The Writings and Sermons of Watchman Nee

• Watchman Nee was born Ni Shu-tsu or Henry Ni in Swatow, November 4, 1903. He was later renamed Ni Ching-Fu, and finally, after his commitment to Christian work, Ni To-sheng--that is, Watchman Nee.
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  Like so many well known servants of God, Watchman Nee had a family heritage of Christian Service. The first school in Foochow offering western-style education was opened in a suburb of the old city in 1853, and it was here that Watchman Nee's grandfather Nga U-cheng heard of Jesus Christ and was won to Him. Four years later in 1857, the year in which the first Christian church in Foochow came into being, he was one of a group of four pupils baptized in the Min River. He progressed so well that the missionaries trained him as an evangelist, and soon he was proclaiming the gospel in this city of half a million souls. Eventually he was ordained a pastor, the first Chinese to be so honored in the three north Fukien missions. He had a gift for expounding the Scriptures for which, after his death in 1890, he was long to be remembered.

  Watchman Nee became a Christian in 1920 at the age of 17 and began writing in the same year. In 1921, he met the British missionary M. E. Barber, who was a great influence on him. Through Miss Barber, Nee was introduced to many of the Christian writings which were to have a profound influence on him and his teachings. In 1928, Watchman Nee settled in Shanghai where he based his own speaking and publication work, the Shanghai Gospel Bookroom, which published books by Watchman Nee and others, as well as some Chinese translations of English-speaking authors - most notably the Christian teacher and writer T. Austin-Sparks, with whom Nee had a very close relationship fostered during his significant time at the Honor Oak Christian Fellowship Centre on Honor Oak Road in London, England.

• Through the labour of Nee and his colleagues, local assemblies were raised up all over China and among other Chinese-speaking communitites in the Far East. Some of Nee's co-workers in this work later became known in their own right outside of China (i.e. - Stephen Kaung, Witness Lee, Faithful Luke, Simon Meek, and others).

  In 1952, Watchman Nee was imprisoned by the Chinese government for his faith. He remained in prison until his death twenty years later (1972). Watchman Nee's writings on matters of the individual Christian life have been a source of inspiration to Christians throughout the world, though his writings on the local churches--which he considered to be central to his ministry--have been largely ignored by mainstream Christianity. His most popular work is The Normal Christian Life.

  His English name seems to be a literal variation of his Chinese name. (pinyin tùo) is a Chinese watchman's knocker or plaque, sounded to mark the hours of night. (pinyin sheng) means sound.

• Note: Please understand that many of Brother Nee's viewpoints do not reflect the Message of the Kingdom as it is presented today, and we are not in agreement with all he says; but no doubt were he alive today he would see many things quite differently. However, because there are certain points outlined here that may be of interest to many of our visitors, I have decided to place these articles on our site for your consideration.

   

• Ministry to the House, or to the Lord - By Watchman Nee

• Waste  - By Watchman Nee

• Why Jesus must be both God and Man - By Watchman Nee

• The Ten Virgins - By Watchman Nee

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