Our Dr. Han's flesh has passed away, yet
his spiritual life remains. He has gone to the heavenly
Father, but a part of him will always stay with us.
Although he did not study theology formally, Dr. Han became
a commonly respected leader among churches in China by working
in a faithful spirit throughout his life and ultimately
making great contributions.
The Church in China has established its own printing press,
which provides Christians in China with affordable Bibles.
This achievement is certainly due in large part to donations
of the United Bible Society and many brothers and sisters
both home and abroad, yet this cannot be separated from
Dr. Han's hard work. He expedited such achievements as having
the Bible distributed to every corner of China at an astonishing
speed, including delivering free bibles to brothers and
sisters living in poverty in remote areas. And now the Amity
Printing Press has printed over 40 million bibles in various
editions. People have access to the Bible everywhere. We
shall remember Dr. Han forever for his hard and effective
work.
Since China's opening up, Dr. Han had also himself opened
new avenues for foreign relations. Now there are constant
exchanges between domestic and foreign mainstream churches,
and leaders of evangelical denominations have close contact
with churches in China. Even three weeks before his death,
Dr. Han received John R. Stott, the evangelical theologian,
in Nanjing. Through Dr. Han's work, many people from overseas
churches have seen a clear, positive picture of the condition
of the Church in China, and the bonds of fellowship have
been strengthened. Dr. Han's style in foreign relations
was both "principled" and "flexible".
Some people advised him to be ordained as a pastor after
he took the position of President of China Christian Council,
but he was wary of accepting such a holy ordination too
hastily. He was rather more concerned about helping to facilitate
the pastoral work, such as training volunteers in rural
churches. He paid visits to grassroots churches many times
and counseled them about running a church and resisting
heresies.
Now Dr. Han has left us. May his spirit be in peace! We
are deeply convinced that our future leaders will continue
in his example, building up the Church in China and giving
glory to our Father in Heaven.
