Reaching Chinese Speakers in Clarksburg, USA
An update from Fengyu Ji…
My name is Fengyu Ji. I was born and raised in Mainland China, an atheist country that denies God, soul and afterlife. The very first time I heard about the gospel was in 2006 when I was a freshman in college. A young American man named Andy shared the gospel with me after I encountered him on campus. He was studying Chinese in my college. Years later I learned that he was from Campus Crusade.
Andy soon invited me to attend their fellowship gathering. Among those Christians that night, I was amazed by their genuine love towards one another, which I never experienced before in a Darwinist society. Not only so, what surprised me the most was their warm welcome and tender care towards me - a total stranger! In China, trust between strangers is rare. Defensiveness and indifference prevail people’s hearts. Yet this group was so distinctive. That characteristic attracted me to know more.
I was connected to a house church in Beijing. Through hearing the Word being faithfully preached week in and week out, I deeply felt the need to accept Jesus as my Savior. I am a sinner! Only through Jesus Christ can my sins be forgiven. He died on the cross for me, so I am spared from death. And one day I will be raised with Him. What great news to the world! One year later, I was baptized into Christ’s body. Soon after that, God began to test and strengthen my faith through persecution. In those years, a revival was taking place in China. Many people repented and were added to our church. The authorities started to persecute our church since 2008, to stop our growth. However, this trial was turned into a blessing in God’s hand to true believers. We rejoiced that we were counted worthy to suffer for Christ. We followed the Lord through the path of the cross.
In 2010, I received God’s calling for me to feed His sheep through the preaching of His Word, as the burden to build up the Chinese Church through solid teachings from the pulpit became stronger and stronger in me. I was encouraged by my senior pastor to pursue this calling and I began to preach monthly. In 2015, with the support and blessing of my home church, I went to Louisville, Kentucky to get theological training at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
During my studies, my wife and I joined Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. We were greatly influenced by the gospel-centered preaching we heard every Sunday. Over the years our lives have been changed notably, from a legalistic tendency to a joyful appreciation of God’s grace.
In 2018, I went to Pastors College to better equip myself with the Sovereign Grace values. The passionate vision in my heart to build a gospel-centered Chinese church was strengthened more and more.
After graduating from Southern in 2020, I left Louisville to serve as a Mandarin-speaking minister in a Chinese Church in Maryland. God continued His work to prepare me to be a more useful vessel for future church planting. Meanwhile, my wife's heart for church planting grew. This encouraged me greatly and we felt united. We talked about our convictions about church planting frequently at home. We prayerfully sought God and hoped that He would open a door for us to plant with Sovereign Grace.
Last November in the Pastors Conference we were very excited and grateful to learn that God was also preparing Sovereign Grace for a vision towards the Chinese! Our mutual hope is to plant a Chinese-speaking church in the States first, and then be sent back to China for church planting in the long term. It is our strong desire to bring the gospel of grace to more Chinese people both here and later in China.
As we prayed and sought God’s guidance specifically for a location to do church planting in the States, it became evident that He was leading us to Clarksburg in Maryland. Clarksburg is a growing suburban area outside Washington DC. New immigrants are flowing in continually and the Asian population has reached 40% in recent years. Even more than this, in God’s providence I will be starting a pastoral internship for two years this December at Grace Church of Clarksburg, which is a local Sovereign Grace Church.
I thank God for such precious learning opportunities and support as I prepare for church planting. Please pray for us, that God may open a wide door for us in Clarksburg to preach His word and to effectively declare the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen!
