Number 18, June 1998
BIBLE CHALLENGE
IN
contents
Welcomed with Tears
Chinese Church Says:
"Thank You for Scriptures"
Service in Shanghai
Community-Involved
Church
Church Growth – Chinese
style!
New Shanghai Seminary
Annual Appeal Helps
Seminary
"Push the Work, Let’s
Go Ahead!"
Two New Churches Every
Three Days
Bible Unites Beijing
Church
Primary Role For Bible
In Beijing
Meeting the Needs of
the Rural Churches
New Bibles Needed
in Rural Churches
Local Paper Means More
Bibles
World Standards for Bible
Printing in China
Bibles Must be
Numbered
Braille Scriptures
in Great Demand
"Thank You" in Scripture
Frontispiece
THE CHINA EXPERIENCE
n
Chinese girl, who attends the church near the Great Wall of China, with
her parasol
This collection of reports
and recollections is by Errol Pike, Marketing and Resource Manager, Bible
Society of New Zealand. His visit, as part of a United Bible Societies
delegation, was at the invitation of the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB)
under the State Council of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
The November itinerary began in Hong Kong,
then to Guilin, Shanghai and Beijing. Part of the delegation – four members
of the Bible Society of New Zealand – then went on to Nanjing before returning
home. Throughout the trip Mr Pike compiled reports and his own observations
in a personal diary. Extracts from that diary are featured in this Special
Report, giving a glimpse of the Chinese country, culture, heritage
and its people and their faith.
WELCOMED
WITH TEARS
Dateline . . .GUILIN, November
15
“Brothers in Christ, you are warmly welcome
to our church. Thank you for coming. And thank you to all those you represent
for their support and their prayers for Christians and Bible work in China.
It is important to us – please tell them and thank them.”
With these words, the Rev Yin WeiLi – junior
pastor at a church in central Guilin – welcomed the UBS delegation. Then
one of the senior ministers spoke, his voice quivering with emotion.
“Thank the Lord for this opportunity to
see you!” he said. “Thank you for coming. God bless you! I think of you
as family.” There were tears in his eyes as he said it. As there were tears
in the eyes of those who heard him.
The Rev Yin WeiLi has been junior pastor
for four years although he carries most of the responsibility for the day-to-day
work of the church. His two senior pastors are elderly and one of them
is not in good health.
The Rev Yin WeiLi comes from a family of
eight, including two brothers and three sisters. He is quick to say, with
obvious pride, that four of his siblings are “in the service of God”.
His parents became Christians through a
house-group when Yin was very young. As he grew up in a Christian household
he, too, came to know and love Jesus Christ.
As a young man he felt the call of God on
his life and became a student at the ZhongNan Theological Seminary in Wuhan.
He studied there for five years from 1985.
Life for a theological student in China
then was not easy. Among the greatest difficulties was that they had no
regular teachers and no substantial library.
Their studies depended almost solely, at
least in the first few years, on the students’ dedication and desire to
learn and prepare for ministry. But Yin was sure of his calling and worked
hard and diligently.
He graduated in 1989. Among his fellow-graduates
of that year was a young lady, Zhao Run Di, and it was not long before
their romance, begun in the theological seminary, turned to love and they
married.
On graduating Yin became a teacher at the
seminary for five years and, in 1995, accepted a call to pastor at the
Guilin Protestant church.
Every Sunday there are about 700 people
in the congregation. As well, the Rev Yin WeiLi leads a special service
for young people every Saturday evening. Over 150 people attend this service.
In addition to his church responsibilities
he also serves as vice-president of the Guilin Christian Council and is
on the board of the ZhongNan Theological Seminary. (SR 18/1 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
Diary Note: November 14
“A remarkable trip down the Lijiang River from Zhujiang (about
40 kms south of Guilin) to Yangshuo took four hours. The scenery was constantly
changing – fascinating! The hills, for which this area is famous, jutted
up like fingers all around. The cliffs are steep and rocky; the river is
at a low ebb, and seemingly pollution-free.
