For the provinces of Kiangsu and Chekiang, the center of the work along the Nanking-Shanghai and Shanghai- Hangchow railways lines is in Shanghai. Therefore, Shanghai must maintain a strong testimony, and Shanghai needs workers to maintain the work. The responsibility of the rest of the localities in this region should be left to the brothers of their own locality. At the same time the brothers in Shanghai should migrate to other places. After a period of time, the brothers in Shanghai should move out group by group. This is a very important matter. Going out to preach the gospel is in the hand of the brothers and sisters; we are not sending people out to be pastors, but just to be emigrants. Please remember that the principle of Jerusalem is migration. This was the method for preaching the gospel in the early churches. One can say that they went out because of persecution. But then where do we find children of God who do not suffer persecution? Hence, we must bear in mind that the path is clearly laid before us.
This is how I see this matter today. I may illustrate it in this way: If the province of Fukien and the island of Taiwan are one region for the work, we believe that Foochow may be taken as a center. Of course, the brothers must support and maintain such a center by going out and coming back. When we bring people to salvation, we should admonish them that they too must go out by the Lord’s grace. We should encourage twenty people to move to Nan-Ping, thirty to Putien, thirty to Amoy, thirty to Taipei, and thirty also to Tainan. When they move out, the gospel will go out with them. The gospel will simply follow them. If we are expecting a considerable number of evangelists to be raised up within a certain number of years, not only will the expense be high, but the number of people going out will be limited. Eventually, we will not see much result. Remember that the whole church must go forth to preach the gospel. It is right for group after group to go out.
In Foochow there are apostles and elders. Sometimes two or three of them may go to a locality to visit and then return. Two or three more may go to another locality and also return.
I am not saying that all the gospel work must be left in their hands from now on. Perhaps one or two brothers and sisters need to visit from village to village. But the gospel will go out only when these two ways of carrying the gospel are taken at the same time.
We now can see that the work at the center becomes very important. There we not only need to maintain the ministry of the Word, but we also need to send people out for the work. Regardless of whether they are peddlers, rickshaw coolies or domestic servants, they all must be sent out to preach the gospel.
For this reason, we need to give all the brothers and sisters a proper training so that they will be brought to the point where they are ready to be sent out. Fifty will be sent to one place and thirty to another place where they will be able to help the local churches without becoming a burden to them. If the many who are sent forth become a problem and the local churches cannot deal with them, what good is this? Therefore, the brothers and sisters need to be properly trained in order to be prepared to go out as missionaries group by group.
The co-workers must see that the work has to be centralized, not scattered. The locality which is the center first must be set up in good order before the saints can be trained and sent out.
During the past few years we have encountered many sufferings and difficulties. We have learned some lessons. May we not treat these lessons lightly. We need to learn from these things.
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