Evangelize China Fellowship
Encyclopedia
The Evangelize China Fellowship (ECF) is a non-profit 501(c) organization, originally founded in 1947 by 20th-Century Chinese revivalist Andrew Gih. The fellowship consists of churches, missionaries, and affiliated organizations that attempt to bring Christian beliefs
to China and persons of Chinese descent.
ECF carries out programs of evangelism, education, and relief work in Hong Kong
, Macau
, Thailand
, Burma, Singapore
, Malaysia, Indonesia
, Philippines
, Vietnam
, the United States
, and China
. Programs are primarily conducted in schools, orphanages, and churches; with the educational programs focused on providing middle- and high-school English teachers training.
(计志文, anglicized as Andrew Gih), was born in Shanghai
and became a Christian while a student at Bethel School in Shanghai. Moved by the preaching of Paget Wilkes
, he became an evangelist at the age of 25. In 1928 he joined the Worldwide Evangelistic Band, led by George Rideout
of Asbury College, Wilmore, Kentucky. While on a preaching tour in south China, he met the famed evanglist John Sung
(Song Shangjie). They formed the Bethel Worldwide Evangelistic Band in 1931. After Sung left this work in 1933, Gih continued it under the name of Bethel Mission until July 1947
., when he founded the Evangelize China Fellowship (ECF) as a Mandarin Church in Shanghai. After Shanghai fell to the Communists, Gih moved his work to Hong Kong, and appointed Paul Shen to open ECF work in Taiwan
, resulting eleven years later in seven churches and an orphanage.
In addition to the building of churches, orphanages, and schools; ECF was credited with creating a vast network of Chinese Christians in the Diaspora
, and helping Gih attain a level of "notoriety [that] placed him in the company of fellow revivalist J. Edwin Orr
and Billy Graham
."
In the first 31 years of ECF, the organization opened 375 churches, seven schools, and two seminaries.
As of 2007, ECF comprises one-half of the global organization ECF International which conducts charitable and evangelical activities in 18 countries.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to China and persons of Chinese descent.
ECF carries out programs of evangelism, education, and relief work in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Burma, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Programs are primarily conducted in schools, orphanages, and churches; with the educational programs focused on providing middle- and high-school English teachers training.
History
The ECF founder, Dr. Ji ZhiwenJi Zhiwen
Ji Zhiwen , known in the west as Andrew Gih, was a leader of evangelical Christianity in China prior to the communist revolution. He was the founder of the Evangelize China Fellowship.-External links:...
(计志文, anglicized as Andrew Gih), was born in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and became a Christian while a student at Bethel School in Shanghai. Moved by the preaching of Paget Wilkes
Paget Wilkes
thumb|180px|[[Juji Nakada|NAKADA Juji]],Paget Wilkes,MITANI Tanekiti,1902Alpheus Paget Wilkes was an English evangelical Christian missionary to Japan who was one of the founders of the Japan Evangelistic Band in 1903...
, he became an evangelist at the age of 25. In 1928 he joined the Worldwide Evangelistic Band, led by George Rideout
George Rideout
George Saunders Rideout was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997. The son of two former federal Members of Parliament, Sherwood Rideout and Margaret Rideout, he was a lawyer by career, in practise with Stewart & Stratton and later Rideout & Robinson. He was also the mayor of...
of Asbury College, Wilmore, Kentucky. While on a preaching tour in south China, he met the famed evanglist John Sung
John Sung
John Sung Shang Chieh a.k.a. John Sung was a renowned Chinese Christian evangelist who played an instrumental role in the revival movement among the Chinese in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia during the 1920s and 1930s.-Career:Sung was born in Hinghwa , Fujian, China.He grew up with a...
(Song Shangjie). They formed the Bethel Worldwide Evangelistic Band in 1931. After Sung left this work in 1933, Gih continued it under the name of Bethel Mission until July 1947
., when he founded the Evangelize China Fellowship (ECF) as a Mandarin Church in Shanghai. After Shanghai fell to the Communists, Gih moved his work to Hong Kong, and appointed Paul Shen to open ECF work in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, resulting eleven years later in seven churches and an orphanage.
In addition to the building of churches, orphanages, and schools; ECF was credited with creating a vast network of Chinese Christians in the Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
, and helping Gih attain a level of "notoriety [that] placed him in the company of fellow revivalist J. Edwin Orr
J. Edwin Orr
James Edwin Orr was a Baptist minister, lecturer and author.At the time of his death, J. Edwin Orr was professor emeritus of the history of awakenings at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of World Missions. He had been born in the North of Ireland of American-British parentage. He had a Ph....
and Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
."
In the first 31 years of ECF, the organization opened 375 churches, seven schools, and two seminaries.
As of 2007, ECF comprises one-half of the global organization ECF International which conducts charitable and evangelical activities in 18 countries.
External links
- ECF International
- Evangelize China Fellowship website
- Synopsis of bio of founder
- Christianity in ChinaChristianity in ChinaChristianity in China is a growing minority religion that comprises Protestants , Catholics , and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, and the social system and ideology of...