From the time that I began to seek to know the Lord Jesus and to know His word, I have been blessed to be under the care of so many dear brothers and sisters in Christ in the local churches and to have been able to read numerous publications by Witness Lee. While all of my Christian life has been spent in the local churches, my contact and fellowship with other Christians whom I befriended both in high school and college has confirmed to me that my experiences as a believer of Christ are the same as those experienced by other genuine lovers of the Lord Jesus regardless of background.

I was raised in the church in Bellevue, Washington and also spent four years meeting with the church in Seattle while I attended college at the University of Washington. In those years I came to know and love the Lord Jesus in a personal way and also began to treasure the Bible as the word of God. My first few years of college were anything but “holy”. But as I continued to meet and fellowship with the fellow seekers of Christ among my classmates and friends, and as I began to read the writings of Witness Lee, the Lord Jesus become increasingly real and wonderful to me and the Bible became the living, operating, and nourishing word of God to me (Hebrews 4:12).

During those years, I really treasured Witness Lee’s Life-Study of the Bible. Books that were once mysterious and difficult for me, such as Hebrews and First Corinthians, were now opened and became so enjoyable and clear. Books that were already enjoyable to me, such as Genesis and John, became even more rich and edifying. I remember countless nights in which I would stay up into the early morning pouring over the Life-Study messages and the footnotes of the Recovery Version of the New Testament. Often these intense times in the Bible and Witness Lee’s writing would cause me to desperately pray to the Lord asking Him to grant me the privilege of serving Him my entire life. In those moments alone with the Lord and His word, nothing was more real to me than the living God and nothing was more important to me than His move on the earth. These experiences and many more have left me without a doubt that Witness Lee was blessed with divine revelation through years of hungry seeking for the truth, intimate fellowship with God, and much life experience.

Because of all of the help that I have received through Witness Lee’s ministry and through the care I received in the local church I am beginning to genuinely know Christ, love Christ, and serve Christ. Truly nothing this world has to offer me is more precious and worth giving my life for than the Lord Jesus Christ. I will praise the Lord for eternity for the dear lovers of Christ in the local churches and for the ministry of Witness Lee.

Ben Shih

Growing up in the local church in Bellevue and being brought into fellowship with other Christians from local churches around the world has been the greatest blessing of my entire life. I count it a privilege to be here and am eternally grateful for the Lord’s mercy in not letting me go live a “worldly life” but leading me to the local church.

For many years however, although I was a born-again Christian, I never had much desire for the Lord or the Bible. I had my own dreams and ambitions and always wanted to be better than everybody in everything I did. Yet, despite these ambitions, I always knew there was a lack in my Christian life and was always bothered in my conscience concerning one thing, baptism. I had heard about baptism for many years growing up, but I was scared to get baptized because I knew it meant giving up my entire life to Christ, which I wasn’t prepared yet to do. But I never felt pressured to get baptized; the decision was always mine. I was always loved and taken care of by the believers in the local churches whenever I came to a meeting.

Finally, one day during my senior year of high school, I had a special experience of the Lord that gave me the peace and confidence to get baptized. I received my first real speaking from Him. Shortly after this experience, I got baptized and my Christian life began to radically change for the better.

Six months later, at the time of my high school graduation, I had my second life-changing experience. My graduation was the most disappointing experience of my life; but amidst all the discouragement and depression, the Lord appeared to me gloriously and became the greatest attraction in the universe to me. At this point in my life I wanted nothing but Jesus Christ.

However, I soon became aware of my need for the church. I knew that as a seeking Christian I had to have a church life and could not merely be on my own. For years I grew up hearing how great the meetings of the local church were, but until now I had never really experienced it. Once I started college I started attending as many meetings as I could. I pleasantly discovered what the other brothers and sisters in the local church had always testified, that the enjoyment of Christ in the local church enhances our own personal enjoyment of Him. I was a good student and even had a good job, but it was Christ and meeting in the local church in Bellevue that made me happier than ever before in my life and continues to give me joy and satisfy me. Nobody ever forced me to come and nobody forces me to keep coming – it is all of the Lord. The Lord changed my life for the better, and I am eternally grateful to the Lord for leading me to the local church because I know that it’s the best place for me to be. Looking back at my salvation experience, my baptism and my coming to the local church, I realize that none of it was of me; it was all of the Lord.

I was Led into the Light

I grew up in the local church in Bellevue and was familiar with Witness Lee, but it wasn’t until my high school graduation that I really had my first contact with his ministry. When I graduated from high school, the Lord dynamically changed my life around and this gave me a renewed, burning heart of love for my Lord Jesus Christ. It was at this time that I received the book The Economy of God by Witness Lee. Prior to reading this book I had very little spiritual understanding due to my own cold heart. However, I found this book to be invigorating and enlightening. As I continued reading, more and more light and understanding came to me and I began to realize how great and important God’s eternal purpose truly is (Eph. 3:11).

In my spare time between work and school I tried to read as many books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee as I could. The more I read, the more appreciation and desire I had for God’s purpose. I’m very thankful to the Lord for all the dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus who spoke, taught, and ministered the Word of God prior to Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and laid a foundation for them. Yet I am also grateful to the Lord for the faithful and uncompromising ministries of these two brothers. Many times I have heard Witness Lee testify of how he had to be faithful to the Lord to speak certain points of the truth and risk being misunderstood rather than compromise in order to be well received. One of the reasons why I follow and enjoy Witness Lee’s ministry is that he only cares about Christ. From the many books I’ve read and conferences I’ve attended, I can say that the Lord Jesus Christ has led me into many wonderful and precious experiences of Himself and of being filled in spirit with joy and satisfaction (Eph. 5:18; Rom. 15:13). I’m so thankful that I’m no longer in darkness but have been led into the light of God’s Word to understand His eternal purpose.

Tim Washington

I feel it is such a mercy and a great privilege to meet with the local churches today. In all of the local churches I have visited, I have found believers who are loving the Lord, enjoying Him, and caring for His interests on this earth. It is truly amazing that God can gather millions of people who are of different races and backgrounds, and blend us together to be His one Body. This is made possible by us receiving Him as life and allowing Him to grow in us. This produces His Bride for which He will return.

Only Christ!

I am so thankful to the Lord for the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. These brothers were faithful unto death in their service to the Lord. Because they both loved the Lord and lived to Him, the Lord was able to use them to unveil so many rich truths in the Bible.

Through this ministry, I have always been brought back to Christ, the center of God’s eternal plan. This plan is a mystery according to Ephesians 1:9-10. I am thankful to the Lord that through the ministry of these brothers, I am able to know this mystery. I can testify that after reading the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee the whole Bible was opened up to me and made sense. I know the reason for my existence on this earth and I can see that God has an eternal purpose for mankind. Thank the Lord the mystery has been made known as the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:26-28: “The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints; to whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ.”

C.C.