Seminary Community Mourns Death of Chinese Pastor

Faculty, staff and students at Calvin Theological Seminary are asking prayers for the family of Xu Guoyong, a Chinese publisher and writer who was hit by a car last week in suburban Grand Rapids, Mich.

The accident occurred about 9 p.m. He was taken by ambulance to Spectrum Health Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, said police.

Xu Guoyong, 39, was in West Michigan with 30 other Chinese pastors to attend the China Seminar put on by the Acton Institute, an ecumenical educational and research organization in Grand Rapids focused on promoting faith and freedom. He was walking with another person who was not injured, said police.

“Brother Xu's ministry served a wide circle of Christians in China,” said Mary Ma, a Calvin seminary graduate who lives in Grand Rapids with her husband, Jin Li, another seminary graduate. Both serve a local Chinese church.

“Brother Xu’s own life was short and full of adversity, and brothers and sisters who knew him well called him Job,” said Ma.

Xu Guoyong was the co-founder and editor of Oak Tree, a major house-church publisher in mainland China, which translated and published some major Reformed classics. 

Guoyong was also an active member of the persecuted Shouwang Church in Beijing, which has been worshipping outdoors since 2009 after the authorities forbade them to gather.

He was imprisoned twice due to his participation in outdoor worship. During one imprisonment, a relative was helping to care for his two-year-old daughter. But the little girl accidentally fell from a high-rise apartment and died.

After this loss, said Mary Ma, Guoyong wrote a book lamenting the loss of his daughter, Where Could I Wait for You? He was inspired to write it after Jin Li sent him a copy of Lament for a Son, written by former Calvin College philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff following the death of his son.

“Xu’s book is full of Christian reflections about death and eternal life. Sometime later, God blessed Guoyong and his wife with another daughter who is presently just over one year,” said Ma.

Guoyong has written many articles that are widely read on the internet by Chinese Christians. The main penman of Oak Tree ministry, Xu is widely known as Brother Oak Tree.

Here are some specific requests for prayers:

1. Guoyong's wife, Shi Yinjuan, was granted a compassionate emergency visa and arrived Tuesday night in Grand Rapids. Please pray for her and for those who may be accompanying her.
2. Pray for Yinjuan's friends or family.
3. Pray for funeral preparations and a proper way of burial with the consent of his family.
4. Pray for all people who are affected by this sudden death, that they be comforted in their grief and that their faith will grow deeper in Christ as they remember this brother and his courageous testimony for the sake of gospel.
5. Pray for legal assistance for compensation to the family who have needed to rely solely on Guoyong's meager income to support them.

Ma said plans are to hold a memorial service this weekend.

“There is so much to say about this brother. He wrote a very touching testimony from when he was in prison,” she said. “I hope more people in the English-speaking world become familiar with him and his writing.”