The Grand Opening of the Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China Held in Crystal Cathedral, LA --Initiating the Exhibition Tour in USA

On the evening of April 27 th , the Grand Opening of the Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China was held in the Crystal Cathedral in LA. The exhibition which was prepared for about two years started its first show in USA.

More than 300 people came to celebrate the Grand Opening. The CCC delegation, SARA delegation, Southern California Hosting Committee, local officials, church leaders, seminary faculties and church representatives from the Southern California region attended the opening ceremony. Friends from New York, Colorado and Minnesota of the Unite States, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong, etc. also came to witness this great event. The opening ceremony also attracted lots of media like CCTV, Chinese Radio International, Xinhua News Agency LA Bureau, Chinese News Service, People's Daily, Global Times, EDI City Magazine Weekly, Eastern Television, Phoenix Satellite Television (U.S. Inc), Los Angeles Time and some other media came to report this great event.

 

The Opening Ceremony

On the opening ceremony, Mr. Jiang Jianyong, the Vice Minister of State Administration for Religious Affairs, PRC. Rev. Dr. Cao Shengjie, President of CCC, Dr. Robert H. Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral, Dr. Sterling Houston of BGEA, Mark Carver on behalf of Rev. Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Ministry, Dr. Michael Whyte, Provost of Azusa Pacific University, Dr. Doug McConnell of Fuller Theological Seminary, Mr. Michael Chang, famous tennis professional, Rev. Gene Wood, Dr. Paul Szeto, and Rev. Danny Yu of Southern California Hosting Committee delivered warm-hearted greetings and congratulations on the opening of the BME.

Mr. Jiang Jianyong, Vice Minister of State Administration for Religious Affairs congratulated on the opening of the BME. He said that the BME would enhance the communication and friendship between churches in China and U.S. SARA will support this friendship on the basis of equality, friendship and mutual respect as usual.

 

Rev. Cao and Rev. Schuller cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony

Rev. Cao Shengjie expressed her gratitude to American churches and organizations that had given strong support and assistance to the BME. She pointed out that Bible is revealed by God, is the foundation of our faith and is our daily spiritual food. CCC/TSPM have always list Bible Publication as one of the most important ministries. With sincere prayers and efforts of Chinese Christians the sharing of overseas churches' resources, CCC/TSPM distributed 40 million volumes of Bible from 1980 to December, 2005. The BME is aimed to share with American Churches, brothers and sisters in US the abundant blessings and grace from God to China and Chinese Churches, to strengthen the communication and mutual understanding, to further the friendship between our two peoples, and to fulfill the great mission by God to spread the Gospel and build up the churches well.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller welcomed the exhibition to be held in Crystal Cathedral. He said that this is the very first time for churches in China to hold such a big exhibition in a foreign country and it's also the first time for Crystal Cathedral to support an exhibition of this kind. He welcomed all the Christians in U.S. to come to visit, and to witness God's work in China. Dr. Sterling Houston expressed his support and good will to the BME on behalf of Dr. Billy Graham, Mrs. Billy Graham (Ruth Graham is one of the Most Honorable Chairpersons of this BME) and the family. Rev. Gene Wood said that churches in China are developing. American Churches and Christians should no longer keep the old concepts toward churches in China. BME is beneficial for them to get better knowledge of the current situation of churches in China. Dr. Paul Szeto thanked CCC/TSPM for the effort of bringing the BME to U.S.A. He expected that the BME could realize what Bishop K. H. Ting had said that “Bible unites us!”

 

Rev.Lin Zhihua is presenting a gift to Crystal Cathedral on behalf of CCC.

Ms. Betty Tom Sue, Mayor of the city of Monterey Park said that the meaning of this important BME was beyond church spheres. It not only expressed the wish of hope between churches of our two countries, but also showed our wish to seeking after the world peace. She also granted certificates of Honorary Citizenship to the representatives of the National Committee of TSPM and CCC.

Rev. Lin Zhihua, vice President of CCC presented gift to Dr. Rober H. Schuller on behalf of CCC/TSPM, and expressed sincere gratitude to Dr. Schuller for the great support of Crystal Cathedral.

Rev. Cao Shengjie invited Dr. Schuller to cut the ribbon together. She also invited VIPs to come up onto the stage to witness the thrilling moment with the great applaud from all the attendees.

 

The Mayor of the city of Monterey Park granted certificates of Honorary Citizenship to the representatives of the National Committee of TSPM and CCC

After the Opening Ceremony, all the visitors went around the exhibition with flavored traditional Chinese characteristics. The large wood carving “Life of Jesus”, invaluable versions of Bible, moving stories behind the Bible, great achievements scored in the process of Chinese Bible Ministry's development, enriched church life, artifacts with the theme of Bible stories, especially the joint performances by Lisu Choir and APU Gospel Choir, deeply attracted every visitor. Our ears were filled with such comments like thank Lord, amazing, incredible, unforgettable, congratulations, etc.

Michael Chang said that this BME enables him to see that God's word is well spread in China. As a Christian, he felt really touched. He expressed great hope in the future for the churches in China by seeing what CCC has been doing. Mr. and Mrs Richard Gray from a local church said that the exhibition was amaizing, because of the enriched exhibits and choir-performance enabling them to better understand the church life today in China.

The BME opened to the public form 19:00 that evening.