It was a crisp winter night. My father, Jimmy Wu, was deep in prayer, weighed down by a heavy burden God had placed on his heart. He simply could not shake the burning desire to see believers in the Chinese-speaking congregation of Chinese Grace Bible Church (CGBC) develop a deeper spiritual fellowship with one another. He found himself mulling over the benefits of attending fellowship groups, but soon realized that various conflicts in schedule prevented some from attending. Even on Sundays, there were challenges in getting everyone together in one place for fellowship. And when they did manage to run into each other, the encounter was brief and often rushed.

And so, the idea of a church newsletter in Chinese was conceived. It would be an avenue to connect with one another without the limitations of time and space. With the contributions of articles on various topics by fellow believers, another viable option for meaningful fellowship could, indeed, become a reality.

On February 29, 1976, backed by the prayers and support from Pastor Gershom Lee and the CGBC Brothers Fellowship from the Chinese-speaking congregation, the very first issue of The Grace Bi-Monthly (恩典通訊) was birthed.

It was a six-page newsletter, stapled together on the right side in typical Chinese fashion. The cover was designed by my father and reflected the newsletter’s theme “Fruit of the Spirit.” Each fruit was carefully written on a circle at the end of a tree branch, with Galatians 5:22 written on the tree trunk.

Inside the newsletter, my father manually transcribed every article by various authors, including himself, in beautiful Chinese script. In his Editor’s Words, my father used imagery to describe his sentiments.  Here is my crude translation from his Chinese:

The labor experienced in the birth of this first issue can be described as neither too “intense” nor “mild.”  But without the prayer support, The Grace Bi-Monthly might have been aborted.

Cover of first issue of The Grace Bi-Monthly,1976.

In April of 1978, out of that original vision to connect with one another through the published written word, The Grace Bi-Monthly (恩典通訊) newsletter morphed into the genesis edition of the church magazine Gracious Words (GW)—with its new name and my father continuing as editor. He took on this task with Heidi Huang and other faithful individuals until at least 1984. My father continued to faithfully contribute a column, 每期寫寫, to each edition of GW until his health began to decline.

And here we are, many years later. My father has now gone to his heavenly home, but Gracious Words remains a vibrant part of our congregation. It began as a vision—a passion if you will—from a man who not only possessed a love of writing, a knack for penmanship, but an insatiable longing for a deeper connection among believers within the church he loved. It is amazing how God works through His children’s passion and gifts, conceives an idea within their soul, and gives birth to ministries that bless others.

And now, I have a clearer idea about what drove my Dad to sit in his study for hours on end. Looking back, I believe my father had never lost his “first love” for God—the love he had when he labored over GW—even to the very end. Among his last words to me as I sat by his bedside were these: “I love God.”

I, for one, am so glad to have taken a look back.

So, dear readers, do grab a cup of espresso or Chinese tea, sit back and enjoy Body Life via the pages of this edition, with its theme of “Returning to Our First Love.” The original editor of GW, the late Jimmy Wu, would be overjoyed that you are connecting with one another through this vehicle.

Please note that this is our last English language edition of Gracious Words (GW). Beginning in 2017, the magazine will revert to the Chinese language version only. Our English editors would like to thank everyone for your interest. Anyone interested in creating an English newsletter or magazine for our church may speak with one of our pastors.