There were villages and settlements all
along the river, with market-gardening, fishing, sand dredging and sifting
among the work done by the locals. The weather was still and misty. It
all added to the mystical surrealism of this part of China. . . ”
(SR18/DN1 - 6.98) |
|
n
The Rev Yin WeiLi (right), the Rev Dr John Erickson and Dr I-Jin Loh (left)
Chinese
Church Says:
“Thank You for Scriptures”
“A
very sincere thank you to our brothers and sisters in Christ in New Zealand
for what you are giving to the church in China to help meet Scripture needs.”
This heartfelt gratitude came from the Pastor of the Guilin
Protestant Church, the Rev Yin WeiLi, when he met members of the UBS delegation
to China.
The Rev Yin told the delegation that his church annually
distributes nearly 5,000 copies of the Bible in Guilin, a city of 400,000.
“This averages 80-100 a week,” said Rev Yin. “And they are supplied to
Christians and non-Christians alike. If they can afford it, we sell it
to them for US $1.50; normally books of similar size and quality cost $6.
“We can only do this because of the generosity of Bible
Society supporters in countries like New Zealand," he said.
He said that everyone in his church has their own Bible
and they have a special program of offering Scriptures to people in the
community.
“Thank you, Bible Societies around the world for your
help in making this program work. We give praise to God for you!” said
Rev Yin. (SR 18/2 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
Diary note: November 15
“To the Guilin Protestant Church: this is close to the heart of the
city and very impressive. Built only four years ago, it nevertheless looks
older. It is simple inside and out, with bare concrete floors and walls
and uncushioned wooden pews. A moving occasion: we heard from each of five
church members. Our stay was not long enough, but their words made a deep
impression on us . . .” (SR18/DN2 - 6.98) |
Service
in Shanghai
Dateline . . SHANGHAI, November 16
The 10am service was one of four
services held in the Shanghai Community Church in downtown Shanghai. Together,
over 3,500 people worship in the church on a Sunday.
This service was like
many other such church services anywhere in the world, except that this
service is being held in The People’s Republic of China. The worshippers
attend of their own free will and because they want to worship the God
they have found through Jesus Christ.
Before the minister
took his place, the congregation had listened to the choir singing. Outside,
as worshippers came into the church grounds, they heard Handel’s ‘Hallelujah
Chorus’ being played over loudspeakers.
Only the early worshippers
got a seat in the main church. Latecomers had to find a pew in the adjacent
hall and listen to a relay of the service. Some were late because they
had had to queue at the bookstall near the entrance to the church, to buy
a Bible. The stall sells scores of Bibles every Sunday.
The service begins
with a call to worship by one of the pastors, usually one of the women
pastors. Then follows a hymn – one of the traditional hymns of the church
– followed by prayer and the Lord’s Prayer.
The Bible reading is
a responsive one and there is a great flurry of activity just before the
reading as most of the congregation look up the passage in their own Bibles.
Then the accomplished choir sings an anthem; there is another passage of
Scripture read; another hymn; and then the sermon.
It is a biblically-based,
evangelical sermon, usually exhorting the congregation to live the life
of a Christian. In a country where proselytising is against the law, the
most effective witness for the Christian faith is to live it! And that
is what the pastors ask their people to do. Then comes the penultimate
hymn during which sometimes there are people who come forward for prayer;
then there is a final hymn and the benediction.
From this church alone,
27 new churches in Shanghai have been planted. God is moving in China.
The prayers of many Christians around the world, prayers that have been
said for many years, are being answered. The church is alive and growing
in Shanghai as it is in many other parts of China. (SR 18/3 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
|
Community-Involved
Church
|
The Shanghai Community Christian church, in central Shanghai,
is not only a place where Christians worship, pray, and read God’s Word
together. They also make their church facilities available for community
activities such as the weekly art and craft group. Among the congregation
are a number of medical practitioners who offer their services at no charge,
for the benefit of poorer members of the congregation and poorer people
in the wider non-Christian community.
While the community activity programme of
the church is not large at present, the church leadership are looking at
ways to better serve both its fast-growing membership and people in the
surrounding community more effectively. But, as one of the church pastors,
the Rev Pang En Mei, says, “We need more leaders, especially younger leaders.
