John Sung - Return To China and Gospel Ministry

Return To China and Gospel Ministry

The Chinese Consulate managed to arrange for Sung's release and he returned to China in November 1927, without graduating from Union Theological Seminary. Before stepping on Chinese soil after an almost eight-year absence, he threw all his academic awards into the sea, only keeping the doctorate diploma for his father. This action he intended to signify his full commitment to the Gospel.

After his return to China, he began preaching in the Min-nan region for three years. His main topics at that time were “The Crucifix ” and “The Blood of Jesus”. His messages were based on Bible teachings concerning spiritual rebirth, salvation, and bearing a cross.

In 1930 or 1931, he joined Bethel Bible School of Shanghai, where, with other graduates, he formed a "Bethel Evangelistic Band". The topic of his sermons were now mainly about how to deal with sin. A summary of his teaching during this period was that people admitting their sins is not enough, they must “repent of their sins” and after repentance should come a time to “Correct your sins”. He went on to say that after one has changed sinful habits comes a time to “Repay your sins”.

Sung also believed that by saying “Lord, forgive me for I am a sinner” is insufficient. He emphasized that during prayers, repentance should be made as a whole group and done step by step in minor detail. In fact, Sung listed twenty major categories of sins and if one had committed one of those sins listed within a category then one must admit and repent of that sin during a group prayer session.

Sung was sometimes so excited that he often jumped onto the pulpit to preach; in the middle of the sermon he would always sing a hymn for up to twenty or thirty minutes. John Sung also made use of props during sermons. On one occasion during a sermon, he brought a coffin, placed it under the pulpit, and shouted, "Get rich, get rich, get the coffin!". (This was a play on words in the original Chinese, used to convey the idea that pursuing money will not bring you eternal life.) After exclaiming this statement, he then went and lay down in the coffin himself.

Sung proved to be a zealous and compelling preacher. His name spread throughout China and invitations soon poured in, requesting him to spread the gospel to other regions as well. By 1936, it was believed more than 100,000 Chinese were converted through his ministry. His missionary work spread beyond China and he was actively preaching to overseas Chinese population in Southeast Asia. Sung’s Bible messages were focused on the need for repentance. He took the issue of sin very seriously and often invited his audience to repent to a list of specific sins that he read out. He spoke out against sin and hypocrisy, even at the ministers and pastoral staffs who were with him at the meetings. As such, he often offended many. His sermons regularly moved his audience to tears with the message of Christ’s love. Outside of preaching, Sung was a man of prayer. He actively complied a list of prayer requests given by fellow Christians and would spend many hours praying for them.

Sung was quoted as defining faith as "watching God work while on your knees".