Ministry Reading

During his ministry, Brother Witness Lee spoke much concerning his burden for America—that the high gospel would be preached to unbelievers, that deeper truths would be ministered to Christian seekers, that the churches would gain a numerical increase for the Lord’s recovery, and that His testimony would be spread by the raising up of new local churches through the saints’ migration.

With a view to the present move of the Lord, such speaking could be grouped into four areas: (1) the strategic importance of a growing and prevailing testimony of the Lord’s recovery in America; (2) the practice of the God-ordained way in carrying out the work of propagation and spread; (3) the establishment of new local churches by the way of the migration of the saints; and (4) the necessary preparation and equipping for those who aim to participate in such labor.

The Burden

• The Burden of GTCA

• Planting Church Trees

• Strategic Importance of the United States

Below is an initial list of recommended ministry books and chapters, grouped according to the four areas mentioned above and listed in chronological order of publication. Saints who intend to participate in the Lord’s present move would do well to read and even study these materials for their own enlightenment, strengthening, and learning. Their contents are as inspiring as they are instructive.

Except for passages from The Collected Works of Witness Lee where page numbers are enumerated, entire chapters are listed in order to provide context to Brother Lee’s speaking concerning the subject at hand.

This list of recommended ministry reading may be revised and expanded from time to time.

Concerning the strategic importance of America:

1. Life-study of Revelation (1976), message 48
2. The One New Man (1977), chapters 2 and 3
3. The World Situation and God’s Move (1981), chapters 1–7
4. The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move (1991), chapters 1 and 3
5. The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way (1992), chapter 10

Concerning increase and spread through the God-ordained way:

1. Guidelines for the Propagation of the Lord’s Recovery (1984), chapter 4
2. Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery (1985), chapter 1
3. The New Way to Carry out the Increase and Spread of the Church (1986), chapters 1–5
4. Being Desperate and Living Uniquely for the Gospel (1987), chapter 1–3
5. The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way (1989), chapters 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12–22
6. 1993 Blending Conference Messages Concerning the Lord’s Recovery and Our Present Need (1993), chapter 7

Concerning planting new and small churches through migration:

1. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, vol. 2 (1968), pp. 543–544, 548–550
2. The World Situation and God’s Move (1981), chapter 7
3. Elders’ Training Book 5, Fellowship Concerning the Lord’s Up-to-date Move (1985), chapter 9
4. The Conclusion of the New Testament (1988), chapters 197 and 198
5. The Ministry of the New Testament Priests of the Gospel (1988), chapter 1
6. The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way (1989), chapter 9
7. Elders’ Training, Book 10, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2) (1991), chapter 9
8. The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move (1991), chapter 4

Concerning being perfected and regulated in preparation for the work:

1. Elders’ Training, Book 7, One Accord for the Lord’s Move (1986), chapters 1, 2, 6, and 8
2. Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel (1988), chapters 1–5
3. Three Crucial Matters for the Increase and Building Up of the Church: Begetting, Nourishing, and Teaching (1989), chapters 19–22
4. The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move (1991), chapter 4