Please pray that God will raise up from among us, youthful dedicated leaders
for our church.” (SR 18/4 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
n
People purchasing Scriptures at the Shanghai Community Church |
Diary Note: November
16
Shanghai Community Church. . . “This was my first visit
to a Chinese Christian Church. It seemed to me that people were there because
they wanted to be there, worshipping freely and purposefully. The first
hymn was ‘Praise to the Lord the Almighty’; the last one ‘Forth in Thy
name O Lord I go’. . .
We left when the service was over for a
restaurant, and a banquet hosted by Mr Shen De-Rong, a significant person
in the church in Shanghai who is a member of a number of committees. His
wife, too, is very active in the church and has compiled a Chinese hymnbook
with the help of some others. She said grace and it was a most impressive
and moving prayer.
[Later] we walked just along the road to
the Mu-en Church. A service was in progress and we stayed briefly – I wish
it had been longer. The people are without exception, warm and welcoming.
It is a pleasure and a privilege to see and meet so many of them. Especially
when one considers what the older ones must have been through for their
faith. . .
Some impressions, thus far, of Shanghai
. . . it has exceeded all my expectations of what it might be like. The
office buildings and hotels are magnificent in their structure, height,
variation and appeal. And the houses, too, are equally of high class. Certainly
much of the ‘old’ China still stands but the worst of these homes and buildings
are being rapidly replaced.
People and bikes are everywhere. I do not
think it will be long before this city becomes the ‘gateway of the east’.
If this is the face of China and the prototype for Chinese cities, then
there is no doubt in my mind that this country will be the foremost country
in the world in so many aspects in the 21st century.” (SR18/DN3 - 6.98) |
Church
Growth – Chinese Style!
Dateline . . . SHANGHAI, November 16
Just over two years ago, as housing began to replace the rice-fields
in an area of southern Shanghai, a small group of Christians began to meet.
It wasn’t long before numbers began to swell, and the group moved on to
a house with a larger basement.
Soon numbers reached 200 and the home basement was insufficient for
their needs. So they applied to the government for permission to build
a church. Today, less than three years after their first meeting, the Church
of the Fountain of the Spirit has a new church and a congregation of just
on 1,000 – and still growing fast!
Fastest-selling book
The money to build the church came mostly from the congregation themselves.
They raised NZ$460,000 out of the total cost of NZ$560,000 – from the parishioner’s
average monthly income of just NZ$160 a month. The balance of the cost
came from a Hong Kong church. The church, one of five built and opened
in Shanghai within the past 11 years, seats over 800 people and there are
two services every Sunday and many more during the week.
As with most churches in China, there is a small bookstall in the vestibule,
and the most prominent and fastest-selling book is the Bible. Weekly, they
sell scores of Bibles to Christians and non-Christians alike. One of the
church pastors, the Rev Ge Li, said that the secret of their growth was
prayer, good teaching, and living out their Christian faith in everyday
life so effectively that others would be attracted to the church and how
to live as a Christian. (SR18/5 - 6.98)
New
Shanghai Seminary
Dateline . . . SHANGHAI, November 17
Although only 12 years old, the East China Theological Seminary in downtown
Shanghai has already outgrown its accommodation and work is underway to
build a new NZ$3.4 million seminary in north-west Shanghai. The new
campus will be 19 times larger than the present one and it has been financed
mainly by the Christian churches in Shanghai.
The church in the Shanghai district is growing at such
a rate that the present intake of 85 students is far from sufficient to
meet the growing demands. But even with the space that the new seminary
will offer when it opens, the strict entrance criteria for students will
remain.
