Dear Friends at 5C:
It has been a while since we communicated through a newsletter last time. As you may already know, the church’s reopening plan was postponed due to the unexpected delay of the remodeling project. At this point, we are unsure when the student union will be ready to use. According to the latest report from SLONaz church, it is possible that we can resume in-person service sometime in July. Again this is just a tentative estimate since the progress of this project is out of our hands. Please be patient as the board is working on every resource to ensure this transition back to campus as soon as possible. Your prayers and support for this matter are highly appreciated.
Thanks to Brothers Joseph Ma, Tim Wang, Hong Duong, Raymond Wu, Anderson Lin and Allen Bao for painting the Student Union. Also thanks to three sisters (Annie Shi-Mu, Huei Lu Searing and Ling Jiao for preparing lunch for them, a wonderful time of fellowship in serving the Lord! Their effort certainly facilitates the progress of ongoing remodeling project. I am amazed how quickly people reach out to help whenever there is a need in the church. Praise the Lord that our church is full of people who love the Lord and care for one another.
Praise the Lord that we finished the 14-week sermon series on the Book of Galatians. Many have told me how much they have learned from this series. Yes, I also truly enjoy the journey of studying with this lovely congregation. Your enthusiasm has inspired me to work on this series. It is the challenge of this generation to grasp the true meaning of the gospel and how to live a life that Jesus promises to his followers. In July, we plan to take a couple of weeks to promote the disciple training program, which will become the desired action of what we learned from last sermon series. Hope that our members will actively participate in this program to pursue holiness in Christ.
Praise the Lord that our sister Shimin Quintel has arrived in China safely. She has to go through a three-week quarantine and multiple COVID-19 tests before leaving for Beijing to meet her family. Please continue to remember her in your prayers during her time staying in China.
Happy Dragon-Boat Festival to all church families! Happy Father’s Day to all fathers in our midst, and also remember our Father in Heaven who cares for us every day and His love endures forever!
Ministry Update:
- Anderson will lead church prayer meeting (in Chinese) at 7:30pm this Thursday 6/17
- Pastor Chen will be in SLO from Wednesday to Saturday this week 6/16-19
- Small group “Peace” will meet at 7:30pm Friday 6/18 through Zoom
- Chinese Sunday school (Anderson) and English Sunday school (Chris Choi)
- English Sunday school begins a new class “That the World May Know” on 6/13
- We have concluded the sermon series on the Book of Galatians last Sunday 6/13
- Due to the delay of remodeling, the church reopening is postponed until further notice
- Our church prepares to launch a disciple-training program in the summer
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in India and around the world
- Pray for physical and spiritual well-being of our church members
- Pray for the remodeling of Student Union and the church’s reopening plan
- Pray for small group ministry in our church
- Pray for the launch of disciple training program in the summer
- Pray for Cherry Lam’s mother in Hong Kong who is seriously ill
- Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor
- Pray for Bill Campbell (ed Sherman’s friend) who suffers internal bleeding due to hepatic cirrhosis
- Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother for Parkinson’s disease
Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
Jinchang
親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
距離上次的牧師家書已經有一段時間了。您可能已得知,由於裝修進度的延誤,教會的重新開放計劃被推遲。目前,我們不確定學生中心何時可以完工。據 SLO 拿撒勒人教會稱,大概在 7 月份的某個時候將會恢復使用。同樣,這只是初步估計,因為我們無法控制該裝修項目的進度。請耐心等待,執事會也正在處理每個事項,以確保順利過渡。非常感謝您對此的祈禱和支持。
感謝馬新波弟兄、汪天來弟兄、楊鴻弟兄、胡其健弟兄、林恩深弟兄和鮑祖琰弟兄幫助學生中心粉刷。同樣感謝裴師母、呂惠慧姐妹和焦玲姐妹為他們準備午餐,度過了一段事奉主的美好的團契時光!他們的辛勞加快了裝修項目的進程。我很驚嘆,每當教會有需要時,我們成員都迅速的伸出援手。教會真是充滿了愛主並彼此關心的弟兄姐妹。
感謝主,我們已經完成了為期 14 週的加拉太書的講道系列,許多人告訴我,他們從這個系列中學到了很多。是的,我也非常享受與這群可愛的會眾一起學習的旅程。你們的熱情激勵了我在這個系列的備課工作。把握福音的真正含義以及如何享受耶穌應許給祂追隨者的生命,是我們這一代人面臨的挑戰。接下來的 7 月份,我們計劃用幾週時間來推廣門徒訓練計劃,這將把我們上個講道系列的內容學以致用。希望大家積極參與這個計劃,以追求在基督裡的聖潔。
感謝主,馮石敏姐妹已經平安抵達中國。在她前往北京與家人見面之前,必須接受為期三週的隔離和多次新冠檢測。在她留在中國期間,請繼續為她祈禱。
祝所有教會家庭端午安康!祝我們中的所有的父親,父親節快樂!也請紀念念我們的天父,祂每天都在關心我們,祂的慈愛永遠長存!
事工更新:
1. 林恩深弟兄將帶領本週四 6 月 17 日晚間 7 點半的中文禱告會
2. 陳牧師本週三至週六 6 月 16-19 日將在 SLO
3. 『和平』小組將於 6 月 18 日週五晚間 7 點半聚會
4. 本週中文主日學將由林恩深弟兄帶領,英文主日學由蔡達文弟兄帶領
5. 英文主日學 6 月 13 日已經開啟新課程《讓世界都知道》
6. 上主日 6 月 13 日我們已結束加拉太書的講道系列
7. 由於裝修項目延誤,執事會決定暫緩重返教會計劃,具體時間另行通知
8. 教會計劃於夏天開展門徒訓練計劃,歡迎所有教會成員參加
禱告事項
1. 為印度及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
2. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
3. 為拿撒勒人教堂的裝修進度及我們的重返教會計劃
4. 為教會各個小組事工
5. 為教會開展的門徒訓練計劃禱告
6. 為林智慧姐妹在香港病重的母親禱告
7. 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
8. 為 Ed Sherman 的朋友 Bill Campbell 患有肝硬化導致小腸間隙性出血
9. 為裴師母姐姐和林恩深弟兄的哥哥祈禱,他們正在遭受帕金森氏綜合征的困擾
期待週日線上見
主僕陳金昌