The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had a profound impact on the world, and the church was no exception.
The post-pandemic era and various environmental changes have also prompted new ways in which pastors around the world act on church and pastoral innovation. One of the most significant changes is the shifting of many churches across China from pursuing institutionalization, mainly from 2010 to 2015, back to, in practice, forming small groups and "house churches".
A few days ago, two pastors W and D (pseudonyms) from the east of China shared their thoughts on the topic. In their younger and middle age, they both have many years of experience working for migrant worker churches.
Question: Facing the current post-pandemic environment, many churches and pastors are confused and don’t know where to lead their congregations going forward. A few years ago, many churches pursued large-scale transformation and institutionalization. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Pastor W: In my personal opinion, the church has two important tasks at present. One is that we need to work hard to train our fellow workers, and the other is to strengthen believers with God’s words.
If we use God’s words well in strengthening believers’ faith, then one day they may leave the city and the church, but they will never leave God. On the other hand, however, if a person doesn’t know the salvation and the truth, it is impossible for you to let him hold on and bear fruit. People can’t achieve this by themselves. Therefore, a believer must be clear about his faith. He should know that “I am a sinner who should have died and perished long ago”, but “at this time, Jesus stood up and died for me with his life and gave me new life”.
In this way, no matter what the current environment is, whether it is bitter or happy, it is clear that in this world where decades pass by quickly when a person belittles the world, he or she will value faith, and they will be motivated and determined when they have hope.
So, my burden now is to train pastors and fellow staff so that they can not only lead a group but even lead the church independently one day.
One is the staff issue and the other is the believer issue. Both of them are very important. Pastors in the church can’t always emphasize that believers will get rich and have peace if they come to God. This is very irresponsible. Practically speaking, in this environment, if you believe in Jesus, that means dedication, and if you want to be a disciple of the Lord, then you have to commit yourself to Him. This is my personal opinion.
Look at the history of Chinese Christian churches. For a long time, Chinese churches have experienced many hardships from time to time. However, this is how I see it: I think it’s like wheat seedlings in heavy wintery snow. On the surface, the wheat seedlings disappeared in the heavy snow, but when the snow and ice melt, the wheat could grow better. Chinese churches have gone through many hardships, but we have to see the fact that there are not only the hardships but also the revival that follows them. With the many times of adversity, equally, there also shall be times of revival.
The present situation is not easy, and it is possible that the future will be even less so, but I believe its time is set and will pass after all. An old brother said that when the church was secularized, when the church deviated from the truth, God would discipline and purify the church through the environment. When the church was purified, the work of the great God’s revival would be revealed. Therefore, I think that no matter what kind of environment the church is in today, it is allowed by God. We're not worried since even God has allowed this to happen.
In addition, the Bible tells us about when the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon, in Psalm 137, the Babylonians made them sing, and they said how they could sing the songs of the Lord in foreign countries. Although they were taken captive to foreign countries and the situation was utterly miserable, their hearts returned to the Lord. This is often the case with people. The worse the environment is, the easier it is for people to rely on God and get close to Him.
Believe that God is watching what we have said and done today. Whether it is a pillar or a brick, no matter what you are, as long as you keep yourself well in the environment and fear God well, then He will use you in the future. So, thank God for everything has His purpose in it.
Pastor D: Because the church used to look larger and paid attention to the membership, and now it is much smaller, so now is the time to pay attention to the quality.
Judging from the situation of house churches, there are of course many good things, but undeniably many heresies and even cults have emerged there. Therefore, through this, we can see that in fact, we have not done enough in truth. That is why heresies and cults have risen.
Looking at the Chinese church over the years, not only the house church but Chinese churches as a whole are developing too fast, and there are many problems emerging and as yet they have received no solutions. The growth of the churches in Europe and America took a long time, but the churches in China have developed to the present state in just a few decades. It can be said that the truth is far from enough, and the overall understanding of the truth is not thorough enough. This is a big problem. Now many believers are also influenced by many factors, including certain extreme Pentecostalism as well as prosperity theology. Their level about the Christian faith remains relatively shallow.
