作者：Yi Hong

第一次参加基督徒的聚会时，我对基督信仰了解得并不多。大家一起唱诗，交通自己的经历，也分享信仰中的见证。那时很多道理我还不懂，但聚会中那种说不出来的喜乐，让我愿意继续走近、继续了解。

后来，我成为一名基督徒，也逐渐进入教会生活。在一次次的聚会中，我们一起唱诗、祷告、读圣经，也会为主申言，分享从圣经中所领受的，以及自己在信仰和生活中的经历与见证。我也从最初坐在那里听大家分享，慢慢成为参与其中的一员，并在聚会中配搭司琴。

最近家里经历了一些环境，让我对“我们需要彼此”有了比以往更实际的体会。

有些事情来得突然，也不是自己能够掌握的。面对未知，我也会担心、软弱，不知道下一步应该怎样走。就在这样的日子里，身边的弟兄姊妹一直陪伴着我们。

有人持续为我们祷告，有人听我说心里的担忧，有人在我软弱的时候鼓励我，也有人在生活中给我们实际的帮助。有时候是一顿饭、一次接送、一个电话、一句问候；有时候事情并没有马上改变，但有人愿意陪着我一起祷告。

这些看起来都是生活中的小事，却让我明白，原来教会生活并不会随着一次聚会的结束而结束。

我们在聚会中彼此交通，在生活中也彼此扶持。“弟兄姊妹”不只是一个称呼，而是一种在真实生活中可以经历到的关系。

也正因为有了这样的经历，最近看到一则来自成都的消息时，我停留了很久。

据近期报道，2026年9月11日下午，成都秋雨圣约教会恩慈团契在武侯区举行日常读书会时，11名参加者被警方带走。参加者以老年会友为主，多数超过60岁，其中还有70多岁的老人。报道显示，至9月12日已有9人获释，吴五清、沈晓庆两人被处以行政拘留10日。

过去看到这样的新闻，我可能更多只是注意到“信徒”“聚会”“被带走”这些字眼。可现在，我会想到这些词背后一个个具体的人。

他们也许和我们一样，只是想找一个地方坐下来，一起读书、交通，分享彼此的生活；也许其中有人正在经历疾病，有人的家庭正遇到困难，也有人只是在自己软弱的时候，需要见到几个熟悉的弟兄姊妹。

对于没有走进过这种生活的人来说，也许会问：信仰不是个人的事情吗？自己也可以读圣经、祷告，为什么一定要聚在一起？

现在的我有了一点自己的答案。

一个人当然可以拥有自己的信仰，但我所经历的信仰，也包括人与人因为共同的信仰走到一起。有人软弱，就有人扶持；有人经历难处，就有人陪伴；有人需要祷告，大家就一起为他祷告。

也因此，当我看到一些基督徒因为聚会而受到限制时，我开始思考一个很朴素的问题：

如果一个人拥有选择和坚持自己信仰的自由，那么，他是否也应该拥有与同样相信的人一起聚集、祷告、读经和彼此扶持的空间？

我不是研究宗教问题的学者，也不懂复杂的法律和政策。我只是一个信主时间还不算长的普通基督徒。

但自己的经历让我越来越明白，为什么对于许多基督徒来说，“聚会”并不是一件可有可无的事情。

第一次参加聚会时，吸引我的是那份说不出来的喜乐；而今天，让我更加珍惜聚会的，是我亲身经历了人与人之间的陪伴和扶持。

这也是我现在对“为什么我们需要彼此”最简单的理解：

信仰可以从一个人的相信开始，但我们并不是一个人在走这条路。

新闻来源

1. ChinaAid, “Chinese police detain 11 elderly Christians in latest Early Rain crackdown,” 2026年9月14日。

2. 民生观察，《吴五清沈晓庆被以非法组织传教为由行政拘留》，2026年9月13日。

编辑：赵杰        校对：冯仍 翻泽：沈美花

Why We Need Each Other

Author:Yi Hong

When I attended a Christian gathering for the first time, I knew very little about the Christian faith. Everyone sang hymns together, shared their personal experiences, and testified to their faith. At the time, there were many truths I did not yet understand, but an indescribable joy in that gathering made me want to draw closer and learn more.

