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Baptism Highlights Triennial
CHICAGO, IL (August 14, 2007) – Pastor Ben Gong was one of the few men invited to attend Triennial, joining more than 1,000 other participants at the event sponsored by Women Ministries. It’s an invitation he says he’ll never forget.
Gong was on hand to baptize Susan, a believer from China attending Triennial, during a worship service. “I am thrilled to see so many American Christian sisters support this one Chinese sister,” says Gong.
House churches in China—like the one Susan attends— must baptize in secret, Gong says. Pictures of the baptism, as well as Susan’s last name, are not being released for fear of persecution when she returns home.
Both Susan and Gong wept during the ceremony. One participant prayed with Susan as the ceremony concluded. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it because I was so emotional, but I got through it. It was very moving,” she said.
Gong, who became a Christian while living in China and now assists at lmmanual Covenant Church in Chicago, said the opportunity to take communion with the entire gathering after the baptism made the moment even more powerful.
The government forbids communion by house churches because it means they are a formal gathering, he says. All churches must be registered, and any congregation not registered is illegal and considered a house church.
Attendees to the Triennial overwhelmingly said the service was the biggest highlight of an event filled with memorable moments.
Susan contributed another of those highlights when she became the first citizen of China to carry that nation’s flag during the Triennial opening worship celebration. Flags from all the countries where the Covenant is doing mission work were carried into the large meeting hall by women from those nations or by missionaries.
Susan became a believer following several encounters with Covenanters from Oklahoma who traveled to China on a work-related trip. The same Covenanters opened an English and computer science post-high school training center.
Ruth Hill, executive minister of Women Ministries met Susan when she traveled to China in 2005. “We dreamed about her coming to Triennial even then.” The North Pacific Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church sponsored her trip.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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