Seminary Principal the Rev De Ci Su said that only a third
of the students who apply for training are accepted. “They must have already
reached a high standard of academic excellence before applying, be proven
leaders in their own church which recommends them, and be absolutely sure
of God’s calling to the ministry,” he said. “Such criteria mean that, after
3 years’ study, over 90% of the students graduate and return to their home
church to serve full-time.” The new East China Theological Seminary was
due to open in March 1998. (SR18/6 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
|
Annual
Appeal Helps Seminary
The East China Theological
Seminary in Shanghai has a unique method of covering almost all of its
annual running costs. On the second Sunday in March each year, all contributions
and collections taken in the Shanghai and district Protestant churches
go towards supporting the seminary. In recent years the amount collected
has never been less than enough to cover over 90% of the seminary’s total
annual running costs. In return, the seminary trains people for the ministry
in this area of China. (SR18/7 - 6.98) |
“Push
the Work, Let’s Go Ahead!”
Dateline. . . SHANGHAI, November 17
“We are
doing all we can to push the work of the church in China, so it can go
ahead.” These were the words of Dr Han Wenzao, who was elected as President
of the China Christian Council in January 1997.
Not long after his election, Dr Han set up ten commissions,
one on Bible work with the aim of improving the production and distribution
of the Bible in China. This is a work in which the Council and the UBS
are closely associated through their partnership in the Amity Press in
Nanjing which, so far, has published nearly 17 million Chinese Bibles.
“The Bible is very precious to Chinese Christians and
our strategy is to make sure they get all the Bibles they require,” said
Dr Han. “To this end we have two basic aims: firstly, to ensure the need
for ‘first Bibles’ for anyone who wants them is met. And we have some way
to go before we can say this is done.
“Secondly, we want to begin to offer variation in quality
and format of our Bibles. For example, we would like to offer hardcover
Bibles, leather-bound Bibles, Bibles with two columns to the page, Bibles
in Braille and in large print – some of the formats of Bibles that are
very readily available in English.”
Acknowledging the vital part that the UBS is playing in
getting Bibles to Chinese Christians, he especially thanked the UBS for
being one of the first world Christian organisations to work with their
Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ.
“You have always been a true partner,” he said. “All we
ever ask of our partners is for them to be open, honest and legal. You
have always been all of those three to China and we thank you very sincerely
for that.” (SR18/8 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
Two New
Churches
Every Three Days
 “The
Christian faith is growing so fast in China that two new churches are being
opened every three days,” said the President of the China Christian Council,
Dr Han Wenzao. “There are between 10 and 12 million Christians in China
and that figure is growing rapidly,” he said.
“There have been more than 12,000 churches opened in China
since 1979 and there are also 12,000 meeting points in China, mostly led
by lay-people.” Meeting points are homes where groups of Christians meet
together but do not have either the numbers or resources to build a church
at present. “Inevitably,” said Dr Han, “these meeting points will develop
into churches.”
He also told the UBS delegation that there are 17 theological
seminaries in China, including four Bible Colleges. “There are 1,500 full-time
students in the seminaries and 3,000 more students who study part-time
or by correspondence.”
Speaking of the future of the church in China, Dr Han
said it faces two main challenges. “Firstly,” he said, “we need to train
new Christian leaders, especially for the rural churches. Secondly, we
must find a way of bringing younger leaders into the church.”
He admitted that in the planning to meet these challenges,
the road was not always easy. “We need spiritual renewal among our leaders.
We worked well in the Cultural Revolution when it was difficult and we
must continue to work together even better now,” said Dr Han. “So long
as we do that, the future is very bright,” he added. (SR18/9 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
Diary note:
November 17
“A visit to another ‘new’ church. It was in the Pudong area
and was completed 2 years ago. It started as a meeting place but now has
an attending congregation of 1,500. On Sundays they stand in the stairwells!
And it is only one of the 8 churches in the area.
The evangelist who showed us over the building said as
we were leaving, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Please
pray for us.” He was referring to the enormously fast growth of the church
and the lack of trained leadership to cope.
Then onto another banquet. . . this time to meet and dine
with Bishop Jin, the head of the Chinese Catholic Church. This is one ‘man
of faith’!
He was imprisoned for his beliefs for 23 years, 18 of which
were in solitary confinement where he was not allowed a Bible, nor to say
his prayers aloud, nor to sing hymns.
