When the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, forcing the church to gather online, a special group of people became "marginalized" during the transition. They are believers who are unable to use social media, including mainly elderly Christians.
A church in Jinzhou, in China's central Hubei Province, started broadcasting worship services, informing its congregation on how to download live video streaming software and instructions. However, it is hard for senior believers to understand.
Without any preparation in developing online ministries, many churches have encountered setbacks.
Some churches have suspended all activities because the middle-aged and the elderly account for the majority of believers.
A sister from a rural church in Jiangxi said her church never launched an online gathering since it stopped onsite services in late January. "Because the church membership is largely elderly, little attention has been paid to developing online pastoring. The church was caught unprepared for the special circumstances brought about by the epidemic," she added.
A deaconess from a church in Luoyang, Henan, shared that her 1,000-member church had not arranged an integrated pastoral schedule nor a special approach for those elderly believers who do not use the Internet. It has sub-chat groups on WeChat, such as groups for the choir, the band, and the youth fellowship, but not a group for the general members.
She said, "God remembers the old, weak, sick, and young sheep, but we pastors fail to care for them. This is the church's deepest debt."
Another co-worker from a rual church in Hefei, Anhui expressed the same regret.
Besides those "debts" and anxiety, some churches who just embarked on online ministries faced awkward situations.
A brother from a church in Wuxi, Jiangsu claimed 500 members had joined the church's WeChat group after receiving assistance from one another. But the online sermons were often interrupted by casual messages that members sent. The situation did not improve even though the church made rules on what was acceptable.
A 500-strong church in Xinyang, Henan has a WeChat group of more than 400 members. It has sent single audio sermons for more than one month, according to Brother T, who is in charge of the church. It attempted to send a collection of audio files, but some elderly members said they could not open it.
Some church staff were not accustomed to sharing sermons through recordings, but they encouraged each other to adapt to this special shepherding strategy. In regards to the elderly Christians who cannot use the Internet, many churches keep in touch with them through phone calls from group leaders.
When the epidemic situation improved a bit, church workers advised that a few brothers and sisters might pray with them through home visits.
There are reports that some aged Christians have devotionals by listening to audio Bible players. Before this year's Spring Festival, which fell in late January, a small church in Ji'an, Jiangxi, mainly comprised of the elderly, purchased players and distributed them to the senior believers.
Sister Z revealed, "Only a small number are able to access online sermons. The other ministries are unable to continue. May God have mercy!"
Realizing the shortcoming in online ministries during this special time, most churches remain at sea to future similar challenges. They hope for a quick end to the epidemic so congregations can get back to having normal worship services.
The outbreak exposes pastoral staff and believers who are unfamiliar with online ministries, but do churches attach no importance to these ministries?
Pastor D explained the church used to be worried that believers would not attend church but listen to online sermons in bed if online ministries were provided. Nonetheless, he also expressed that this depended on how the church nurtured its members. He and other workers plan to broadcast onsite services when the epidemic stops.
Sister Z said her church proposed to hold computer training for the staff, but her idea was not implemented. She believed the backwardness of the church in accepting new things stemmed from its pursuit. "If the church is willing to make progress, it will look at different channels and ponder how it can serve believers better. This has nothing to do with age as some believers in their 70s or 80s can also use computers."
With seven or eight years experience in projecting powerpoint presentations in the church, Sister Z returns to the inner room to communicate with God via Bible reading and prayers. She feels a daily sweetness despite the crises in society and the church.
"May God lead and help us so that we can be God's good stewards of manifold talents and shepherd all the flock and avoid the loss of anyone," she said.
