THE BLOOD PERIOD II

Doubling Up Towards,the South
1938

Having settled his family in their new home Dr Sung held a retreat February 22nd-27th, 1938 for the Shanghai Preaching Bands in order to consolidate them in their faith "in times like these."

After this he answered another call from his native province where he went preaching from town to town in the interior before coming again to Foochow for another revival campaign, April 25th to May 6th, 1938. As the war was on Dr Sung came under closer Government surveillance, who hinted that he should speak on the Christians' duty to fight Japan. John Sung, while a patriot at heart, would not veer from the one message he had received from heaven for a lost mankind - the fires of hell are a thousand times worse than the fires of war.

Another significant event that happened to him in Foochow was his ordination. This was the consensus not only of Methodist Bishop John Gowdy but of all the missionaries and pastors from Hinghwa, and from other districts. The solemn-ceremony took place on the second last day of the revival campaign, the 5th of May 1938, 9 am. "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the presbytery" (1 Tim 4:14). The ordination could only strengthen John Sung in his ministry, for this was the apostolic practice that set apart a man to holy service. The ordination showed Dr Sung's brotherly submission in the Lord's service without which a servant of the Lord would not prosper or continue for long. No doubt he was specially ordained of the Lord, but there is the ordination of the Church, to fulfill all righteousness.

Making haste Rev John Sung sped to Amoy, but alas, he missed the boat that should take him to Hong Kong by only five minutes! His intention was to sail from Hong Kong to answer the Macedonian call of Indo-China.

Indo-China Campaign

May to August 1938

On May 10th, 1938 the Japanese invasion of China spread its tentacles to Amoy. Fortunately John Sung was able to scramble up the S.S. Hong Keng which was loaded with a thousand eight hundred refugees, which managed to escape early the next morning. When the refugee ship steamed into Hong Kong Harbor on the 13th, Amoy had fallen into enemy hands.

John Sung found a ship sailing on the 20th for Haiphong, on the tip of North Indo-China. Not willing to waste any precious minute, he had the Preaching Bands of Hong Kong lined up for a five-day "spiritual-nurture" meeting at the Mun Sun College, using loud speakers to an overflowing crowd.

Arriving in Haiphong, John Sung held a preliminary meeting before going onto Hanoi and then turning south to Saigon. While the results in the north were rather limited to a few hundred, the Lord gave him great victory in Saigon, particularly in Cholon the Chinese city on the outskirts of Saigon. Two hundred and twelve souls were saved on the first night! Thirty-one yielded their lives for full-time service and fifteen preaching hands were organized.

Kunming Sortie

From Indo-China John Sung made a quick trip by rail to the southwestern most province of Yunnan which has a common border with Vietnam, Laos and Burma. He had an appointment with its provincial capital Kunming. Although the work in Yunnan was still primitive so that evangelism was more suitable than revivalistic preaching, ^-the impression the evangelist had left behind was a lively one. Reporting on John Sung's ministry, Mr. G.E. Metcalf of the China Inland Mission stationed in Kunming affirmed the churches in Kunming were stirred up as they never had been before. Moreover, three Lisu Christians who attended the meetings were so set on fire for God that they returned to their tribal church and stirred up a mini-revival so much so that public confession of sin was also witnessed, as well as a new zeal to evangelize the lost.

Visit to Thailand

In regard to Dr Sung's visit to Thailand, it seems best for a son of the soil, even a John Sung convert's son, to tell the story of how revival came to his own country. He is Prachan Rodruan a young Thai minister just graduated from Far Eastern Bible College, Singapore, September 1985. In his thesis on "Pioneers of Protestant Missions in Thailand" submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Theology, these are his findings on John Sung and his work in Thailand:

"In the autumn of 1938, Chinese evangelist John Sung visited Thailand. He came by private invitation, not by official Church sponsorship. Through him God sent a season of repenting to the Chinese Christians. In the large Chinese Church at Bangkok, he preached twice a day for a whole month. The morning meetings focused on Christians; the evening ones were for non-Christians. His meetings were crowded with 800-1,000 people. Many Christians rededi­cated their lives to God. Nominal Christians were con­verted. Leslie T. Lyall says there were about 700, already Christians, who professed conversion. A new spirit arose in the Chinese Church ....

"John Sung's impact on the Chinese was dramatic. He spoke with directness and plain speech in a high and loud voice. While preaching he would walk back and forth on the platform, or down the aisles, frequently pointing his finger at someone in the audience. He was uncompromising and often blunt in speech, but evidently anointed by God's Spirit. Wherever he spoke Holy Spirit conviction was felt.

"John Sung's visits produced `considerable tension' in both Mission and Church. His `Billy Sunday' profile was accepted by the Chinese, but often criticized by foreign missionaries and the Thais. Thai decorum, quietness of spirit and `coolness of heart,' were said to be offended by John Sung - a common defense against acceptance of the Gospel. Nevertheless, the Spirit of God spoke through him to the Thais, though less forcefully than to the Chinese. Dr Chinda Singhanetr believed that during John Sung's 1939 visit the Thai Church received more blessing than the Chinese Church, but many of those revived were actually from Chinese or Siamo-Chinese backgrounds.