Yet today, at 82 years of age, he is a vibrant, outgoing,
loving man. It was both humbling and a privilege to be able to dine in
the same room.” (SR18/DN4 - 6.98) |
|
BIBLE
UNITES BEIJING CHURCH
Dateline . . . BEIJING, November 19
“Only
the Bible unites us together. It is the Bible that brings us together,
as individuals and within the churches. It is our common foundation.” So
said the Rev Jiang Jin Wan, pastor at the Chong Wen Men Church in central
Beijing, when he was talking with the UBS delegation. “The Bible is the
only standard by which our people can live and have faith. It is basic
to our belief,” he added.
Mr Jiang is one of four pastors at the church which has
a total congregation each week of nearly 3,000. This makes it the biggest
of the eight Christian churches in Beijing. To cater for such numbers they
have nine services and meetings throughout the week. On Sunday, when the
church is always overflowing, they relay the service to those unable to
get a seat inside the church proper, by cable television to the church
basement and courtyard.
The meetings held during the week are specifically for
youth, for women, for Bible study, for witness and testimony, and they
have two meetings for the large Korean Christian population in Beijing.
Built in 1866, the church has been open ever since except during the Cultural
Revolution when it was forced to close its doors in 1966. It re-opened
at Christmas-time, 1982.
The diversity and background of the congregation mean
that the church offers three different ways of serving holy communion and
two different ways of baptising – by immersion and by infusion. But the
one factor common to all members of the congregation is their love for
the Bible. It is, as Mr Jiang says, what unites them in their love for
Jesus Christ. (SR18/10 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
Dateline . . . BEIJING, November 20
Primary
Role For Bible In Beijing
Plans are in hand to extend the capacity of the Yan Jing Theological
Seminary in Beijing, China, from 120 students to 300, the Seminary vice-principal,
the Rev Yu XinLi, has announced.
The seminary offers a 5-year course, comprising two
years’ study, after which the student returns to his or her home church
for a year. Providing the church commends them again after their year’s
work is completed, they return to the seminary for another two years’ study.
(SR18/11 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
 |
Diary note: November 20
“. . . We climbed the Great Wall of China and walked
about a kilometre along it – or should I say slithered along because it
was cold and frosty . . . vendors appeared out of nowhere, persisting in
their sales. It is an utterly magnificent feat of engineering and construction.
We then headed for the Tomb of the Ming
Emperors. There are 13 of the Tombs in this valley and the one we visited
is a few hundred feet underground and magnificently excavated and constructed
with superb craftsmanship. There ‘lie’– no-one was certain whether or not
the bodies still remain there – one of the emperors and his two empresses
and boxes of their worldly goods.
Out next stop was the Summer Palace. This
was the imperial garden and residence of the Qing dynasty and was constructed
in 1750. After it was burned by Anglo-French forces in 1860 it was rebuilt
and renamed by the Dowager Empress Cixi.
It is huge – 290 hectares and more than
3,000 buildings. We climbed many stairs, walked the long corridor, stood
aboard the unsinkable concrete boat, and climbed the hill of longevity.
The day we visited the mist was low and
it was very still. Much of it seemed straight out of one of those mystical
paintings commonly associated with this part of China. Quite magic!”
(SR18/DN5 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
< Visitors taking
a break on the Great Wall of China |
Meeting
the Needs of the Rural Churches
When Dr Han Wenzao took over as General Secretary of
the China Christian Council he said: “Without committed lay leaders our
churches would not function, especially in the countryside. Our church
is a lay-people’s church, and we lay people have an important role to play
in making our Christian presence felt in China.”
Born in Shanghai in 1923 into a non-Christian
family, Dr Han became a Christian while attending the mission-run Hangchow
Christian College, and took up a leadership role in the student Christian
fellowship. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour his studies were temporarily
interrupted when the college was relocated to the interior.
Dr Han transferred to St John’s University
and graduated in 1944 with a degree in civil engineering. Refusing to work
under the Japanese, he ended up joining the staff of the Shanghai YMCA.
In 1961 he took charge of the administration of Nanjing Union Theological
Seminary. As he says jokingly, his career had shifted from civil engineering
to human engineering.
