SO THAT ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH MAY KNOW THAT THE LORD IS GOD AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE.” 1 KINGS 8:60

Watchman Nee was born in 1903 to second generation Christian Parents in Foochow, China. His Paternal Grandfather studied at the American Congregational College in Foochow and became the first Chinese Pastor among the Congregationalists in Northern Fukien province. Watchman Nee was consecrated to the Lord before his birth. He stated that his birth was an answer to prayer as his Mother was fearful that she would follow her Sister in law in bearing six daughters, since according to Chinese Custom, boys were preferable to girls. She had already borne two daughters, and although at that time she did not fully understand the implications of prayer, she spoke to The Lord and said, “If I should bear a son, I will present him to You.” At the age of seventeen and after considerable struggle, Nee was dynamically saved on the evening of 29th of April ,1920. He states he was alone in his room, struggling to decide whether or not to believe in The Lord. He goes on saying, “At first I was reluctant but as I tried to pray I saw the magnitude of my sins and the reality and efficacy of Jesus as The Savior. As I visualized The Lord’s Hands stretched out on the cross, they seemed to be welcoming me and The Lord was saying,” “I am waiting here to receive you.” “Realizing the effectiveness of Christ’s Blood in cleansing my sins and being overwhelmed by such love, I accepted Him there.” At the moment of his salvation, his plans for his future were entirely abandoned. He testified, “From the evening I was saved, I began a new life, for the life of The Eternal God had entered into me.” Watchman Nee’s rich ministry was the issue of both revelation and suffering. He carried out this ministry by preaching The Gospel, teaching The Bible, traveling, contacting people, corresponding with people, holding conferences, conducting trainings, and producing publications. His writings are contained in a set of sixty-two volumes, entitled The Collected works of Watchman Nee which span from his first publications in 1922 to his final recorded speaking in 1950. Following the takeover in China, Watchman Nee was arrested in March 1952 for the sake of The Gospel. He was falsely condemned, judged, and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment. He died in confinement on May 30th, 1972. He left a piece of paper under his pillow, which had several lines of big words written in a shaken hand. He wanted to testify to the truth which he had even until his death. “The Truth is CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ. Watchman Nee,” he was among the most gifted and insightful Christians in the 20th century and he was light-years ahead of so many contemporary Christian Authors and leaders, including scholars. Yet today, most Christians under 40 have never heard of him, let alone read him. Some of his most beloved and influential writings are, “Sit Walk Stand, Changed into His Likeness, The release of The Spirit, The Normal Christian Life, and The Character of God’s Workman,” to name a few. Nee became intimate with The Bible through diligent study by various methods. In his early days of ministry, he spent one third of his income on personal needs, one third on helping others, and the remaining third on Spiritual Books, reading as many as three thousand from various authors since the first century. His ability to select, comprehend, discern, memorize relevant material, and to grasp and retain the main points of a book while reading gave him revival core basics that he used both in public meetings and writings. In 1947, Nee placed the entire Local Assembly Movement under central leadership and launched an evangelism program that dispatched workers to unreached areas. By 1949, there were seven hundred Churches with a combined membership of seventy thousand. These are a few quotes from Watchman Nee, “Negligence in prayer withers the inner man. Nothing can be a substitute for it, not even Christian work. Many are so preoccupied with work that they allow little time for prayer. Prayer enables us first inwardly to overcome the enemy and then outwardly to deal with him. Living in The Spirit means that I trust Holy Spirit to do in me what I cannot do myself. This is completely different from the life I would naturally live myself. Each time I am faced with a new demand from The Lord, I look to Him to do in me what He requires of me. It is not a case of trying, but of trusting, not of struggling, but resting IN Him. All Knowledge is the outgrowth of obedience, everything else is just information. The Christian Life from start to Finish is based upon the principle of utter dependence upon The Lord Jesus.”

We encourage you to check out some of his writings. He was a very devoted follower of Christ who truly was a Bondservant of Christ and who gave his life for The Gospel. We can learn from such a passionate Follower of The Lord Jesus.

***Portions of this Biography on Watchman Nee are shared from The Revival Study Bible and The Asian Revivalist.