Watchman Nee

Watchman Nee, Ni Tuosheng, or Nee T'o-sheng (Chinese: 倪柝聲; pinyin: Ní Tuòshēng; November 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972), was a 20th century "Chinese evangelist, theologian, and founder of the Local Church movement." He was influenced in part by the Plymouth Brethren, the Higher Life Movement, and Wesleyan-holiness tradition. In 1922, he initiated church meetings in Fuzhou, Fujian province, that may be considered the beginning of the local churches. During his 30 years of ministry, Nee published many books, including expositions of Scripture as well as works on the Christian life and spiritual experience. He established churches throughout China and held frequent conferences to train Bible students and church workers. Following the Communist Revolution, Nee was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith and spent the last 20 years of his life in prison. He was honored by Christopher H. Smith (R–NJ) in the US Congress on July 30, 2009. He is commemorated in the Presbyterian Church (USA) church calendar on May 30. He was recognized by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most influential Christians of the century due to his prolific writings and role in founding the Local Church movement. He is considered by some scholars to be "the leading Chinese theologian of the twentieth century.” Despite spending the last two decades of his life in prison where he eventually died, his work continued to spread globally through translations. His most famous work is The Normal Christian Life.