Chengdu (Sìchuān Province, People's Republic of China)
Chengdu (Chengtu), Sìchuān (Szechwan), West China Mission (General Conference Mennonite Church) was not in the original plan for the West China Mission, but when approaching hostilities made it seem wise to leave Paoki, the work was transferred to Chengdu. Here the P. J. Boehrs, Aganetha Fast, and the Wuthrichs, joined in the summer of 1948 by W. C. Voth and Elisabeth Goertz from the United States, found an unreached section with a population of about 150,000. Sunday services were first held in the missionary home, later in a little adapted chapel nearby. Women's meetings, Bible classes, and children's activities were carried on, as well as home, hospital, and prison visitation. For part of every day, beginning in October 1948, a tea shop was rented in which a small clinic was set up and the Word was preached nightly. Wilhelmina Kuyf arrived in December.
In April 1949 a property was rented outside the city gate, facing on a busy main street, which provided space for a clinic, three beds for lying-in mothers (more than 200 babies were born there), workers' quarters, and a Gospel hall, where nightly services were also held.
Instruction classes at both places resulted in many candidates for baptism. A number of these were part of the group of 120 Christians who met in these two places, and who composed the church there; others returned to their home communities, or went gone to different areas to work or study.
When the missionaries withdrew in 1951 these Christians, together with two groups of inquirers, were carrying on the various activities of the church, directed by a committee of seven, who were elected at the annual church meeting. The pastor, an ordained man, was a trusted shepherd, and with the other workers were committed to the task of making Christ known and working out Christian principles in the "New Age" which had come to China.
| Author(s) | Wilhelmina Kuyf |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Kuyf, Wilhelmina. "Chengdu (Sìchuān Province, People's Republic of China)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Chengdu_(S%C3%ACchu%C4%81n_Province,_People%27s_Republic_of_China)&oldid=86660.
APA style
Kuyf, Wilhelmina. (1953). Chengdu (Sìchuān Province, People's Republic of China). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Chengdu_(S%C3%ACchu%C4%81n_Province,_People%27s_Republic_of_China)&oldid=86660.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 552. All rights reserved.
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