Being driven out of the seminary by the
Red Guards in 1966, and being forced to work in the fields raised his awareness
of the needs of rural Christians, and that fired one of aims today: to
do whatever possible to serve the needs of rural Christian communities
in China. (SR 18/12 - 6.98)
Diary note: November 21
“At Tiananmen Square we wandered across the vast concrete and stone expanse
and, of course, foremost in our thoughts were the events of June 1989.
Then from the Square to the Forbidden City. First stop was to stand on
the spot where, on October 1, 1949, Mao Tse-Tung proclaimed the existence
of the People’s Republic of China.
We went across many courtyards and inspected many edifices
in what was the Imperial Palace. At one stage we were asked to put some
sort of over-sandal on our shoes. This supposedly protected the marble
floor from our shoes, or maybe it had some religious significance. We gained
entrance to some superb displays of clocks, ancient armaments, the royal
clothing, and various ornamental pieces of significance to the royal household
. . .
In the afternoon we were taken to The Heavenly Temple,
yet another of Beijing’s magnificent complexes of ancient buildings and
grounds. . . brilliantly designed and built with exquisite craftsmanship
and a lot of heavy labour. Especially impressive is the painting of the
ceilings in the temples. They are detailed, artistic, each one telling
a story . . .” (SR 18/DN6 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
New
Bibles
Needed in Rural
Churches |
Accompanied by Peter Dean and his family, the
four New Zealanders – Errol Pike, George Barton, David Harrison and Colin
Reed – attended a Sunday morning service at the rural Tangshan Community
Church.
|
“We were ushered into the very front pews. . . during our introduction,
when it was mentioned that we were part of a UBS delegation, they seemed
to know about the UBS, murmured approvingly and broke into applause! 
The church building itself was basic. The floor was bare
concrete, the walls concrete with a white plaster covering, the windows
were barred . . . The pews were hard with wooden slats. In front of the
altar which spread across the front of the church were some mats – stuffed
sacking – which, presumably, people kneeled on to pray or receive communion.
The Church was packed. Mostly, from my observation, an
elderly congregation. The faces of many told a story of hardship, tragedy
and poverty. And there was much coughing and "clearing of throats" which
indicated a less-than-healthy congregation. Yet, as I met their eyes, their
faces lit up in a smile which seemed to say a lot about the hope they had
in their Christian faith.
This congregation was a rural congregation. There was
not one pair of shoes that I saw which did not have fresh mud on them from
their walk to church. This was the only rural church we saw in China and
it is typical, by all accounts, of what goes to make up the large majority
of the churches in China. These kind of churches are the ones that really
need our help and support.
I noticed their Bibles – and everyone seemed to have one
– were old and well-used. They were overdue for replacement. The sermon
was delivered by a young woman lay-preacher who used Psalm 68:19 and Galatians
6:1-6 as the basis for what she said. We were told her sermon was about
burdens, and the hope of “all those who are weary” that can be found in
Jesus Christ.
Everyone listened very attentively to the sermon although
I noticed three “ushers” patrolling the aisles, and if anyone, young or
old, showed signs of inattention, they were given a gentle tap on the shoulder!
After the sermon there was a prayer and then everyone recited the Lord’s
Prayer. They did this with a unity, a fervour and an intensity that I have
seldom, if ever, heard before.” (SR18/13 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
‘I noticed their Bibles – and everyone seemed
to have one –
were old and well-used. They were overdue for
replacement.’
Local
Paper Means More Bibles
Dateline . . . NANJING, November 24
Almost two-thirds of the Bible paper used for printing Bibles
in Chinese at the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing, China, now comes from
paper production mills within China. Previously all Bible paper used at
the company was imported from the United Kingdom and Finland, and these
imports attracted tax and duties. While a third of the Bible paper used
at the company still comes from the UK and Finland, the saving by using
domestically-produced paper amounts to 35%. This saving results in many
more Bibles printed in Chinese for the same cost.
New Zealander Peter Dean, the production
specialist at the company, says the use of domestically produced paper
is the result of long and close co-operation with China’s paper producers.