Let’s think about it: “Why did prosperity theology come up?” Isn’t it because people are getting rich now? In Chinese churches, many believers have moved from rural to urban areas, and they used to be poor and needy. Now that the economy has developed significantly, certain individuals have become rich. Yet, many people are not satisfied and still wish to have more. Why do so many people pursue prosperity theology? In fact, it is not only that many believers need it, but also many pastors highly admire such a theology. Why? Simply put, it is because they were once poor and hungry. For example, I remember that when I was a teenager at the time to grow fast, I often only had one meal a day because there was not much to eat. Now the economy is developing, more resources are available, and conditions are permissive, but as a result, many problems in the church have emerged.
We used to pursue scale very much, but now, because of the pandemic and various environmental restrictions, I believe that most pastors, if not all pastors, who are in the front line of ministry will certainly understand this: now we must take root in life, including our personal, theological and pastoral equipping.
I believe that at the present time and environment, it is time for pastors to make up their minds in order to settle down. Pastors settle down first, then take root in the Bible and cultivate believers’ lives. It’s so important that we need to spend at least three or five years to prepare from now.
Judging from the current reality, we must turn away from the previous pursuit of institutionalization and large-scale transformation. We can only return to "house" and group churches. So, what we can do is settle down, equip ourselves and the church well in truth, and wait for God’s time.
- Translated by Charlie Li
2020年疫情的爆发对于人类世界的影响是深远的，对于教会也不例外。
后疫情时代以及外界各种环境的变化，也重新激发各地牧者对于教会论和牧养革新的思考与实践，其中一个很显著的变化是从2010-2015年间中国各地不少教会推崇和尝试的建制化、会堂制等再度考虑并在实践上操作的是重新回归小组化、家庭化的牧养和教会形式。
日前，华东地区两位有着多年做打工群体教会的青年牧师W和中年牧师D分享了他们对于这一话题的思考。
问：面对当下后疫情时代的环境，很多教会和牧者都比较迷茫，对于未来不知道何去何从。前些年不少教会之比较追求规模化、建制化，不知道在这个方面你们有什么思考吗？
W牧师：在我个人看来，现在教会最重要的工作有两个。一个就是需要下力气培养同工，还有一个就是要用道来坚固信徒。
如果我们很好得用神的话语来让一个信徒的信仰变得坚固的话，那么可能有一天他们会离开这座城市、离开这个教会，但是绝对不会离开神。因但是反过来如果一个人对救恩都不清楚，对于真理都不明白的话，你让他去持守、去结果实这是不可能的，人靠着自己根本做不到这些。所以一个信徒他对于信仰必须清楚，他要知道“我是一个早就该死、该灭亡的罪人”，但是“这时候耶稣却站出来替我死了，用他的命来替我死了，赐给了我新生命”。
