A Report of the Special Day of Offering During LDC

The theme of Labor Day conference (LDC) this year is “Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God,” focusing on God’s intention to build a glorious city Himself, which is the church, the body of Christ. This year also marks the second year of our Bethel Hall ministry. From clearing the abandoned site to hiring the building team, from designing to obtaining the city council’s approval, God has gradually led us into the ministry while building our spiritual lives through the process.

To encourage the congregation to seriously pursue and follow God’s will, we held a special offering meeting during our annual LDC. The act of offering comes with many challenges. One challenge was our commitment to giving. Are we offering our all for God? Do we see the value of Bethel Hall in God’s hands? After seeing the current fundraising progress, which was still far behind our goals as we approached the end of September, we prayed and prepared ourselves. We decided our commitment to God through the prayers. Everyone wrote their offerings on pre-prepared checks and placed them in the offering envelopes. At the same time, this was also a chance for creating a spiritual legacy and a testimony for each family as they presented themselves before God. Sunday school teachers had already brought the children to the entrance of the current Bethel Hall site to wait for their parents. They stood neatly in line, excited and curious, having never seen such an offering meeting at their young ages.

After praying, the congregation started walking to the Bethel Hall site. Parents received their children from the teachers, holding their hands and walking together, explaining the meaning and blessings of our offerings to them. The site was still empty, and the lighting was sparse, but the large glass windows let in bright sunlight, bringing warmth and hope. The worship team had already set up inside to play hymns. Due to the large number of attendees, we were divided into two groups to enter. A few dozen meters from the entrance, there were two offering boxes. Each family joyfully, hand in hand, placed their offering envelopes into the boxes before moving on to stand by the glass windows and surround the worship team.

Once everyone settled down, Pastor Yu prayed over our offerings, asking God to accept and use our willing gifts, that His will may be fulfilled, and to bless every family member who offered to the Lord! Praises erupted as everyone sang together. The melody echoed in the empty hall. What a heavenly sound! Worship from the heart seemed to transport us to heaven. Following the prompting of the Holy Spirit, people prayed and encouraged one another. After the prayer concluded, the workers promptly counted the offerings collected that day, totaling $911,096.81. It was truly a joyful gathering, and we enjoyed God’s presence in our offering!