By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist
Over 200 people attended the annual Chinese Churches of Mississippi Retreat, March 14 – 16. For the past 15 years, the retreat has offered brothers and sisters in Christ an opportunity for fellowship and spiritual instruction in both Mandarin and English.
Held at the Chinese Christian Church of Greater Jackson, the event brought together four Mississippi Baptist Chinese churches — from Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Starkville, and the Jackson area — as all four churches co-hosted to organize the large retreat.
Every year, the combined congregation enjoys time of worship, fellowship, and edification in both general sessions and small-group discussions. A variety of people attend this retreat, including Mandarin-speaking believers, English-speaking believers, first- and second-generation immigrants, and Anglo brothers and sisters in Christ. The event even opens doors to inviting nonbelievers to hear the Good News of Jesus.
Jinshu Shi, who also goes by “Pastor Jason Shi,” has served in the Chinese Christian Church of Greater Jackson since 2015, but his roots go back further. Before the church acquired its own facility, the congregation met in the chapel of First Church, Jackson. Shi and his now-wife drove from Mississippi State University (MSU) to attend the church every weekend and were married in the chapel. Years later, as he prepared to graduate seminary, the former pastor called to invite him to serve in the church. Shi was ordained a pastor in 2017, and his heart for serving God and people is evident.
“The reason why we hold this retreat,” said Shi, “is because we are all local churches a part of God’s Kingdom. We are all a part of the Body of Christ. So it is the vision of God’s Kingdom that compels us to connect with each other and get together every year, because we want to help our people to know we are not only a local church by ourselves; we are not independent.
“We belong to God’s Kingdom; we belong to the Body of Christ. We need each other. So we need to connect with each other to see how big and how wide God’s Kingdom is. We can see the other sister churches’ needs; we can see how God is working in other brothers and sisters’ lives to see God’s Kingdom is wonderful. We can encourage each other.”
Wang Xuanhe, from Philadelphia Reformed Bible Church and full-time campus minister, led the Mandarin-speaking group in a study on Ezra 9, discussing how present-day Christians in the U.S. can grasp God’s grace and seek revival.
Kaibin Fu, pastor of Trinity Chinese Church in Texas and director of Inherit Institute, and Nate Carroll, pastor of the Chinese Christian Church of Greater Jackson, led the English-speaking group in a study of “God’s Wisdom in All Things,” pointing to topics like mathematics, history, family, narrative, and science to show how God has interwoven His wisdom into His orderly design.
Some may wonder, ‘If the goal is to bring believers together, why not host an even larger event, encompassing everything in the widely spoken English language?’ Paula Smith, director of the Multicultural Ministries department of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB), recalled a testimony she heard from a Chinese professor of MSU that helped answer that question.
“When arriving in MS, the professor had it in her mind to experience the ‘religious Southern culture,’ and one day was invited to an English-speaking church,” said Smith. “Regularly, she attended the church and heard the story of Jesus, and she thought it was wonderful, but she never would make that step to follow Him. Then someone suggested she visit the Chinese church, and although she declined at first because she wanted to experience the ‘culture of the South,’ she felt guilty for at least not supporting the Chinese church. So she went, and for the first time, heard the Gospel in her language, and she finally said ‘Yes’ to Jesus. Hearing that testimony, I knew God was saying to me, ‘We need language churches.’”
Shi, along with all the leaders of the retreat, consider the fact that nonbelievers may attend the weekend, as well.
“The message of the retreat is designed for believers, as we learned from the Old Testament how to know God’s grace and pursue spiritual revival,” Shi remarked. “I heard a lot of very positive responses from people understanding God’s will, and also there were a few nonbelievers who attended the meeting. One of those decided to believe in Jesus, and I explained the Gospel to him again and helped him to pray and confess his sin, and also encouraged him to go back to his own church and continue to study the Gospel and prepare for baptism. That is exciting news!”
Later in the week, a second nonbeliever who attended the retreat, a former Muslim, called Shi and professed faith in Christ. His baptism will take place on Easter Sunday.
The Chinese Churches of Mississippi Retreat is an excellent example of the Body of Christ partnering together cross-culturally.
“We are very, very thankful that the MBCB can provide us a lot of support spiritually, and this year, financially,” said Shi. “Every year we have a big financial burden for food, and this year we had over 200 people. It cost a lot of money. But this year, the MBCB provided help to cover the cost of meals, so that burden reduced a lot and it’s the reason we were able to have more people registered and attending than last year.
“I think the MBCB helps us to see Mississippi Baptists are like a family. The support represents a picture of God’s family, and how beautiful the picture is, so we can help each other and bless each other. And also, First Church, Fannin, sent a team to help us to take care of the children. We also feel very, very thankful for them. We are blessed a lot.”
Your gifts to the Margaret Lackey State Offering support events like the Chinese Churches of Mississippi Retreat.
For more information on multicultural ministries and cross-cultural partnerships, contact Paula Smith at psmith@mbcb.org or 601-292-3287.
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