Preface

  Volume 57 of The Collected Works is comprised of two sections containing messages and fellowship given by Watchman Nee upon the resumption of his ministry in late 1947 and early 1948.

  Section One is comprised of notes from private fellowship between Brother Nee and Brother Weigh in Foochow during September of 1947. The notes are comparatively scanty in content.

  Section Two is comprised of messages and fellowship given at a nationwide co-workers’ conference in Shanghai during April and May of 1948.

  Most of Brother Nee’s fellowship was given in co-workers’ meetings rather than in public meetings of the church. He only spoke a few times to the whole church in conference meetings. His main burdens in these messages included the way of recovery that the church takes on earth today, the recovery of the Body life, the coordination of the co-workers, ministry and authority, the relationship between the local churches and the work, release from the bondage of money, the way to preach the gospel, and the way to arrive at the universal priestly service.

  This volume is comprised of brief meeting notes taken by Brother K. H. Weigh and his first wife, Lin I-tien. Except for slight adjustments in sentence structure, the majority of the material is presented as it was found in their manuscripts.