- Translated by Karen Luo
特殊时期的云牧养中，老年信徒如何成了“弱势群体”？
疫情来得太突然，很多教会没有提前预备特殊时期的牧养方案。当实地聚会不得不转为线上聚会时，教会中有一个群体却无法参与进来。这个群体就是不会使用网络的信徒，多为教会中的老年弟兄姊妹。
湖北荆州一教会采用了直播方式进行聚会，并在教会微信公众号发布了该直播软件的下载及使用方式，不过对于老年弟兄姊妹来说，参与进来仍有难度。该教会的D牧师分享说：“疫情属于突发情况，我们没有提前预料到，也没有给教会里的老年弟兄姊妹们提前下载好直播软件。”
一般来说，教会中各个年龄层的信徒都有，而中国教会的普遍情况是中老年人占绝大部分。有的教会因为多数是老年人，直接停了聚会。
据江西一农村教会的C姐妹反馈，自实地聚会停止至今，该教会也没有进行任何形式的网络聚会。当被问及“没有网络聚会是因为没有条件吗”，C姊妹回答说，“因为信徒大部分是老年人。”
“教会对网络牧养向来没有重视，当疫情这种特殊时期来临的时候，就会措手不及。”据河南洛阳一教会执事Z姊妹介绍，该教会人数多的时候达1000多人，平时有一些组建的微信群，比如诗班群、乐队群、青年团契群，不过没有教会总群。停止实地聚会后，该教会始终没有教会整体性的牧养安排，对于不上网的老年弟兄姊妹也没有特别的牧养方式。
“老羊、弱羊、病羊、小羊，神都顾念，但是我们作为牧者，没有顾念到，这是教会最深的亏欠。”Z姊妹说道。
安徽合肥一农村教会的同工M姊妹也表示，“对于人数居多，又没有在教会微信群里的长辈们实在是亏欠。”
在亏欠、焦急之外，有些教会刚刚起步的网络牧养也面临着尴尬与无奈。
江苏无锡一教会的W弟兄分享，该教会有许多信徒不会使用微信，经过大家互相帮助，现在已经有500人加入了教会微信群。让人略感无奈的是，在牧师、老师证道时不断有人插话，发语音打断证道，虽然制订了群规，但这种情况基本没什么改观。
河南信阳一教会有信徒500人左右，刚刚停止实地聚会时就联络大家加入教会的微信群，现在群里已经由起初的100多人增加到了400多人。据该教会负责人T弟兄分享，该教会已经在群里聚会一个多月了，采用一句一句语音传讲的方式。期间也尝试用过录音包，可是有些年龄大的弟兄姊妹反应打不开。对教会同工来说，用手机语音分享信息也有些不习惯，不过大家只能彼此鼓励，为主的缘故在特殊时期适应这种牧养方式。
对于不会用网络的老年人，很多教会在疫情期间多是采用打电话问候的方式，交由各个小组长来负责联络。在疫情防控稍有缓和的时候，有教会同工建议少数弟兄姊妹去探访老年弟兄姊妹，和他们一起祷告。
据了解，还有一些教会的老年弟兄姊妹在居家期间通过圣经播放器来灵修。江西吉安一间小教会大多都是老年人，教会在春节前购买了一批圣经播放器发给他们。“我们教会能够通过网络听道的只有少部分人，其他圣工无法进行。求神怜悯！”该教会的Z姊妹说道。
多数教牧同工认识到了特殊时期教会在牧养方面的欠缺，至于“以后若遇到类似的情况，打算采用怎样的方式照顾到不会上网的弟兄姊妹？”大部分教会仍然比较茫然。他们更多的是盼望当前疫情早日结束，弟兄姊妹们可以早日回到教堂聚会。
此次疫情将教牧同工及信徒对网络不熟悉的情况暴露出来。那么，为什么教会平时不注重网络事工呢？
据D牧师分享，教会平时都是鼓励信徒到教会参加面对面的聚会，担心提供网络听道方式的话，有些信徒就在家里躺着听，不来教会了。不过他也表示，这不是一个很大的问题，主要还是看教会怎么牧养他们。D牧师透露，他和同工计划在疫情结束后，探索做主日崇拜的转播。
Z姊妹反馈说，她所在的教会提出过给教牧同工培训使用电脑，不过没有实施。她认为，教会对新生事物的接受和使用普遍滞后，究其原因，还是在于一个人的追求心。“如果愿意上进的话，就会通过不同的渠道去学习，思考怎么能够更好地服事。这不在于年龄，七八十岁的人也有会用电脑的。”Z姊妹说道。
在教会投影、文字事工全职侍奉了七八年，Z姊妹这段时间退回内室，通过读经、祷告与神交通，每天都感到非常甘甜，同时也感受到社会的危机、教会的危机。“愿神带领并帮助我们，使我们都能成为神百般恩赐的好管家，使信徒在非常时期都能得到牧养，而不流失。”她说道。
When the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, forcing the church to gather online, a special group of people became "marginalized" during the transition. They are believers who are unable to use social media, including mainly elderly Christians.
