There was no snow this winter, but the cold wind blew frequently, making people feel anxious: there was often news of our parents, relatives, and friends in China who tested positive for COVID, were critically ill, or even passed away; the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on February 6^th killed more than 30,000 people within a week. After praying with tears, I remembered that one of the signs of Christ’s coming again is earthquakes, and the Lord promised: “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations [including 1.9 billion Muslims, 1.4 billion Chinese, and 1.1 billion Hindus], and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

The theme for ACCCN in 2023 is “Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness. Live out Christ: Truth, Love, Humility, Service.” In “The Voice of Our Shepherds,” Pastor Chi encouraged us to make a new year’s devotional plan: set a fixed time, a fixed location, and a fixed amount or form a devotional group to encourage each other so we could follow the example of Jesus, meditate on the Bible, practice praying, and gain in spirituality. Pastor Chi also encouraged us to imitate Christ’s humility in spite of all kinds of slander and jealousy, busyness and exhaustion, to live a life of love and service and a life of words and deeds.

In “Missions Without Borders,” we could review the “Church’s Commission – Mission” through the schedule of the annual mission conference on March 17-19. Let us look forward to the three consecutive days of preaching by Pastor Weizhong Zhang from European Campus Ministry (ECM). We could also see how people experienced God’s leading time after time and were moved and inspired by God’s miraculous deeds again and again through the three articles shared by the missionaries through ECM: a letter of thanksgiving and intercession from Germany, a sharing of Israel’s ministry, and the Chinese Alpha Film Series to share the gospel.

            In the section “A Life in Christ,” Richard told us about abundant free video materials (RightNow Media) for all those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness in “A Powerful Resource for All at ACCCN.” Sister Jialing (Angela) Hung bravely witnessed “From obstacles to joy, my path to rebirth in Christ.” She experienced a painful childhood and a broken marriage, but because of the wonderful and powerful Savior, she replaced abandonment with forgiveness, disappointment with true love, and worldly pursuits with working for the Lord.

In “Thanksgiving Testimony,” the baptized brothers and sisters are of different ages and experiences, but all of them told the stories of being surrendered to the Lord and learning to pray correctly, and they gave thanks and praise to the same Savior. The testimonies of all nations are constantly showing: the day of the Lord’s return is coming, God’s righteous judgment is near, and the glorious Kingdom of Christ is also approaching!

Ling Qiu