CHINESE HOUSE PASTOR DIES
By Jeremy Reynalds (08/18/05)
In a Beijing hospital a much-loved house pastor has gone to be with the Lord.
Allen Yuan died on Aug. 16 2005.
In an article (www.persecution.net/news/china84a.html) on the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) web site, Merv Knight, Executive Director of VOM in Australia, told of his experience of sitting some years ago with Yuan and his wife in their cramped room in Beijing. Above their bed, he said, was the Bible verse that they relied on, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life."
According to the VOM, after the Japanese surrender in 1945 at the end of the Second World War, Yuan returned to Beijing. At that time he had been a Christian for 13 years. In 1946, with the help of a Norwegian pastor, Yuan began a church in a rented hall, and every year saw between 20 and 50 people give their lives to Jesus.
In 1949 Mao Tse-Tung came to power and the Communist regime in China began.
Yuan continued his work, VOM reported, but in 1950, after a number a church leaders met with Premier Zhou En Lai, the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) was born, and soon spread all over the country. TSPM "continues today as a government instrument that seeks to control religious life and inhibit evangelism in China," VOM commented.
According to VOM in 1950 there were 11 preachers who refused to join the TSPM. Amongst others they included Wang Ming Dao, Watchman Nee and Allen Yuan. Their mission was to preach the Gospel that people might be won to Christ.
Beginning in 1955 they were all arrested and put in prison. Yuan, 44, was given a life sentence with no hope of release.
VOM reproduced a portion of Yuan's testimony.
"During those years in prison my wife suffered untold hardships in bringing up the children. I was sent to near the Russian border doing farm work, growing rice. Wang Ming Dao and I thought we would die martyrs there.
"In the labor camp it was very cold, food was bad, and the work was hard, but in 22 years I never once got sick. I was thin and wore glasses, but I came back alive; many did not. I also had no Bible for the 22 years and there were no other Protestant Christians there. I met only four Catholic priests. They were in the same situation I was in; they refused to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
"During those long years in jail, two songs continued to encourage me. One was from Psalm 27, and the other was ‘The Old Rugged Cross.'"
Yuan was released in Dec. 1979 after serving a prison sentence of 21 years and eight months, VOM reported.
According to VOM, "Until his death on Aug.16, through all kinds of difficulties and threats created by government officials and the police, Allen Yuan kept his favorite Bible verse before him and he remained faithful unto death. This is the passing of one of the great saints of God. We do not mourn his death but celebrate his passing from life to life . . . to life abundant and to receive his crown of life.
"Allen Yuan asked us to pray," VOM wrote. Yuan said, "Pray first for the lost millions of China, Secondly pray for the newcomers and new believers, Third, please pray for the leaders of our country."
VOM commented, "We celebrate the life and work of Brother Allen Yuan. We pray for his widow and children who remain and we rejoice that he has passed from life to life abundant."
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