The church in Wuhan uses the love of Christ to fight against the virus

Interview/Photo provided by Shi Lingyu/Huang Lei

On January 24, 2020, the morning in Wuhan, China was unusually quiet. There was not a single car on the once busy street, and the usually sweet chirping of birds sounded like a mournful song. Two or three residents wearing masks walked out of their homes cautiously, their eyes showing anxiety, fear, and a sense of confusion about the unknown.

Information sharing without a live audience

"Hello, dear brothers and sisters, it is the morning of January 24, 2020. I hope that God's peace and joy will live among you. In your hearts, no environment or anyone can take away this peace. Although the current environment Everyone knows that perhaps the real situation is much more serious and complicated than we understand, but our God is the God who still sits as king during the flood, and we believe that He will rescue His people..." Located in In the Xiashangtang Church at Yuemachang in the center of Wuhan, pastor Huang Lei is sharing a message.

Different from previous Sunday sermons, this time he sat in an empty church and faced the camera. On this day, his sermon message was: "Wuhan churches, in the face of the plague, you should be strong and courageous and don't be afraid!"

His tone was firm, calm, and sonorous. Since the novel coronavirus COVID-19 ravaged Wuhan, causing the city to be closed down, and people were panicking, God, through the mouth of His servant, hammered the truth word for word into the people who were frightened and worried by the epidemic. brothers and sisters.

▲A group photo of all members of Wuhan Xiashangtang Church.

Online gathering prepared in advance

In mid-September 2019, officials began to clamp down on churches in the Wuhan area, and Xiashang Church was originally included in the banned list. Due to various reasons, the government failed to clamp down, but the church has made complete preparations for this: how to meet in groups after dissolution, how to continue to manage the church, how to put sermons on the Internet or multimedia platforms, so that everyone can continue to hold online prayer gatherings... wait.

Unexpectedly, due to a sudden epidemic, the mechanism of online gatherings and group pastoral care was fully launched.

"Our church originally had about 550 people, divided into 54 groups. Each group met according to their scheduled time, and the attendance was even higher than usual. And every morning we have a two-hour morning prayer meeting for the whole church." Huang Lei is the senior pastor of Xiashangtang Church. During the fight against the epidemic, his calm, gentle and firm words of faith won the praise of brothers and sisters in the church.

Since the lockdown of Wuhan on January 23, the two pastors have taken turns recording 15-20 minute sermon videos every day to respond to the current epidemic and the needs of church members, and put them online to comfort and encourage brothers and sisters. The pastor holds video conferences with seven deacons twice a week to pray and watch over the current situation.

"Normally, many people don't attach much importance to gatherings and don't like to pray. Now they are forced to stay at home and cannot go out. Moreover, they are really scared, especially after the city is closed, they are so isolated and helpless! Now because of The fellowship between saints is even more important!" Pastor Huang Lei said.

▲The more difficult the time, the more we need to praise God. The picture shows a scene of church worship.

A period of retreat that embodies loving your neighbor as yourself and building relationships.

In this moment when everyone is in danger, members of the body in Christ learn to support each other, help and watch out for each other, and to embody in their lives what Jesus’ “self-sacrifice love” is. Located in an area hardest hit by the epidemic, many people in Xiashangtang Church were infected. A brother undergoing kidney dialysis had the most severe symptoms and became extremely unwell after the infection. Everyone in the church united with overseas pastors to pray for him collectively.

The next day I received a notice to go to the hospital for kidney dialysis. But he ran out of medicine and someone had to go to another hospital to get it for him. "It was already very dangerous outside at this time, and everyone was trying to stay at home. His team leader bravely took on the responsibility, took precautions, went to his home to get his medical insurance card, and then risked infection at the pharmacy and two hospitals. I went back and forth four times, it was very touching!" said Deacon Li Zhongliang (pseudonym) who attended the church meeting.

Li Zhongliang and his wife were both infected during this epidemic. His wife was infected in the early stages of the epidemic, and her symptoms were severe and her body was very weak. It took nearly three weeks to recover. During her recovery period, Mrs. Li said that when she was weak, the only thing she could do was to praise God loudly, praise His deeds, and meditate on His glory. By relying so closely on the Lord, I finally got through it.

During the "retreat", she joked that the relationship between husband and wife became closer because they often prayed together and blessed each other.

A community church that takes root downwards and bears fruit upwards

Huang Lei, who has a crew cut and wears a pair of black thin-rimmed glasses, was born into a family of doctors. His dream since childhood was to inherit his father's legacy and become a successful surgeon and professor. On the way to school, he became an outstanding orthopedic surgeon as expected, and he and his wife were classmates in medical school. In 2002, the couple believed in the Lord and gave up the enviable opportunity of immigrating to Australia to stay in China and preach the gospel.

