The church: Beijing International Christian Fellowship, Zhong Juan Cun Location, Beijing, China
Denomination: Inter-denominational. (There are no denominations in China.)
The building: The church is located Raycom Technology Park, Building C, a modern office building in Zhong Juan Cun. They rent offices here to use for Sunday School and meet for worship in an auditorium across the hall.
The church: The congregation is an organization of ex-patriate Christians (Christians living outside their country of citizenship) from around the world. Beijing International Christian Fellowship is the largest of the several ex-pat churches in Beijing with campuses in three locations and a multitude of small groups. The church probably has about 2000 worshipping in the various locations.
The neighbourhood: The Zhong Juan Cun area of Haidian district is known as Beijing's Silicon Valley. It is where to go if you work in technology or are looking to buy a computer. It is also the area of the city where I work.
The cast: The church is led by elders and deacons so there is no specific pastor. It is very much a hands on congregation with members volunteering in what would normally be paid leadership roles. Several different people led including a worship team that consisted of instrumentalists and three singers. The preacher was Charlie Brainer.
The date & time: Sunday, 6 July, 2008 10.00 am
Size of Congregation: Aproximately 200 or so, The church has just gone from a 2 service schedule to one service for the summer. The plan is to go back to 2 services once the Olympics start.
Did anyone welcome you? Someone at the door handed me a bulletin and said hello. Later an elder approached me and asked to assist in the offering taking up. I said it was a hands on church. No waiting to put you to work here!
Describe the Sanctuary: It was an auditorioum with blue padded chairs with plastic backs. Comfortable enough.
Pre-Service Atmosphere: People were talking and getting to know one another..
Opening Words of the Service: Are you ready to sing praises to him?
Books Used: None used. Words were projected onto a screen. Scripture was printed in the bulletin. This is definitely a BYOB church (bring your own Bible)
Musical Instruments: Keyboard, Acoustic Guitar, Violin
Worship Style: Blended worship with contemporary songs and classic hymns. Had a very Hillsong feel to it. The congregation was into the worship, but not too much. As Gary Maze so eloquently put it one time when describing Horizon Community Church, it looked like Baptists having church in an office building. There was plenty of time for prayer including a guided prayer for foreign missions in the Dominican Republic.
Sermon Length: 25 minutes
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher? 5, His content was good, but a little hard to follow
Sermon Topic: Grace as explained in the 6th chapter of Galatians. God's grace empowers us to serve others. This is a very Bible centered church. Next week they start a series on the 7 churches of Revelation.
What part was like being in heaven? It seemed much like heaven: many nationalites all gathered together to worship. There were Africans, Chinese, Americans, etc.
Did anyone speak to you after the service? It really is a small world. Early in the service visitors were asked to stand and introduce themselves telling where they were from. When I said Mississippi I noticed an older couple smiling at me. It turns out they are from Mississippi (Houston to be exact) in Beijing on a 3 month visit. They are hoping to move to Beijing permanently. I never knew I would come to Beijing and meet someone from Houston, MS.
After Service Coffee? There was coffee available from a nearby Starbucks imitation shop. I didn't have any. They brought some over on a trolley to serve to the congregation "at special prices for BICF attenders!"
Would you make this your church home? Baesed on where I live, this is my best option. A cab there is 12 yuan (less than 2 American dollars) and it is close to work and since I work on Sunday afternoon, it is convenient.
Did this service make you glad to be a Christian? Yes
What is one thing you will remember most? Praying for the Dominican Republic and meeting Mississipians in Beijing.
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