At the morning prayer meeting last Tuesday, Pastor Wang talked about how we should “Be Watchful and thankful” (Col. 4:2). The Bible mentions that we should be watchful to pray, be watchful to guard against heresy, and be watchful to prepare for the Lord’s return. At the same time, we should also be watchful and thankful. “Be watchful” emphasizes that we should pay attention, be careful, carefully put this matter on the important agenda. In the past 11 months, Little Rock Immanuel Chinese Baptist Church has experienced innumerous blessings, and I will count 12 of them here.
First, the church has started morning prayer meetings since January 2nd. Every day, there were more than 10 brothers and sisters, and at most more than 30 brothers and sisters participated. Since November, God has miraculously turned the morning prayer meeting into a joint prayer meeting between China and the United States, allowing many brothers and sisters in China to join. It has become a bridge of spiritual connection. Brothers and sisters in the Lord watch and pray together and fight the spiritual battle together in the Kingdom of God. The brothers and sisters who participated came from Little Rock, Oklahoma, Texarkana, Fort Worth, Houston in the United States; while Hegang, Jiamusi, Shenzhen, Beijing in China. Prayer is the way the Lord has commanded to rely on Him. The Lord is using prayer to “Enlarge the place of our tent, stretch our tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen our cords, strengthen our stakes. For we will spread out to the right and to the left; our descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.” We must rely on the Holy Spirit to persist in praying!
Second, on March 24, 10 brothers and sisters were baptized; Han Tao and Wu Hong testified for the Lord. This baptism was the largest since the church was founded, including 7 children and teenagers and 3 adults. The fact that these children were baptized and testified by the Lord is the result of the Sunday school teachers and co-workers of the church who have sown seeds with tears and harvested with joy over the years. We give glory to God! Han Tao and Wu Hong experienced a great miracle. During Han Tao’s hospitalization, countless Chinese people poured out their love. Most importantly, the power of the Lord was manifested through the power of everyone’s prayers, allowing Han Tao to experience the valley of the shadow of death and be reborn; Wu Hong also experienced the Lord’s healing and enjoyed peace in Christ. Since then, they have insisted on attending Sunday worships.
Third, on April 7, Easter was celebrated. Our church and Antioch Church held a joint worship service, broke bread and took the Lord’s Supper together, and held a Block Trailer Party and barbecue in the church playground. More than 200 people attended, which was the largest number of participants in the church’s history. Sister Mingfang distributed exquisite sachets embroidered with cross to 59 children. The church held high the cross, witnessed Christ, and impacted the community.
Fourth, from May 24 to 27, the church sponsored 26 adults and children to participate in the Pioneers Conference. We recorded a video as a commemoration (see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJwUyfuEZOk ).
Fifth, from June 10 to 14, two church counselors led 11 children to participate in the first Camp Siloam, and one child made a decision to follow Jesus. They shared their testimonies on Father’s Day of June 16, talking about their learning experiences, and glorifying the Lord.
Sixth, the second Vacation Bible School (VBS) was held from June 18 to 21. The theme was “SCUBA.” There were 32 children and youth volunteers and 32 adult volunteers. Three children made a decision to follow the Lord. This year our VBS made a loving contribution to the “Brazil Amazon River Mission Project.”
Seventh, our coworkers organized community service activities at the Food Bank on May 18, June 3, June 6, and November 22. 27 brothers and sisters participated in the service on November 23. The adorable one-year-old baby Seth also helped to get potatoes.
Eighth, on September 23, the Evergreen Fellowship held a gathering, with more than 20 brothers and sisters and gospel seekers attending. We must continue to pray for the physical, mental and spiritual health of our elders, and for them to love the Lord more and pray for the salvation of the gospel seekers.
Ninth, October 18-20, the church held a fall retreat. The theme was “Living Out Christ.” Pastor Fu Kaibin delivered several fresh and lively messages, Justice Dundas led the youths, and three UALR students led the children. Brothers and sisters from Jonesboro and Conway and seekers of the truth also came to participate. Pastor Greg Meeks and Sister Grace from Jonesboro shared their testimonies of being called to serve and short-term missions in Africa respectively. The brothers and sisters gained a lot from the retreat.
Tenth, on November 24, the church held Thanksgiving worship, testimony and dinner. Four brothers and sisters gave thanksgiving testimonies. Shen Tiansheng shared that her life journey was like a noble person (God) helping her until today. She attended the Columbus Chinese Christian Church Bible study class in 2020, decided to follow the Lord on November 5, 2023, and was baptized on March 24 this year. She thanked God, thanked her relatives and church family for accompanying her along the way. Aunty Liu Meiying shared that “the way of man is not in himself, and it is not in the man who walks to determine his own steps” (Jer 10:23). Although she experienced setbacks when she came to the United States again, everything has the good intention of the Lord. Joshua shared that he believed in the Lord since he was a child, the difficulties his father encountered in preaching in China, and the process of his going through many twists and turns on his way to school and being protected by God to come to the United States to study. He was baptized on August 18, joined the church, and became a disciple of the Lord. Brother Xue Fei shared that he learned the lesson of patience and waiting in the small matter of driving and was favored by the Lord to avoid disaster. Many gospel seekers came to worship or have meal with us.
Eleventh, thank God for using every coworker to serve wholeheartedly in the Friday evening fellowship, so that children, teenagers, students, scholars and Christians can grow in the Lord. There were several times when brothers and sisters opened their homes and lovingly welcomed everyone to share the beautiful family fellowship.
Twelfth, the church coworkers are united and strive to serve the Lord. The Sunday worship songs have live music, and the children and teenagers serve as pianists. The brothers serve on Mother’s Day. Most of our youths participate in distributing food during every church fellowship dinner.
Pastor Wang also mentioned: Human ingratitude is one of the characteristics of sinfulness, which needs to be dealt with constantly. Without gratitude, without a future. The more grateful we are, the more grace we will receive. Gratitude is not the end of grace, but a key that opens the door to greater grace for us. May the Lord continue to lead our church to a better future by counting His grace!
