Page 184 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

5.Retrospect and Prospect

A. Com m ittees

Church Unity Committee

How the Churches of Hong Kong Work For A Spirit of Unity

Rev. Dr. Daniel Chow
All C hristians w ould agree that w e are one in the strength to perform m iracles in the nam e o f Jesus so
Lord. H ow ever, the spirit o f unity has been that people could be set free. T hirdly, they w ere
neglected w hich hinders the spread o f the Gospel. deeply aw are that they w ere all one in the fam ily of
T he problem is that people give m ore em phasis to G od and thus they loved th eir neighbors as
particular gifts given by the L ord but ignore the them selves. A s a result, every day the L ord added
others. T here is also the sam e attitude tow ards to their group those w ho w ere being saved.
truth. O r it m ay be that a spirit o f selfishness
dom inates so that individual and group prestige W hatever efforts the C hristians o f H ong K ong m ake
becom e the ultim ate goals. to preach the Gospel and how ever m uch the
C hristian com m unity invests in relief w ork,
W e all m ust adm it that the C hurch unity m ovem ent running hospitals and schools and providing social
has already been in existence for m any years but the services in H ong K ong, such efforts w ill, o f course,
results have still not been encouraging. H ow ever, contribute to the spirit o f unity. H ow ever, lack of
there w ill surely be som e progress tow ards unity respect and love am ong C hristians is still the
through the cooperation o f the H ong K ong reality. T heoretically, w e all agree that C hristians
C hristian C ouncil and the C hristians of H ong K ong w ith different denom inational backgrounds are one
in this historical transitional period. For exam ple, in the bond o f love. In practice, how ever, w e do
of the 136 representatives from different not love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
denom inations attending the M ission 90's A re w e m ost o f the tim e behaving like the elder
C onsultation, 45 o f them cam e from non-m em ber brother o f the "Parable o f the Prodigal Son" w ho
churches. T his show ed that inter-denom inational did not w ant to accept the younger as his brother,
cooperation in preaching the G ospel is really a even though he adm itted that his father had never
w orkable task for churches in H ong K ong. No
denied the younger w as still his son?
w onder w hy m any evangelical crusades have
proved to be very successful. M oreover, charity I hope all C hristians w ho w ant to reveal G od's love
projects such as the "Five Loaves and Tw o Fish"
and m ercy and to achieve the goal o f unity, do not
C am paign and the "C om m unity Chest" are also run
focus only on preaching the G ospel and providing
on an inter-denom inational principle that social services, but also on accepting each other as
encourages the spirit o f unity. W e should be our w itness that w e have all been accepted as
thankful for the gracious w ork o f the Lord. m em bers o f G od's fam ily. T hen, the G ospel w ill be
preached effectively and social services also w ill be
T he them e o f the 1994 W eek o f P rayer is "The strengthened. D aily, G od's grace w ill be upon us
H ousehold of God: C alled to be O ne in H eart and and people w ho are being saved w ill be added to us.
M ind", based on the Scripture, A cts 4:23-37.
A ccording to the Scripture, the apostles at that tim e (Rev. Dr. Daniel Chow is Chairperson of the
dem onstrated the spirit o f unity in certain ways: Church Unity Committee for 1993-95. This
first o f all, they prayed w hole-heartedly for the article was extracted from No. 1535 Christian
courage to preach the G ood N ew s that Jesus C hrist Weekly)
has risen from the dead. Secondly, they prayed for (Translated by M s. Winnie Wong)

180