Church News and Fellowship Vol1 No4


	Church News and Fellowship Blending Again and Again On the ten-day trip to East Malaysia, the saints from the Great Lakes area experienced the blessings of blending with the churches and among themselves. It was one of the high moments in my life, and the memory of it still uplifts my spirit. However, the experiences of blending are hard to convey in words. So we invited ten saints from Detroit who have visited East Malaysia to help bring a taste of the blending to the saints in Naperville. In July, 62 people from Detroit visited the church in Naperville. They received hospitality in 21 homes. We then had a conference on Saturday and Sunday mornings. In the two meetings, the Lord blessed us again with the fresh and uplifting spirit that we experienced in East Malaysia. A few new ones had experienced a spiritual break-through on the Malaysia trip, and they continued to grow in the enjoyment of their fresh spirits. We also enjoyed the visitors' strong and liberating spirit as well as the fresh responses from the local saints. After their departure, many of us felt that we had been washed anew. To my surprise, some new families had a wonderful experience in opening their homes for hospitality. The visitors also utterly enjoyed this blending trip on the bus, in the homes, and in the blending meetings. The Lord seemed to be showing us that He really blesses the blending of churches. In return, the saints in Detroit invited us to visit them. In October, 48 people from Naperville and 25 from Chicago and Palatine visited Detroit. Many new ones, including four gospel friends, went with us. At the rest area, one new one said that she felt the warmth of a family among us. Among the visitors was an elderly couple. The wife had been waiting and praying for many years to be baptized with her husband. They received hospitality from a sister, age 82, who lived with her sister, age 92. The guests were touched by the restfulness and joy of their elderly hosts. The 82 year old sister had declined to live with her children in other cities, because she enjoyed the church life in Detroit. After the Lord's Table meeting, the husband of the elderly couple decided to be baptized into the Lord. Three new ones from Naperville were baptized that morning. It was a well-suited highlight of our blending trip. On the ride home, we all shared our experiences from this blending trip. One sister felt that the Lord was speaking to her about something through a saint from Detroit. Many saints had previously mentioned the same thing to her, but without effect. Hers was a typical testimony, proving that the Lord really blesses the blending of the churches at this time. -S. S., Naperville, Illinois A New Church Life Over the past several months, the church in Columbus has been preparing for a change in the practice of our church life. This change comes out of a burden to produce an environment for all the saints to function according to their God-given measure. This will enable the saints to bear much fruit and remaining fruit. Therefore, on October 13th of this year we made some big changes in our church life. The first change was the Lord's Table. Each Lord's Table includes eight to twelve saints. The setting of this gathering is in the homes around the dining table. We encouraged the saints to come together to eat a simple meal and at the same time to remember the Lord by partaking of the bread and wine. So far, this new practice has been encouraging. However, meeting in this way has exposed our real condition in our exercise of the Lord's Table. It stirs us to fight for a richer experience of Christ. These gatherings take place between Saturday evening and Lord's Day evening. We even have one Table on Wednesday night to care for an older couple and their family. We also reorganized our prayer groups to match the constituents of the Lord's Table groups. In these new groups we are beginning to care for one another in a holistic way: spirit, soul, and body. Our hope is that this practice will issue in a 24/7 church life. As we are learning to invade the saints' homes and lives, we are realizing that the more we are together, the more we want and need to be together. Every Lord's Day the church has been having what we call the Jubilee meeting. This gathering has been fruitful, and therefore we are continuing to meet together on the Lord's Day morning for singing and ministry of the word. We are using Watchman Nee's New Believer's Series as the base of our fellowship. Many brothers are taking a part in the ministry of these riches. The Jubilee is very rich and enjoyable! On the third Lord's Day of each month, however, the whole church will come together for a "Celebration Gathering." This will include a corporate Lord's Table, a word of burden from the leading ones, and a time for testimonies of what the Lord has been doing among us. This is just the beginning. We realize that we have quite a struggle ahead of us. However, we are determined, before the Lord, to succeed in discovering a truly joyful and energized church life - one that will satisfy both God and man. We ask that all the churches pray for us as we pioneer this new way. -M. P., Columbus, Ohio. Growing and Building in Iowa In the state of Iowa, brothers and sisters in the Quad Cities, Iowa City, Des Moines, Ames, and the southwest and northwest corners of the state are pursuing and advancing in the divine economy of God. The saints throughout the state have been gathering three to four times a year to increase our blending with one another. This has been both profitable for edification and beneficial for keeping one another in our hearts and in our prayers. The church in Ames is purchasing a new house for their meetings. For some time now, they have been meeting in a room at Iowa State University on the Lord's Day. They are burdened to gain local residents for the church life. Presently, most of the saints and their many gospel friends are either students or related to the university. The brothers and sisters in Des Moines began breaking bread together almost two years ago. About fourteen are being built up together in a solid way, and at least that many are under their care. The meetings are in the homes, and the saints are often in one another's homes apart from the meetings. This has produced a situation of genuine love and practical care. The church in Iowa City and the saints in the Quad Cities area meet together weekly. Midweek, some from Iowa City go east to enjoy a meeting of singing and studying the Bible; on the Lord's Day, some from the Quad Cities go west to partake of the Lord's Table with the church in Iowa City. This has been a mutual strengthening and encouragement to the saints. In both places, the church life is mostly in the homes, and many new ones are being cherished and nourished by the saints. From a tiny seed in the southwest corner of the state - one hungry couple - there is now a small crop of three families who are seeking Jesus together weekly. Every other Lord's Day evening the saints invite their friends to a Bible study. This coming Lord's Day, the saints from Des Moines will join them to baptize a new couple. One family in the far northwest corner of the state has been pursuing the Lord in His recovery for many years. They are quite a distance from the other localities, but have remained faithful to what they have seen of God's economy. Many of the saints have been greatly helped by attending regional gatherings. Iowa seems to be far away from everything, and the saints sometimes find it difficult to attend. Recently a number of saints were encouraged concerning the new meeting hall in Chicago, expecting that there will be more large gatherings closer to Iowa. -B. M., Des Moines, Iowa