Church History
The following testimonies were excerpted from these Christians’ respective biographies or from personal testimonies.
This is Witness Lee’s own account of his salvation experience:
My mother’s maternal grandfather was a Southern Baptist, who in turn brought my mother into Christianity. She studied in the American Southern Baptist mission school and as a teen-ager was baptized into the Southern Baptist Church about 1885. I was born in 1905. She brought me in contact with her Baptist Church in Chefoo. I studied in the Southern Baptist Chinese elementary school and in the English mission college operated by the American Presbyterians in Chefoo. Though I attended the Southern Baptist Church service and Sunday school in my youth, I was not saved and was never baptized by them. Eventually, for about five years, I ceased attending any Christian services.
After my second sister experienced salvation, she prayed for me and introduced me to a very fine Chinese pastor of the Chinese Independent Church. This pastor paid me a number of visits, encouraging me to attend his Sunday morning service. After a long delay on my part, on the second day of the Chinese New Year in 1925, I decided early in the morning to attend the services of that Chinese Independent Church. After about two and a half months they baptized me into their membership by sprinkling. But it was not until a short time later that I was actually saved and turned to the Lord through the preaching of Sister Peace Wang in April of the same year. At that time I was exceedingly ambitious as a young man for my education and my future. But after I was saved under Sister Peace Wang’s preaching that afternoon, while I was walking home, I stopped and prayed to God, according to Sister Wang’s message, somewhat as follows: “God, I don’t like being usurped by Satan as Pharaoh, through the world as Egypt; I would like to serve you and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus through the villages at any cost for my whole life.” (A Seer 283-284)
At another time he elaborated further on this experience:
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One day a heavenly ladder apppeared to me, and I climbed it. I left the mah-jongg table and climbed to the New Jerusalem.
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“When I was under twenty, I played mah-jongg [a Chinese game similar to gin] behind my mother’s back; all the Chinese like to play mah-jongg, but one day a heavenly ladder appeared to me, and I climbed it. I left the mah-jongg table and climbed to the New Jerusalem.
I can never forget a certain pastor. While I was playing mah-jongg, he came to me every week. My older sister was studying in the highest women’s seminary in China. She loved the Lord at that time, and she knew I was not gained by the Lord, so she committed me to this pastor. After that commitment, he came to me every week for about three or four months, but he did not speak much. Finally, at the end of December he said, “Mr. Lee, you are busy at the end of the year because in your business you have many things to do. Therefore, I will not come to you next week. I will wait until the New Year is over.” He did not come, but remarkably, the heavenly ladder came. As all the Chinese know, the second day of the Chinese New Year is a day of rottenness, gambling, and all manner of entertainment. On that day, I rose and put on my best, new clothes. After breakfast, as I stood there in my new clothes, my mother asked me, “What shall you do today?” As I considered her question, I could not speak. Right away without thinking I said, “I shall go to Pastor Yu’s church.” My mother was very happy. Then I went to that denominational church. That was my first time to climb the heavenly ladder.” (Lee, Word of Love 26-27)
