Starkville Daily News
Starkville Daily News (PDF)
Starkville’s Chinese Christian Church celebrates five years
Sunday, 18 July 2010
By KELLY DANIELS
citybeat@msstate.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Over 30 years ago, local Chinese Christian residents started gathering as a group for one objective - to study the Bible together.
And Saturday night, they celebrated five years of operating as an official church.
Since its formation, the Starkville Chinese Christian Church has baptized more than 40 people, including Chinese students and scholars at Mississippi State University and their visiting parents.
Additionally, the church has applied for legitimate Baptist status with the Southern Baptist Convention and is now under a one-year watch care period.
Currently without a pastor, members hope that achieving SBC status would increase their chances of adopting one, as it now invites speakers from other local churches.
Housed in the First Baptist Church’s old sanctuary, fellowship hall and outreach center, the church holds regular prayer meetings on Tuesdays and fellowships and Bible studies on Fridays. These include different groups of English speakers, of students, of families and of children.
Every Sunday, they have Sunday School and hold worship.
During these activities, some students from China hear the message of the Christian gospel for the first time, said Bill Chapman, who became involved with the pre-church Bible study upon marrying his wife, Tan Chapman, a Taiwan native.
Back then, he said, Taiwanese people made up 90 percent of the group.
