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TechnoratiJohn says the school remains to "train young worship leaders for house churches" so that "the holy music of churches will get developed…and attract more people to come in."
The students at the school come from virtually every corner of China – from Yunnan Province in China’s southwest to the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. Though most students are of Han-Chinese origins, a few are from the Miao ethnic minority.
"I’m especially happy here, just like when I was still a child," an ethnic-Miao believer shared.
Each day, students at the conservatory spend hours attending class and practicing music – only stopping to eat or rest at night in the school’s dormitory.
Though the work is hard, students are generally appreciative of the school.
"I thank God that I learned a lot here," said a 16-year-old male student from Heilongjiang Province.
"Because of … [the school] I began to desire to seek the Lord and make a relationship with Him; that’s the biggest benefit for me," a female student recalled.
John continues to believe that his pupils through "church music could affect society and culture" in modern, secular China.
His students often travel the world, performing at booked concerts in Europe and North America.
Favorite selections at the concert include the Canaan hymns. The hymns, commonly sung in house churches through China, were entirely composed by a musically-illiterate peasant girl named Xiao Min, who sang into a tape-recorder and jotted down the lyrics for someone else to write the score.
Despite seeing amazing growth in the music school, John expressed wishes to see it push further in its development.
“We know that presently there are still a lot of needs in China’s house churches; it is far from being fulfilled,” he said. “I really hope there will be more brothers and sisters who can participate in our works.”
“We pray that every province has [our music school], so that more music of praise shall ring to all of China,” he added.
Editor’s Note: Names in this article were changed to ensure the anonymity and safety of the sources represented.
