fellowship, Dejun's eyes sparkled.

Challenges ahead: God’s timing, keeping up

Currently, there are more than 60 night meal fellowships in the United States, with as few as a dozen people and as many as five or sixty people. Although some fellowships have a small number of members and are highly mobile and fast-moving, more and more churches are willing to promote meal fellowships, form networks, accept mobile friends, and keep them in the sheepfold.

Today, the co-workers of "Siloam Blessing" come from many churches. Zheng Qinli hopes that he and his co-workers can cross the walls between churches. Once they see God at work, they must seize the opportunity given by God and follow closely. superior.

Zheng Qinli’s biggest hope is that more churches are willing to open their doors during the week. The church is not just a building that stands in the community, but is the house of God that flows out of God’s love and becomes a blessing to the community. For grassroots workers, he believes that we must first understand and accept them before we can influence and help them.

Liu Lin Huizhong, who stands at the forefront of "Meal Blessing" and constantly charges into battle, also said frankly,The "Meal Blessing Road" is not an easy road to walk. These grassroots workers cannot go to the church, and their working hours often do not match the church gathering times. The Meal Blessing Fellowship staff need to have incomparable patience and love to achieve long-term success. Stick to it.

Liu Lin Huizhong believes that it is because of the power of the Holy Spirit, the acceptance of the church, and the love of the brothers and sisters that "Siloam's Blessing" can have such a wonderful testimony and harvest. She hopes that thousands of fellowships like "Siloam's Blessing" will appear around the world in the future!