这样的话，无论现在的环境如何、是苦是乐，但是很清楚地知道在这个世界上几十年的时间很快就过去了。当一个人把世界看轻了看淡了，他/她就会把信仰看重了，而且他们有盼望的时候才会有动力，才会有坚定的心志。
所以我现在的负担就是培养传道人、培养同工，让他们不但能够带小组，甚至将来有一天都能够独立带教会。
一个是工人，一个是信徒。这两个都非常重要。牧者在教会里面不能够总是给信徒们讲信耶稣你就会发财和得平安...这都是非常不负责任的做法。实事求是的说，现在这个环境，你信耶稣的话那就意味着需要付出，你要作主的门徒的话那么你就要付代价。这是我个人的观点。
看中国基督教会的历史，在很长时间里面，中国教会前后经历了很多次的患难。但是对于这个我是这么看的：我认为就好像是冬天下大雪时候的麦苗一样，从表面上的话，大雪以后麦苗就没了，消失了，但是当冰雪融化以后，麦子却能够成长的更好。中国教会经历了很多次的患难，但是我们要看到一个事实，那就是不光有患难，除了患难以外还有紧跟着患难来到的复兴。几次的患难，就会有几次的复兴。
现在的处境并不容易，也有可能未来的处境会变得更加艰难，但是我相信它终归是有时间段的。有一名老弟兄讲，当教会世俗化的时候，当教会偏离真理的时候，神就会借着环境来管教和炼净教会，当把教会炼净以后，伟大的神复兴的工作就会显现出来。所以我认为无论今天的教会经历怎样的环境，这些都是神许可的。既然连神都许可了，我们还担心什么呢？
另外，还有一个：看圣经中以色列人被掳以后，犹大人被掳到巴比伦的时候，在诗篇137篇，巴比伦人让他们唱歌，他们说我们怎么能够在外邦唱耶和华的歌呢？我们可以看到，虽然他们被掳到了外邦，外面的处境非常悲惨，但是他们的心却归回到了耶和华面前。人往往就是这样，越是在环境不好的时候，人越是容易依靠神、亲近神。
相信今天我们所做的、所说的还有所行的，神都在看。到底是一块柱石还是一块砖，不管你是什么，只要在环境当中很好的保守自己，好好的敬畏神的话，那么将来神都是会使用的。所以感谢神，万事都有神的美意。
D牧师：因为教会之前的看上去规模比较大，注重量，现在规模上小了很多，所以现在就是需要重视质的时候。
我们从家庭教会的状况来看的话，当然也有很多做的好的事情，但是不可否认也产生出来了很多异端甚至邪教等。所以通过这个我们就能够看到，其实我们在真理上做得是远远不够的，所以才会有异端和邪教这些出现。
看这么多年以来的中国教会，不单单只是家庭教会，整个中国教会都是因为发展的太快了，出来的问题也非常多，没有解决掉的问题也很多。看欧美国家的教会，他们是用了很长的时间才发展过来的，但是中国教会却是在短短几十年的时间里面发展到现在的。在真理上可以说远远不够，对于真理，整体认识的不够透彻，这是一个很大的问题现在很多信徒也受到很多因素的影响，包括现在的那些极端灵恩、成功神学等等，因着这些因素的影响，很多信徒的信仰都停留在比较浅显的层次上。
我们想一想：“为什么提出来了成功神学呢？” 不就是因为现在人们变得富足吗？在中国教会，很多信徒都是从农村走向城市的，以前都是穷惯了穷怕了的泥腿子。现在经济也发展了，个人也变得富足了，这样的时候很多人就不知足，巴不得能够拥有更多。为什么有那么多的人追捧成功神学，这里面其实不单单是信徒的需要，就连很多牧者都非常推崇成功神学。为什么？简单来说，就是因为曾经穷过饿过。比如我记得我小时候，都十几岁了，正是长身体的时候，可是经常每天只能吃一顿饭，因为没有那么多吃的。现在经济发展了，有资源了有条件了，教会里面就开始出现很多的问题。
以前我们是非常追求规模，但是现在因为疫情还有各种环境的限制，我相信就算不是所有牧者，但是大部分站在牧养一线的牧者一定会理解：现在我们必须要从生命上扎根，包括牧者自己的装备、神学的装备、牧会的装备。
我想：现在这样的时间和环境，正是牧者需要下定决心沉淀下来的时候。牧者首先沉淀下来，然后在圣经上扎下根来，然后也对信徒进行生命的栽培，这是我们需要从现在开始，至少要花上3,5年的功夫要去做的非常重要的事情。
从目前现实的情况来看，我们必须从以前的追求建制化、规模化转型，只能是重新回归家教会、小组式的教会。所以我们能够做的就是沉淀下来，在真理上很好的装备自己和教会，等待神的时候。
访谈| 对当下教会转型的思考：从曾经追求建制化规模化重新回归家教会
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had a profound impact on the world, and the church was no exception.
The post-pandemic era and various environmental changes have also prompted new ways in which pastors around the world act on church and pastoral innovation. One of the most significant changes is the shifting of many churches across China from pursuing institutionalization, mainly from 2010 to 2015, back to, in practice, forming small groups and "house churches".
