Kuanjie Church in Beijing held its third baptism service of 2025 on November 9, during which 20 seekers, having completed the catechism class and passed a faith interview, were baptized.
At the beginning of the service, Brother Zhou Qiguang delivered a short message on "The Meaning of Immersion Baptism." He emphasized that baptism is not merely an outward form but a union with Christ, through which believers are born again as new creations and experience a significant turning point in their spiritual lives.
During the exhortation and faith inquiry, the candidates responded in unison with "Amen," affirming their solemn commitment to Christ.
Led by Rev. Li Jian'an, the senior pastor of Kuanjie Church from 2000 until this July, Rev. Yin Linshan and the pastoral coworkers went up to the chancel, where they knelt and offered a prayer for the baptism.
Afterward, Rev. Li and Rev. Yin entered the water together and baptized the twenty believers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Following the baptism, Preacher Guo Guangsheng welcomed the twenty new members into the church on behalf of the congregation, after which the believers partook of Holy Communion together. Many were moved to tears as they gave thanks for the twenty new members added to the church.
Kuanjie Church traces its roots to one of the eight churches originally founded in Beijing by the American Methodist Episcopal Church. In the 1920s, local believers raised funds to purchase a property and convert it into a chapel. It was officially registered in 1943 as a "Local Church," becoming the first self-governed church in Beiping (now Beijing). In 1958, it became a joint worship venue named "Beitang." Services resumed in 1987, and the congregation relocated to the current Chinese-style church building in 2000, which accommodates approximately 1,000 worshippers. The church currently has three pastoral staff and around 150 volunteers, as well as 800 registered believers. Each Sunday, it holds three worship services.
Notably, in 2006, Kuanjie Church hosted U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Karen Hughes. During the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, it successfully carried out its diplomatic mission by hosting then-U.S. President George W. Bush and his family for a Sunday worship service.
-Translated by Riley Li
