Week of January 26, 2025
- WEEKLY MEETINGS AND SERVICE
Lord’s Day 10:00 a.m. Lord’s table and prophesying meeting, also children’s and young people’s meetings at the hall
Lord’s Day 12:30 p.m. Hall cleaning by the saints with last names of K – P
Tuesday 7:30 p.m. Corporate prayer meetings at the hall and on Zoom
- OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS, CONFERENCES, AND TRAININGS
HWMR: Being a Vessel unto Honor…, Week 7 Jan. 27 – Feb. 2
Read Life-Study of Matthew, Messages 47 & 48 Jan. 27 – Feb. 2
Read God’s New Testament Economy, Chapter 2 Jan. 27 – Feb. 2
International Chinese-speaking Blending Conference, Anaheim Feb. 14 – 16
In this special year end fellowship [in 2020], brother Minoru Chen shares with us his personal experience and practice of spending a longer period of time with the Lord at the beginning of each new year.
During such a time with the Lord, our brother encourages us to practice 6 things: 1) recall, 2) rehearse, 3) reflect,
4) repent, 5) renew, and 6) reset. He also encourages us to gather our family together for a dedicated time in the Lord’s presence and reaffirm that our household is for the Lord.
URL (copy and paste) for audio-only file: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1tgx21qztrzxeddeg7z89/YearEndFellowship_MinoruChen-12-30-20.m4a?rlkey=j2inoofdktv5r5bbbgq42xfy9&e=1&dl=0https://www.dropbox.com/s/l9jzmdaauut…
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THE PRACTICAL WAY TO SUPPORT THE JOB-DROPPING FULL-TIMERS
FOR THE INCREASE AND SPREAD OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
“…I considered our way and the ways of others, and I came to a conclusion. In any church out of twenty there must be one who drops his business or profession to take the full-time way to preach and to teach. The nineteen others should do their best regularly, even weekly, to put aside a certain amount of their monthly income for the supporting of such a one. For nineteen to support one would be, humanly speaking, very easy. Each one simply saves five percent of their income. This would be sufficient to support the one who drops his job. This ninety-five percent is the equivalent of a full-time job for the one who drops his job. This will not burden the church. It will be easy. There is a proverb which says, “If all the people will lift, it is easy to lift up anything.”
Charge the dear saints that besides their regular giving to the Lord through the church, they should give an additional five percent of their income every month. Do not do it once a year. It is better to separate the amount for each month into four equal portions and put one portion every Lord’s Day into the offering box.
Do not say that you do not have any job-dropping full-timers. All the churches on the earth have to do this. Leave to the Lord how much will be accomplished, but you must practice the five percent giving. Train everyone among us to practice the putting aside of an extra five percent, putting it aside uniquely for the fellowship unto the gospel. I believe that the Lord will bless this. This is for His spreading. How much He desires to spread through us! But for this spreading today, there is the need of financial support. We do not need to have a fund raising movement. We do not need to send someone to convince all the churches to contribute money. We simply need a regular, weekly practice of giving in this way, designated for the fellowship unto the gospel.
This has to be practiced for the long run. We mean business. We are now taking a new way to carry out the five points which were very much stressed by Brother Nee in his ministry—the home gatherings, the functioning of all the members, the knowledge and spread of the truth, the growth in life, and the preaching of the gospel in every way. The key point of this way is that every believer is a full-timer. Some drop their job to preach and teach, while some remain on their job to make money. We must encourage some to drop their jobs. We must also encourage some to make money and separate five percent monthly, purposely for the account of the fellowship unto the gospel.” (Elders’ Training, Book 08: The Life-Pulse of the Lord’s Present Move, p. 122-125)