Influential Chinese evangelist Rev. Moses Yu died at the age of 91 at a hospital in Hawaii on March 29, 2010.
The news came unexpectedly to many ministers, for those who have received his guidance and help expressed regrets over his death.
Among the ministers, Rev. Zhang Bo-li, a former student activist who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen’s Square incident and later turned pastor, wrote in his blog that Yu has been his teacher and friend and has served as the advisory pastor to Harvest Chinese Christian Church, a church that Zhang founded.
Describing Yu as his “spiritual father”, he said that Yu has always given him very important advises in every important decision in his life, which allowed him to grow and develop, and be used by the Lord.
Zhang, whose church ministers mostly to Chinese from mainland China, expressed his shock upon hearing the news of Yu’s passing.
“On a spring morning when the cherry trees are blossoming, I’m preparing to say good bye to my teacher and friend. The biggest hesitations in life are facing death. I must quickly purchase plane ticket to say good bye to Rev. Yu.”
Rev. Dr. Moses Yu was born in 1920. He received salvation at the age of 11 during the Shandong revival and started preaching the gospel in 1939. He has served as the president of Singapore Theological Seminary for consecutive terms. Later, Yu went to study in United States for nine years. While studying, he ministered and founded a church in Northern California. In 1973, he founded the Christian Witness Theological Seminary and served as the president for two decades. After retirement, he traveled around the world to preach the truth, train believers, and led Bible-studies and evangelism conferences, which has risen up many Chinese ministerial workers. At 81 years old, he traveled all the way to study at National University of South Africa and received a doctorate degree in theology; his spirit of learning inspired many.
In his many decades of service, Yu has written many books on topics of Biblical-studies, Bible Holy-land, Prayers, Development of Spirituality, and Christian’s life philosophies. In addition, he has recorded a set of CD tracks on the entire Bible – all of these are precious inheritance that he has left behind for the Chinese churches.
Rev. Yu once shared that he chose to devote his life in theological studies because his father was killed in a plane bombing by the Japanese in Guilin, China, 1938. Since that time, he was determined to proclaim Christianity in hopes to purifying the souls of the invaders and the sinners, so that this world can be filled with love rather than hate.
[Editor's note: reporter Luke Leung translated this article.]
