I am deeply grateful that God led me to EFCCA in 2020, where I made a decision for Christ and was baptised. Through the church’s training, equipping and opportunities to serve, I experienced God’s wonderful works and abundant love. He continually enlarged, renewed and changed my life.
In June 2022 I became responsible for EFCCA Children’s Learning, including holiday programmes and after-school interest classes. By serving children in the community, we built connections with parents and expanded the church’s platform for the gospel. In 2022 and 2023 the holiday programme grew from just over ten children to more than thirty. Many brothers and sisters took leave from work to teach classes or care for the children, and the programme continued attracting families from the community.
During each holiday programme, the children were willing to follow Jesus as they learned the children’s Evangelism Explosion material. Yet no non-Christian parent came to faith, remained in the church or joined the congregation. This was a major blow to me. For two years, brothers, sisters and I had invested so much time and energy in planning and organisation, but church attendance had not increased at all. I could not accept it and did not understand why.
Later, the church invited missionaries to provide training. I was moved and inspired by their spirit. Some served for decades in Muslim-majority countries and saw only a few people come to faith, yet they continued faithfully because they were obeying God’s will. They understood, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). In their missionary service they experienced God’s work and presence, and their own lives were renewed day by day. I learned not to pursue how many people remained in church, but simply to be faithful to my responsibility.
When I released my demand for visible results and became willing to follow God’s leading, I was asked in 2024 to take responsibility for a new ministry—the Chinese Alpha Course. The ministry required a team with many different roles, together with the planning and organisation of an Alpha weekend. I knew that without the Lord using my earlier holiday-programme service, I would not have built strong relationships with so many brothers and sisters or developed the organisational experience needed for Alpha.
We now run Alpha twice a year and are currently holding the sixth course. Across the first five courses, fifty people made decisions for Christ and twenty-four were baptised. Through Alpha, attendance at the evening congregation increased significantly.
At first I still focused somewhat on numbers and hoped that more people would decide for Christ and be baptised. Yet I knew that the number who would remain and commit to the church was ultimately in God’s hands. What my team and I needed to pursue was the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, welcoming guests from different backgrounds and cultures, and loving and caring for every person God sent with the heart of Jesus. Through serving I came to understand more deeply the Lord’s word: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).
Every Alpha course brings different challenges. Yet as the co-workers pray and seek God together, He gives far beyond what we ask or imagine, and my faith continues to grow. God never promised that the sky would always be blue, but He promised to be with us. Whatever difficulties and challenges lie ahead, may God give me a courageous heart, fearless in all things, because He goes before me, fights for me and opens the way—and because brothers and sisters walk beside me.
Wang Yiqi
