Chinese New Year is upon us and one of the holiday goodies is loads of food shared with family and friends. Traditionally, Chinese New Year involves returning to one’s hometown to visit relatives and share meals together.
In this article from China Christian Daily, Lin Muli shares how a church in Zhangzhou, Fujian province continues a tradition of cooking and sharing meals for those who are unable to visit their families during the holiday. Beimen Church’s Chinese New Year outreach is an example of how the church in China continues to bless others in society.
Church Makes Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner for 12 Years
One church will continue an 11-year-long tradition of cooking Chinese New Year's Eve dinner for people who are unable to gather with their families.
A family was invited to have New Year's Eve dinner at a round table in Beimen Church.
Beimen Church, which started in 2004, is the largest church in Zhangzhou, in southeastern Fujian province. Beimen Church provides New Year's Eve meals to financially disadvantaged local residents, migrant workers, sanitation workers, lonely elderly people, and single men. At this special time they eat with the staff at the church and watch the CCTV Spring Festival Gala [an annual nationally televised program], an important part of the festival celebration.
Beimen Church
The head of the church said that the number of the attendants for the dinner was only a dozen in 2004 but has increased year after year. This year about 300 people will join the dinner.
The church started by gathering in a glass factory on Easter of 2001. The gathering had about 30 believers at that time. As the congregation grew, six warehouses were purchased and reconstructed into a church building in 42 days. Sunday attendance increased to over 300.
In Sept 2010, a new facility was slated with a floor plan of around 10,594 square meters (2.61 acres) and a ground-breaking ceremony was held. The church was finished in 2017 and has a seating capacity of 5,000 people.
Original English Article: Church Makes Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner for 12 Years, China Christian Daily
Original: Chinese article on Gospel Times.
Text images credit: Beiman Church via China Christian Daily
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