On the evening of September 24, the Rise and Shine Youth Fellowship at Chongyi Church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, held a thanksgiving service to commemorate its 16th anniversary.
The service featured a variety of elements, including a worship session, a biblical play, a sermon, a recap of fellowship activities, a personal testimony from a member, a video montage, original song performances, and a joint prayer to celebrate this special milestone.
The biblical play, "Prayer Before the Throne," draws inspiration from the Book of Esther. It began with a dialogue between two individuals in a contemporary setting, which transitioned into the narrative of Esther. The scene then transported everyone to the ancient Persian Empire, depicting how Esther and the Jewish people in Shushan, facing imminent peril, relied on their faith in God to ultimately save their nation. Upon the story's conclusion, the play returned to the modern conversation between the Bible teacher and the young person, who, inspired by Esther's journey, decided to know God.
The play consisted of 12 scenes, with the climax unfolding in the seventh scene, where Esther's internal struggle and the development of her unwavering faith were portrayed. Esther candidly acknowledged her trepidation about the potential loss of her life if she approached the king without permission, and she even expressed doubts about the efficacy of her prayers.
Mordecai reminded her, "It is not that God does not hear your prayer. Rather, you have not yet fought against sin to the point of shedding blood. You are still hesitant to risk your life for this. If you do not rise and speak, God will find another way to save the Jewish people." In that moment, everyone gathered around Esther in prayer, and she joined them, kneeling with her face to the ground. Following this heartfelt prayer, Esther resolved to approach the king, determined to save her people.
After the play, Ms. Chen Rongrong, the fellowship mentor, drew upon the themes of the performance by focusing on three aspects: "Asking God to use us," "Experiencing God's mighty power," and "Believing God is in control." She emphasized the importance of believers responding to God's call and maintaining faith that through prayer, He will deliver us to the very end.
Ms. Chen also shared the history of the Rise and Shine Youth Fellowship, which was established back in 2009. Over the past 16 years, God has raised so many young people and servants to do His work. She expressed her hope, saying, "May God continue to raise more servants in our workplaces, in the church, and in this generation to fulfill His mission."
After that, the host led everyone in a recap of the fellowship's activities from the first half of 2025 through a video. A member then shared a personal testimony of transformation and grace experienced within the youth fellowship.
She recalled how her heart was first stirred when she came to church and how retreats taught her to listen and pray. Along the way, she found "treasure roommates," with whom she walked from singleness into marriage and motherhood. Together with brothers and sisters in the fellowship, she had shared meals, hiked mountains, gazed at the sea, and joined dawn prayers by West Lake.
"The cracks I once wished never to see again were watered by God's spring rain, blossoming into beauty I never imagined," she said.
The congregation joined in prayer and symbolically blew out candles on the screen to wish the fellowship a happy birthday.
The event concluded with a pastor's prayer.
Originally published by the Gospel Times
- Edited by Karen Luo and translated by Joyce Leung