At that time, they could not find a suitable church to attend, so they recruited seven people to organize a Bible study class. Four years later, Wuhan Xiashangtang Christian Church was officially established and became a representative urban emerging house church in the local area. The name of the Upper Church comes from Isaiah Chapter 37 Verse 31, "The remnant of the house of Judah that have escaped will still take root downwards and bear fruit upwards." It means to encourage believers' lives to take root downwards and bear fruit upwards. Today, the church has more than 500 members, most of whom are young people under the age of 40.

Huang Lei, who participated in disaster relief in Sichuan in 2008, returned to Wuhan and led the church to establish China's first Food Bank. It became a non-profit private charity officially registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, allowing the church to have legal channels to help those in society. Provide food and loving visits to poor families. In the past ten years, they have helped more than 700 poor families in the city and have been commended and recognized by the government.

▲The young people who attend church bring lively vitality to the church.

Love "within one's power" without fear

Xiashangtang Church, which has close relationships with its neighbors and has long been committed to community care, has also played an active role in the emergency period of fighting the epidemic. The church distributes masks, disinfectant supplies, thermometers, Chinese medicine, vegetables, and gospel tracts to families in need every day.

“We do our best to do what we can in the community through the church.” These “doing within our capabilities” include thoughtfully sending love lunch boxes to courier service workers. There is a "Shunfeng Express Company" next to the church. Since Wuhan was locked down, nearby restaurants have been closed, and the delivery service workers eat instant noodles every day to satisfy their hunger. The brothers and sisters in the church showed their love and bought nutritious lunches and dinners every day to give to the couriers. At the same time, they shared God’s love with them, which moved them very much.

Doing things "within our power" also included assisting the evacuation of Canadian and American citizens, with pastors driving them to the Wuhan Airport; or picking up people who needed to go to the hospital... "I never stopped, and my days were full of hope, joy and peace. "Huang Lei said: "When we see where there is a real need, we take it as our responsibility, and the love of Christ flows out in this process."

During this period, seeing the rapidly raging epidemic, don’t you feel any fear in your heart? "To be honest, I'm really not afraid at all!" He used to be an orthopedic surgeon and had seen too many lives and deaths. After believing in the Lord, he "thought carefully about the meaning of life and eternal life, and he was a person who could completely let go of life and death." ”.

"Physically I may be weak, but rationally there is not a day when fear or fear will stop me from going out and taking any action that should help others."

▲The relationships we usually build in church have become even more popular on various online social platforms even though we cannot meet in person after the lockdown. The picture shows everyone greeting each other at the party.

Express the truth with wisdom and skill

During the development of the epidemic, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, known as the "whistleblower" of COVID-19, died on February 6, triggering a tsunami of public anger against the government for concealing the epidemic. Huang Lei said: "There is a saying that it is difficult to rejuvenate a country. If a country or nation does not reflect on the disaster, does not repent, and has no faith, it can only be said to be difficult. Li Wenliang is just one of the points of this system's infiltration."

As a doctor, he believes that everyone's commemoration, appreciation or remembrance of Li Wenliang is actually a way to vent their dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy. To this end, he encouraged Christians to speak out boldly on social platforms, with skill and wisdom. As the Bible says, "be gentle as doves and wise as serpents," state the facts and tell the truth without using fierce expressions. In words, give considerable respect to those in power.

Huang Lei, who is good at using multimedia, teamed up with local pastors in Wuhan to publish the "National Christian Fasting and Prayer Initiative" via video on February 3, calling on Christians across the country to fast for three consecutive days from February 3 to 5. Eat and pray. Pray for God to stop the spread of the epidemic, and focus on praying for grace in five aspects and 11 matters including the government, medical care, supplies, patients, and churches. We encourage believers to seize God’s promises in any environment, humble themselves, and seek God’s face in prayer. , "Be strong and courageous, repent and pray for the sins committed by the country and nation before God."

"Come! Let us return to the Lord! He tears us apart, and he will heal us; he bruises us, and he will bind us up." Huang Lei likes to encourage the brothers and sisters in the church with this passage from Hosea Chapter 6:1, Rely on the faith of “but not yet” and believe that God will rescue His people from all disasters, plagues and death.

Seeing that the spread of the epidemic in China has just stopped, and the public sentiment is still in turmoil, Huang Lei firmly believes that the war against the epidemic is also a spiritual war. Every disaster can be an opportunity for God to bless me. As Joseph said, "In the past, you meant to harm me, but God's intention was for good. He wanted to preserve the lives of many people and achieve today's situation." (Genesis 50:20) Brothers and sisters who attend church in the midst of disasters choose to trust God. Yes, only by witnessing the way of truth and living out the love of Christ can God be truly glorified!

Shi Lingyu, former Zhongtian News anchor. Now living in Southern California, she has two daughters and enjoys a simple and ordinary home life. A co-worker of the Genesis Literary Training Bookstore.