Churches in China Stop Online Services to Encourage Face-to-Face Fellowship

Four churches in Foshan, China’s Guangdong Province, have just canceled their online meetings. They are meeting in person again.
According to official government reports, Liyusha Church, Shiwan Church in Chancheng District, Shengping Church and Jinsha Church have all opened their doors and are resuming person-to-person fellowship and worship. All four fellowships suspended their online services to encourage believers to fellowship in person.
Transfiguration Church in Qingpu District, Shanghai, also resumed their in-person worship services. They are allowed a maximum number of 300 believers per service, so they have opened up three services to accommodate 900 people. The three services were not enough. There was a line of people hungry to be in fellowship again.
Other churches in Shanghai, like Moore Memorial Church, Pu’an Church, God Coming Church and Lin’en Church all resumed their services in person as well. Government officials came to inspect each one and leaders from the China Christian Counsel insisted that a national flag raising ceremony take place with the members of the church prior to the service.
The churches know that there are elderly members and at-risk individuals that cannot attend, so audio recordings will be made available to them this week from these churches.
Chinese Christians believe that fellowship is an inseparable part of the Christian faith. Most house churches in China did not stop meeting together during the coronavirus. They took necessary precautions to protect their health and the health of their family, but many of them continued to meet, in spite of the lock-down rules.