初谈宋尚节（接上文）
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| 上图：一九三四年十一月，宋尚节在厦门鼓浪屿英华书院大操场举行露天聚会[1] |
- 宋尚节在厦门
沿着早期传教士的足迹，二十世纪中国著名的布道家宋尚节多次踏上厦门这片土地。1927年他自美国归国后，于1928至1930年间外出传道，行程由近及远——起初在沿海一带的乡镇传讲福音，随后扩展至厦门、漳州、泉州等地，足迹遍及闽南、闽北以及近海岛屿，名声日益远播。[1]
1934年11月3-13宋尚节来到厦门。当时，宋尚节在鼓浪屿最大的英华书院（Anglo-Chinese College）操场举行露天布道大会，场面盛大，人山人海。布道团的大小旗帜在鼓浪屿的大街小巷随风飘扬，成为全城瞩目的景象。鼓浪屿与厦门有一条狭窄的水道之隔。由于从厦门前往鼓浪屿听道的人数太多，奋兴会筹备委员会特地租用一艘汽船，负责运载听众往返两地。福州、泉州、厦门的长途汽车老板在听道受感后，主动将车船票价减半，以便更多人能前来参加聚会。人们早晨五点便来到会场，七点时已经座无虚席。由于天气炎热，奋兴会决定每天清晨六点开始。
11月8日上午突降大雨，上千人仍手持雨伞，在英华书院操场聆听信息；许多人自带板凳、干粮，甚至有人宁可挨饿也不愿离开。宋尚节见听众对神话语的渴慕，身体虽虚弱，却仍不打伞，凭信心坚持讲道。9日下午专门为病人祷告。有人在报纸上发表文章，指控他通过邪术迷惑大众。有人故意安排80个患有各种疑难杂症的病人来实验他。他迫切地向上帝祷告，诗篇22：21节给了他信心：“求你救我脱离狮子的口；你已经应允我，使我脱离野牛的角”。[1] 宋尚节请人在讲台上拉起一块粗布帘，以免人群围观看热闹。面对病人，他问：“你带圣经了吗？你有信心吗? ”他在为病人祷告时特别强调两点：第一，信心的重要；第二，认罪。[1] 他凭信心为八九百名病人逐一祷告，直到体力几乎耗尽，右手也因不断按手祷告而肿胀。等众人散去，又有四五百人进入教堂求祷告，他仍一一为他们代求。祷告完毕，他全身无力，只能将一切交托在神的手中，并不问结果。当天晚上，又有三千人参加聚会。他亲笔日记中记载：他总共为1,710位病人祷告。[2] 有位瞎眼瘸腿41年的病人可以看见和行走。另一位卧床10年、人用担架抬来的女士得到医治后，自己走回家。一位驼背女人可以直起腰来。一位富人家的博士儿子由于失去未婚妻变成疯子，在会上得到了医治。一个抽烟三十多年的人，以前每次想戒烟都痛哭流泪；但这一次，他彻底得了释放。[3]
一位曾参加厦门聚会的基督徒女士，为患肾炎且吸食鸦片以缓解病痛的父亲担忧，便劝他参加聚会。结果他不仅得救，疾病痊愈，也戒除了鸦片。然而，他最初不愿销毁家中的鸦片储备，子女提议卖掉引发争执，他一气之下昏倒。醒来后，他讲述了一个梦，认为这是神的警告，这才愿意彻底销毁所有鸦片。[4] 这个见证也提醒基督徒悔改要彻底，并且也绝不可以再将害人的鸦片卖给别人继续害人。
期间，约有二三十名流氓曾向会场投掷石块滋事，但很快被警察驱散。原定为期六天的奋兴会，因群众热切的回应而延长至十二天。聚会结束后，厦门一间赌馆关门歇业。由于人潮过多造成交通堵塞，警局担心再有骚扰事件，遂下令终止聚会。离开厦门前，宋尚节又为约四百名病人祷告。临行时，一千二百人涌到码头送行，场面极为感人。[5]
（未完待续）
[1] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung, 220.
[2] John Sung, Rg263-006-002-v31-1934.06.24_11.13.pdf, Yale Divinity Library.
[3] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung, 220.
[4] Leslie T. Tyall, A Biography of John Sung (Singapore: Amour, 2004), 172.
[5] 施伟(Shi Wei), 《献祭者》The Sacrifice: John Sung (Los Angeles: Spiritual Literature & Arts, 2019), 472-475.
[1] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung, 220.
[2] John Sung, Rg263-006-002-v31-1934.06.24_11.13.pdf, Yale Divinity Library.
[3] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung, 220.
[4] Leslie T. Tyall, A Biography of John Sung (Singapore: Amour, 2004), 172.
[5] 施伟(Shi Wei), 《献祭者》The Sacrifice: John Sung (Los Angeles: Spiritual Literature & Arts, 2019), 472-475.
[1] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung: Extracts from His Journals and Notes, trans. by Pheng
Soon Thng (Singapore: Genesis Books, 2012), 219.
[1] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung: Extracts from His Journals and Notes, trans. by Pheng
Soon Thng (Singapore: Genesis Books, 2012), 219.
