God’s grace and guidance are clearly evident in the holy work in the United States—both historically and presently. The younger generation today can learn about such testimonies either from church publications or the stories retold by our elders about the propagation of the gospel and the establishment of churches and prayer houses in different parts of the country. From these we can discover that though there were trials and setbacks, they were replaced by triumphs and breakthroughs. Though there were frustrations and disagreements, they were conquered by faith and prayers. Though there were toils and tears, yet, in the end they were forgotten because of the joy and cheer from dedications and commencements of new churches and houses of prayer. And when we reminisce upon these journeys of struggles and their eventual victories, we invariably recall a very familiar scene where: God first moves the heart of one or a few members, and then it is followed by prayers, toils, struggles, more prayers and finally victory. Our story of New York’s Flushing House of Prayer is no different from this.

Eight years ago, a sister took a stroll in the streets of Flushing. She saw the area filled with ethnic churches, and was moved to tears because she felt there were so many of God’s lost sheep without a home. After wiping her tears, the sister returned to Queens church and discussed with the resident preacher, and with enthusiasm, the proposal was passed by the congregation to establish a service location in Flushing and have service there once a month.

In the beginning, we rented space at a table-tennis club for $60. Service time was limited to just the morning, so worshipers could not observe the entire Sabbath. The location was also adjacent to the largest funeral home in the area, which deterred some truth seekers to visit. After two years of holding Sabbath services at the table-tennis club, we moved into another rental space in another church where we still rent today. The cost was considerably higher but we gained more space and were able to extend our service time into the afternoon. When Flushing services first started, most attendees were from Queens church, our mother church, and the seats of the service area were sparsely filled. Thanks to the grace of God, the evangelical work soon began to prosper. Through distributing flyers, holding gospel tea fellowships and street fairs in the summers, coupled with the zeal of the brothers and sisters, our Sabbath attendance figure increased to 70-80 people, almost fourfold from our original attendance! Moreover, the Flushing service location has been blessed with visiting truth seekers almost every Sabbath service. Praise the Lord, Flushing has become a house of prayer since November 2012.

 

 

God’s guidance has been ever-present with the Flushing House of Prayer throughout the years. We have had many wonderful and powerful testimonies of God guiding His lost sheep to His fold and igniting their desire to seek the truth. On many occasions, we greeted first-time truth seekers at the door clutching our evangelical flyers in their hands. We also have many testimonies of God’s mysterious workings in bringing them to the light. The testimony of a recently baptized brother shows us that it is God who calls us and we are saved by none other than His wonderful mercy and love. What follows is Brother Liu’s story of finding Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Brother Liu had been a Buddhist. One night he dreamed that there was an old man uttering “Hallelujah” repeatedly. Later on, Brother Liu asked many people regarding the meaning of his dream. Many shook their heads; some were able to tell him that “Hallelujah” means praising the Lord in Hebrew, but none could shed any light on the meaning of that dream until one day, while walking on the street, he received an evangelical flyer from one of our church members. He once again inquired about the meaning of his dream and was told as such was the method of our prayer. He accepted the invitation to attend our church service and later received the answer to his search. Praise the Lord, Bro. Liu later received the Holy Spirit and was baptized. Our merciful Father in heaven guides and comforts the lost and sorrowful.

Among the earlier group of Flushing truth seekers, there was also a photographer whose wife had passed away. In the period of great loss and mourning, God sent a worker to bring the gospel to him, opened his heart, lifted his sorrows, and guided him through the door of mercy and salvation. The Holy Spirit gradually mended his broken heart. And he was saved and baptized in the name of our Lord Jesus. They are many more of God’s such wonderful workings in Flushing, and these manifold mercies and love of our Lord have strengthened the faith of the local members.

Flushing (in Queens borough of New York City) is a major hub for Asian Americans. It is a major center for commerce and the heart of cuisines of the East. With convenient transportation and shopping, Flushing has attracted the inflow of many diverse groups. The population is climbing and the economy is thriving. Spiritually speaking, the harvest is plentiful as the area is a fertile ground for evangelism. However, the real estate value is also very high and therefore it is quite a difficult task to find a suitable chapel with adequate capacity for the existing members and future growth. Another challenge that Flushing faces is the lack of workers, such as sermon speakers and Religious Education (RE) teachers. Currently, Flushing is relying much on the assistance from Queens church and New Jersey churches. Our area has about 8-9 students between the ages of five to eleven years old.

Although Flushing is concerned with financial and other resource limitations, the members have learned to completely rely on God as history has taught us that all the churches’ development have never appeared probable, but it’s always God’s power and prayers that overcome the odds. Our confidence in Flushing’s development is being reaffirmed everyday as we see God’s workings in the truth seekers’ hearts, the enthusiasm in the children’s eyes to learn the truth, and our elderly members’ fervor in spreading the gospel and their longing desire to one day witness the dedication of the Flushing church.

The brothers and sisters in the Flushing House of Prayer are immensely grateful for what the Lord has done, and the mercy and grace He has shown. In closing, we gratefully request all our brethren in Christ to keep us in your prayers and ask God to grant us: abundant blessings for His sheep, wisdom to guide His servants, peace and harmony for His assembly, and power to His soldiers to march bravely forward and erect His glorious banner in Flushing, New York.

May all the honor, praises, and glory be onto His holy name.

Hallelujah, Amen.