A church in Jinzhou, in China's central Hubei Province, started broadcasting worship services, informing its congregation on how to download live video streaming software and instructions. However, it is hard for senior believers to understand.
Without any preparation in developing online ministries, many churches have encountered setbacks.
Some churches have suspended all activities because the middle-aged and the elderly account for the majority of believers.
A sister from a rural church in Jiangxi said her church never launched an online gathering since it stopped onsite services in late January. "Because the church membership is largely elderly, little attention has been paid to developing online pastoring. The church was caught unprepared for the special circumstances brought about by the epidemic," she added.
A deaconess from a church in Luoyang, Henan, shared that her 1,000-member church had not arranged an integrated pastoral schedule nor a special approach for those elderly believers who do not use the Internet. It has sub-chat groups on WeChat, such as groups for the choir, the band, and the youth fellowship, but not a group for the general members.
She said, "God remembers the old, weak, sick, and young sheep, but we pastors fail to care for them. This is the church's deepest debt."
Another co-worker from a rual church in Hefei, Anhui expressed the same regret.
Besides those "debts" and anxiety, some churches who just embarked on online ministries faced awkward situations.
A brother from a church in Wuxi, Jiangsu claimed 500 members had joined the church's WeChat group after receiving assistance from one another. But the online sermons were often interrupted by casual messages that members sent. The situation did not improve even though the church made rules on what was acceptable.
A 500-strong church in Xinyang, Henan has a WeChat group of more than 400 members. It has sent single audio sermons for more than one month, according to Brother T, who is in charge of the church. It attempted to send a collection of audio files, but some elderly members said they could not open it.
Some church staff were not accustomed to sharing sermons through recordings, but they encouraged each other to adapt to this special shepherding strategy. In regards to the elderly Christians who cannot use the Internet, many churches keep in touch with them through phone calls from group leaders.
When the epidemic situation improved a bit, church workers advised that a few brothers and sisters might pray with them through home visits.
There are reports that some aged Christians have devotionals by listening to audio Bible players. Before this year's Spring Festival, which fell in late January, a small church in Ji'an, Jiangxi, mainly comprised of the elderly, purchased players and distributed them to the senior believers.
Sister Z revealed, "Only a small number are able to access online sermons. The other ministries are unable to continue. May God have mercy!"
Realizing the shortcoming in online ministries during this special time, most churches remain at sea to future similar challenges. They hope for a quick end to the epidemic so congregations can get back to having normal worship services.
The outbreak exposes pastoral staff and believers who are unfamiliar with online ministries, but do churches attach no importance to these ministries?
Pastor D explained the church used to be worried that believers would not attend church but listen to online sermons in bed if online ministries were provided. Nonetheless, he also expressed that this depended on how the church nurtured its members. He and other workers plan to broadcast onsite services when the epidemic stops.
Sister Z said her church proposed to hold computer training for the staff, but her idea was not implemented. She believed the backwardness of the church in accepting new things stemmed from its pursuit. "If the church is willing to make progress, it will look at different channels and ponder how it can serve believers better. This has nothing to do with age as some believers in their 70s or 80s can also use computers."
With seven or eight years experience in projecting powerpoint presentations in the church, Sister Z returns to the inner room to communicate with God via Bible reading and prayers. She feels a daily sweetness despite the crises in society and the church.
"May God lead and help us so that we can be God's good stewards of manifold talents and shepherd all the flock and avoid the loss of anyone," she said.
- Translated by Karen Luo
Senior Believers Become “Marginalized” in Online Ministries
