Story
i n s i d e
Mission Possible
Sister Xiang was riding on the train when a woman had a health emergency. Another woman hurried to help the sick woman, praying over her
and crying, “You should believe in God.” The woman’s words remained
with Sister Xiang, even after she left the train.
She searched for a Christian church and found a house church. There
she met Jesus and found a peace and a joy she’d never known. But the
house church was far from her home, so she organized a house church
closer to home and invited people to worship there. She became passionate about sharing God’s love with others.
Then she met some Seventh-day Adventists who showed her from
the Bible that the Sabbath was not Sunday, but Saturday. She read the
Bible texts again and again until she was convinced that the Sabbath was
indeed God’s holy day.
Sister Xiang eagerly told her fellow believers and friends what she
had discovered. One by one, they joined her in worshiping on Sabbath.
Sister Xiang begged the Adventist church in the nearby city to send
them a teacher. The church sent a layman to study with them. They had
few Bibles and no hymnals, so they copied Bible texts and songs to use.
The small group of believers quickly grew to more than the house could
hold. They divided and continued to grow. In three years, they established
five churches and several house churches, all led by Sister Xiang.
The government ordered Sister Xiang to stop the religious meetings.
Day after day, Sister Xiang and another believer went to the government
office of religion and prayed silently for permission to worship together.
Finally, the governor allowed the Adventists to build a church.
The believers in the area swarmed to help build the church, which was
completed in three months. Several daughter house churches continued
to meet. Within two years, the believers had built five more churches
with congregations from 50 to 500 people.
Sister Xiang attended lay training classes held in the mother church
in the area. Today, with nine churches, nine house churches, and 800
members, she says that the greatest need continues to be for trained
lay leaders and lay evangelists to help reach the people in neighboring
communities and introduce them to Jesus. “It’s how we grow,” she says.
“They are hungry, but they don’t know that Jesus can fill their every
need. We must tell them.”
Please pray for the believers in China and around the world; and continue giving your mission offerings that make mission outreach possible.
Xiang shares God’s love with people in northern China.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Web site: www.AdventistMission.org
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