“The development to achieve the quality level required has taken time,
but it is now paying off,” he said. “In fact,” says Peter, “it has reached
such an acceptable standard that you will find a category under the heading
‘Bible Paper’ in the paper manufacturers’ product catalogue.”
Paper is the major cost in Bible production
at the Amity Printing Company and Bible Societies throughout the world
subsidise the cost of Bibles to the Chinese by paying for the paper. “The
most cost-effective way anyone outside China can help in the production
and distribution of Bibles to the Chinese is to give money for the paper
on which we print the Bibles. Contributions towards the cost of paper are
a tremendous help in making the Bible available to Chinese people,” said
Peter. (SR18/14 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
Dateline . . . NANJING, November 24
WORLD
STANDARDS FOR BIBLE PRINTING IN CHINA
The Amity Printing Company
in Nanjing, China, has recently introduced procedures which will enable
it to be accredited with the international quality standard, ISO 9002.
The company has so far printed 17 million Bibles for distribution in China
in a joint venture with the United Bible Societies. Peter Dean, production
specialist with the company, said that already the process has highlighted
areas for improvement and changes are underway to ensure higher quality
of the final product and better accountability throughout the production
line. He said the company hoped to have the international quality ratification
by the end of 1998. (SR18/15 - 6.98) [PHOTOS] |
Bibles
Must
be Numbered
Every Bible printed at the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing, China,
includes, on the title page, the government permit number for that production
run. This requirement, which applies to any book published in China, gives
the buyer security knowing that what is bought is legal and cannot be taken
away from them or cause them any embarrassment with the authorities. (SR18/16
- 6.98) |
|
Braille
Scriptures in Great Demand
Dateline . . . NANJING, 24 November 1997
The
Gospels and the Book of Acts were the first Scriptures to be published
in Braille in China.The Amity Printing Company in Nanjing prints Bibles
for the Chinese under a joint agreement with the United Bible Societies.
So popular are these Bible volumes that there is
now a strong demand from the blind Chinese community for the whole Bible
to be printed in Braille.
However, because of limited output capabilities
and the present small number of trained staff, the Company is struggling
to meet this demand at present.
Its resources, originally set up with the help of
the Christian Literature for the Blind organisation in Hong Kong, are presently
stretched to the limit. (SR18/17- 6.98) [PHOTOS]
“Thank
You” in Scripture Frontispiece
On the first page of most
of the Scriptures printed by the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing, China,
there is a paragraph of gratitude to the many donors to Bible Societies
around the world for making the Bible available to Chinese Christians.
It reads, in both Chinese and English: “With grateful thanks and deep appreciation
to the United Bible Societies for the donation of Bible paper and to brothers
and sisters at home and abroad for their prayer and support for the printing
and distribution of this book.” Donors to Bible Societies around the world
give money to purchase the paper used in the printing of Chinese Bibles.
This keeps the final cost of the Bibles very low – a price, in fact, that
most Chinese people can afford. (SR18/18 - 6.98) |
Diary note: 24 November 1997
“What of Nanjing? In many ways much like other Chinese cities . . . sights
and smells both pleasant and unpleasant; chaotic traffic, bicycles everywhere
– parked and moving; market garden plots on almost any 
free
and arable land; congested city roads but virtually traffic-free motorways;
a superb modern airport; trains still being pulled by steam engines; a
roadside dentist’s which I first mistook for a barber’s shop; magnificent
new high-rise buildings and 2-3 storey old, decaying ones, side by side;
department stores where there seem to be at least three employees for every
customer; shops, stalls, markets, bargains and bargaining; the van which
played Silent Night as it drove past the hotel late at night.
Then there was the warmth and kindness of our hosts .
. .the miracle that is the Amity Press; the sight of packed churches and
the fervour with which they read their Bibles and say the Lord’s Prayer
– the list could go on and on.
As we were often reminded during the many welcomes we
received in China, there is an old Chinese proverb which says, ‘seeing
is believing.’ Too true!” (SR18/DN7 - 6.98) [PHOTOS]
< A lay-worker
at a Bible seminar enjoys a mug of food
This page was last updated on Monday, 6th July, 1998