Later, I became a Christian and gradually entered into church life. Gathering after gathering, we sang hymns, prayed, read the Bible, and spoke for the Lord—sharing what we had received from Scripture alongside our own experiences and testimonies in faith and daily life. I went from sitting quietly as a listener to becoming an active participant, eventually helping as a pianist during worship gatherings. 

Recently, my family went through a difficult period, which gave me a much more concrete appreciation of what it means to say “we need each other.”

Some circumstances came suddenly and were completely beyond my control. Facing the unknown, I too felt anxious and fragile, unsure of what step to take next. Yet during those days, the brothers and sisters around us stood faithfully by our side.

Some prayed for us continuously; some listened as I expressed the deep worries in my heart; some offered encouragement when I was at my weakest; and others provided practical assistance in our daily lives—sometimes a warm meal, a ride, a phone call, or a simple word of care. At times, our situation did not change immediately, but there were people willing to sit and pray alongside me.

These may seem like ordinary, small acts in everyday life, yet they made me realize that church life does not simply end when a meeting draws to a close.

We share fellowship during gatherings, and we support one another in daily life. “Brothers and sisters” is not merely a title; it is a dynamic relationship that can be experienced in real, everyday living.

Because of this personal experience, a recent news report from Chengdu caught my attention, making me pause for a long time.

According to recent news reports, on the afternoon of September 11, 2026, eleven participants were taken away by police during a routine book club meeting held by the Grace Fellowship of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church in Wuhou District. The attendees were mostly elderly congregants, most over 60 years old, with some in their 70s. Reports indicate that by September 12, nine had been released, while Wu Wuqing and Shen Xiaoqing were placed under administrative detention for 10 days.

In the past, when I saw news like this, I might have only focused on key terms like “believers,” “gatherings,” or “taken away.” But now, I think of the concrete, individual human beings standing behind those words.

Perhaps, like us, they simply wanted to find a place to sit down, read books, fellowship, and share their lives together. Perhaps some were suffering from illness, some were facing family hardships, or some simply needed to see a few familiar brothers and sisters in moments of vulnerability.

For those who have never stepped into this kind of life, they might ask: Isn’t faith an individual matter? Can’t one just read the Bible and pray on their own? Why is it necessary to gather together?

Now, I have a modest answer of my own.

Of course an individual can hold personal faith. But the faith I have experienced also involves people coming together because of a shared belief. When someone is weak, someone else offers support; when someone faces trials, someone else stays by their side; when someone needs prayer, everyone prays for them together.

It is for this reason that when I see fellow Christians restricted simply for gathering, I begin to contemplate a very simple question:

If a person enjoys the freedom to choose and adhere to their own faith, shouldn’t they also be granted the space to gather, pray, read Scripture, and support one another alongside fellow believers?

I am not a scholar of religious studies, nor do I understand complex laws and policies. I am merely an ordinary Christian who has not been believing for very long.

Yet my own journey has made me understand more deeply why “gathering” is not an optional or dispensable matter for so many Christians.

When I attended my very first gathering, what drew me in was that indescribable joy; today, what makes me cherish gathering even more is that I have personally experienced the comfort and support of mutual fellowship.

This is my simplest understanding of “why we need each other”:

Faith may begin with one person’s belief, but we do not walk this path alone.

News Sources:

1. ChinaAid, “Chinese police detain 11 elderly Christians in latest Early Rain crackdown,” September 14, 2026.

2. Minsheng Guancha, “Wu Wuqing and Shen Xiaoqing Subjected to Administrative Detention on Charges of Illegally Organizing Proselytization,” September 13, 2026.

Editor: Zhao Jie Proofreader: Feng Reng Translator: Shen Meihua