[1] Leslie T Lyall, A Biography of John Sung (Singapore: Genesis, 2004), 270.
An Initiative Reflection on John Sung
(continued from the above)
John Sung in Xiamen
Following in the footsteps of early missionaries, the renowned Chinese evangelist John Sung (宋尚节) visited Xiamen several times. After returning to China from the United States in 1927, he began itinerant preaching from 1928 to 1930. His ministry started in small coastal towns and gradually expanded to cities such as Xiamen, Zhangzhou, and Quanzhou, spreading throughout both southern and northern Fujian and even to nearby islands. His fame grew rapidly. [1]
The 1934 Evangelistic Meetings in Xiamen
From November 3–13, 1934, John Sung held large open-air evangelistic meetings on the athletic field of the Anglo-Chinese College on Gulangyu Island. The scene was spectacular—crowds packed the grounds, and banners of all sizes bearing the name of the evangelistic team fluttered through the streets and alleys of the island. Gulangyu and Xiamen were separated by only a narrow stretch of water. Because so many people from Xiamen wished to attend, the revival committee chartered a steamship to transport the audience back and forth between the two locations.
Touched by the revival, long-distance bus and boat owners from Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen offered half-price tickets so that more people could attend. People arrived as early as five a.m., and by seven the place was already full. Because of the heat, the meetings were scheduled to start at six in the morning.
On November 8, heavy rain fell, yet over a thousand people, holding umbrellas, remained to hear the message. Many brought stools and food, while others chose to fast rather than miss the sermon. Seeing their spiritual hunger, Sung, though weak in body, refused to use an umbrella and preached in faith.
On the afternoon of the 9th, he prayed specifically for the sick. Some newspapers accused him of using sorcery to deceive the masses. Skeptics brought about eighty seriously ill people to test him. Deeply burdened, Sung prayed earnestly, and Psalm 22:21 gave him faith: “Save me from the mouth of the lion; you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.” [3] He asked that a coarse curtain be hung around the platform to prevent curious onlookers from distracting the crowd. To the sick he would ask, “Do you have your Bible? Do you have faith?” He emphasized two things in his healing ministry: faith and confession of sin. [4] With faith, he prayed for 800–900 patients one by one, until he was completely exhausted and his right hand swollen from laying hands on so many people. After the crowd dispersed, another 400–500 entered the church for prayer, and he interceded for each of them. When all was done, he was drained of strength and simply committed everyone into God’s hands without asking about the results. That evening, another 3,000 people attended the meeting. In his diary, he recorded that he had prayed for 1,710 sick people in total. [5]
Miraculous healings abounded: a man blind and lame for forty-one years could see and walk; a woman bedridden for ten years and carried on a stretcher walked home by herself; a woman with a hunched back could stand upright; a Ph.D. Son from a rich family who had gone insane after losing his fiancée was healed; and a smoker of over thirty years who had wept every time he tried to quit was completely delivered. [6]
A Christian woman who had attended the meetings became concerned for her father, who suffered from nephritis and used opium to ease his pain. She persuaded him to attend, and there he was saved, healed, and delivered from his opium addiction. Yet he initially refused to destroy the opium stock in his house, proposing to sell it instead. A quarrel broke out, and in anger, he fainted. When he came to, he described a dream—a warning voice from God—which convinced him to destroy all his opium. [7] This testimony reminded believers that repentance must be thorough, and one must not sell opium (sin) to harm others.
During the meetings, about twenty to thirty hooligans tried to disrupt the gatherings by throwing stones, but the police quickly drove them away. The revival, initially scheduled for six days, was extended to twelve days due to overwhelming response. After the meetings, a gambling den in Xiamen closed down. Because the enormous crowds caused traffic jams and the police feared further disturbances, the revival was eventually ordered to stop. Before leaving Xiamen, Sung prayed for about 400 more sick people, and over 1,200 people came to the pier to see him off—a deeply moving scene. [8]
[1] Leslie T Lyall, A Biography of John Sung (Singapore: Genesis, 2004), 270.
[2] Refer to: accessed October 29, 2025, https://cmchurch.org/2018/10/29/%E4%BA%8C%E5%8D%81%E4%B9%9D%E3%80%81%E6%81%A9%E9%97%A8%E5%A4%A7%E5%BC%80%EF%BC%881934-1935%E5%B9%B4%E9%97%BD%E8%8B%8F%E6%B5%99%E7%B2%A4%E6%B4%A5%E4%BA%AC%E5%86%80%E8%8F%B2%EF%BC%89/.
[3] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung: Extracts from His Journals and Notes, trans. by Pheng
Soon Thng (Singapore: Genesis Books, 2012), 219.
[4] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung, 220.
[5] John Sung, Rg263-006-002-v31-1934.06.24_11.13.pdf, Yale Divinity Library.
[6] Levi Sung, The Diary of John Sung, 220.
[7] Leslie T. Tyall, A Biography of John Sung (Singapore: Amour, 2004), 172.
[8] 施伟(Shi Wei), 《献祭者》The Sacrifice: John Sung (Los Angeles: Spiritual Literature & Arts, 2019), 472-475.