One of China's Christians: Pastor Hsi of North China

The second of two volumes telling the life story of Pastor Hsi, a Confucian scholar from Shanxi province in Northern China who became a Christian in the 1870s.

Shortly after his conversion, those around Pastor His started to notice a difference. He gave up his opium pipe and sought reconciliation with estranged family members, a step unheard of in an honor-based society. His desire to help other opium addicts led him to start a series of “refuges”, which in turn became the seeds of the first churches in Shanxi province.

Pastor His was a man of prayer who lived out the power of the gospel in a culture seeped in the ancestor worship and darkness. His life was not without mistakes and regrets, but in reading his story, Christians today can be inspired by a faithful follower of Jesus who lived in the power of the Spirit and helped to plant the church which continues to faithfully follow Jesus in the China of today. (Summary by MaryAnn)