"While his primary audience was the Chinese he did hold Thai meetings through interpretation. Smaller crowds attended the latter. As months of itinerant visits to the Chinese and Thai churches across the Kingdom passed, a reviving strength infused the Church.

Impact of John Sung's Ministry

"During visits in 1938 and again in 1939, entire congrega­tions fell on their knees, wept in repentance, confessed their sins, and asked for forgiveness. Quarrels and debts were settled. Backsliders righted their lives. Christians were quickened with renewed spiritual interest in prayer, Bible study and witness. Decisions for Christ, especially among nominal believers, were crystallized. Many came forward to accept the Lord. Most of this effect fell on those who were already Christian in name. The two visits seemed to be of minor impact on the Thai Buddhists.

"Clear evidence of change in lives sparked a new zeal in evangelism. Two hundred men, women and youths joined `witness bands.' These seventy evangelistic bands went out once a week to proclaim Christ in outstations, churches, and to Buddhist neighbors.

"During John Sung's visit Sook Pongnoi, who died in 1972 (who is known to the author through the International Council of Christian Churches) was pastoring his second year at Trang Church in South Thailand. He traveled to Bangkok to hear the Chinese evangelist. Quickened and encouraged, Pastor Sook, himself as much Chinese as Thai, invited John Sung to go to Trang Church for meetings. He agreed and the Church was set on fire for God. After the evangelist's departure, the Trang Church continued to be packed. Public Bible reading became a strong emphasis of the Church. One Sunday soon after John Sung's departure, sixteen women and five men were baptized. Twenty baptized children of Christians also publicly professed faith in Christ, and all united with the Church. The backslidden believers confessed their sin. This is typical of the effect John Sung had on the existing Churches. Though new additions were made to some congregations, few, if any, new Churches were planted. No great influx from the animistic Buddhists resulted.

"Urgent requests from the Churches, mainly non Chinese, brought John Sung back to Thailand early 1939. His itiner­ary included such Churches as Chiangmai, Lampang, Nakhon Pathom and Petchaburi.

"When using the term revival here, it doesn't mean evangelism. Basically revival under John Sung was the renewal of Christians, the restoration of backsliding mem­bers, and the conversion of those who claimed the name of Christ but who lacked a personal `born again' experience.

Evaluation of Revival

"These revivals were timely in the. history of the Thai and Chinese Churches. Many who were or who were to be key leaders in the Church were converted from their nominality during these campaigns.

"On several occasions Pastor Sook related his experiences with John Sung. This revival encounter upheld his faith and kept him turned to Christ to the end. During the testings of the War (1942-1945) Sook suffered persecutions and arrest, but always stood firm for the Lord. He visited the Churches regularly during the war. He later became a conference speaker, a keen evangelist, and a noted pastor. His name was a household word in Thai Christian homes and in many non-Christian ones, too, because of his wide ministry. He attributed it all to God through John Sung.

"This deep work of God's Spirit prepared the Church for the fires of testing under the nationalistic Buddhist move­ment of 1940-1941 and Japanese War 1941-1945.

"Martin Jarrett-Kerr says that John Sung's ‘most spectacu­lar work’ was among the ‘Chinese of the Dispersion.’ It no doubt strengthened the Chinese Christians to stand through the Japanese domination:" (end of Prachan research paper).

Leslie T. Lyall reports that between 1915 and 1935 the number of Church members in connection with the Pres­byterian Church decreased from 8,000 to less than 7,000. Two years after Dr Sung's visits, this Church membership had gone up to 9,000. While there is a query in Prachan's research in regard to the above figures, it cannot be denied that a great impetus to Church growth had resulted from John Sung's double visit. It must be recorded that prior to his first visit Lim Puay Hian, his disciple, had preceded him by stirring up great interest for revival with the Chinese Church in Bangkok in preparation for John Sung's coming. But the story of Lim Puay Hian, John Sung's disciple, does not end here.

In early 1941 Lim Puay Hian returned to Thailand for a second visit. Entering Thailand by train from Malaya he ministered at Haadyai where his brother (Lim Puay Ngee) later established a church. Stopping at several other towns en route to Bangkok he found opportunity to speak to Thai Christians. This ministry with the Thais in South Thailand so impressed the nationals that word soon spread to the north.

After holding a twelve-day revival campaign at the Baptist Church, Bangkok where he ministered three years ago, he was entrained northwards to Chiangmai, centre of American Presbyterian endeavors. Meetings were held both in Church and at the Theological Seminary. At three sermons a day for eight days (John Sung style) Puay Hian pounded away with sledge-hammer blows in the Spirit's power. It was marvelous to see how when the Spirit worked, the hardest of hearts crumbled before Him. The skeptical among the missionaries also yielded to the Lord. Students were re­leased from the day classes to attend the meetings. Of the converts 101 joined the preaching bands founded by John Sung.

The success of Chiangmai led to further exploits and conquest of several other centers, in John Sung's steps, before Puay Hian returned to his base in Singapore.

Inasmuch as Elisha was needed to round up Elijah's work, Lim Puay Hian was undoubtedly raised of God to comple­ment John Sung's revival ministry, particularly in Fukien Province and in Nanyang or Southeast Asia.