A few days ago, two pastors W and D (pseudonyms) from the east of China shared their thoughts on the topic. In their younger and middle age, they both have many years of experience working for migrant worker churches.
Question: Facing the current post-pandemic environment, many churches and pastors are confused and don’t know where to lead their congregations going forward. A few years ago, many churches pursued large-scale transformation and institutionalization. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Pastor W: In my personal opinion, the church has two important tasks at present. One is that we need to work hard to train our fellow workers, and the other is to strengthen believers with God’s words.
If we use God’s words well in strengthening believers’ faith, then one day they may leave the city and the church, but they will never leave God. On the other hand, however, if a person doesn’t know the salvation and the truth, it is impossible for you to let him hold on and bear fruit. People can’t achieve this by themselves. Therefore, a believer must be clear about his faith. He should know that “I am a sinner who should have died and perished long ago”, but “at this time, Jesus stood up and died for me with his life and gave me new life”.
In this way, no matter what the current environment is, whether it is bitter or happy, it is clear that in this world where decades pass by quickly when a person belittles the world, he or she will value faith, and they will be motivated and determined when they have hope.
So, my burden now is to train pastors and fellow staff so that they can not only lead a group but even lead the church independently one day.
One is the staff issue and the other is the believer issue. Both of them are very important. Pastors in the church can’t always emphasize that believers will get rich and have peace if they come to God. This is very irresponsible. Practically speaking, in this environment, if you believe in Jesus, that means dedication, and if you want to be a disciple of the Lord, then you have to commit yourself to Him. This is my personal opinion.
Look at the history of Chinese Christian churches. For a long time, Chinese churches have experienced many hardships from time to time. However, this is how I see it: I think it’s like wheat seedlings in heavy wintery snow. On the surface, the wheat seedlings disappeared in the heavy snow, but when the snow and ice melt, the wheat could grow better. Chinese churches have gone through many hardships, but we have to see the fact that there are not only the hardships but also the revival that follows them. With the many times of adversity, equally, there also shall be times of revival.
The present situation is not easy, and it is possible that the future will be even less so, but I believe its time is set and will pass after all. An old brother said that when the church was secularized, when the church deviated from the truth, God would discipline and purify the church through the environment. When the church was purified, the work of the great God’s revival would be revealed. Therefore, I think that no matter what kind of environment the church is in today, it is allowed by God. We're not worried since even God has allowed this to happen.
In addition, the Bible tells us about when the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon, in Psalm 137, the Babylonians made them sing, and they said how they could sing the songs of the Lord in foreign countries. Although they were taken captive to foreign countries and the situation was utterly miserable, their hearts returned to the Lord. This is often the case with people. The worse the environment is, the easier it is for people to rely on God and get close to Him.
Believe that God is watching what we have said and done today. Whether it is a pillar or a brick, no matter what you are, as long as you keep yourself well in the environment and fear God well, then He will use you in the future. So, thank God for everything has His purpose in it.
Pastor D: Because the church used to look larger and paid attention to the membership, and now it is much smaller, so now is the time to pay attention to the quality.
Judging from the situation of house churches, there are of course many good things, but undeniably many heresies and even cults have emerged there. Therefore, through this, we can see that in fact, we have not done enough in truth. That is why heresies and cults have risen.
Looking at the Chinese church over the years, not only the house church but Chinese churches as a whole are developing too fast, and there are many problems emerging and as yet they have received no solutions. The growth of the churches in Europe and America took a long time, but the churches in China have developed to the present state in just a few decades. It can be said that the truth is far from enough, and the overall understanding of the truth is not thorough enough. This is a big problem. Now many believers are also influenced by many factors, including certain extreme Pentecostalism as well as prosperity theology. Their level about the Christian faith remains relatively shallow.
Let’s think about it: “Why did prosperity theology come up?” Isn’t it because people are getting rich now? In Chinese churches, many believers have moved from rural to urban areas, and they used to be poor and needy. Now that the economy has developed significantly, certain individuals have become rich. Yet, many people are not satisfied and still wish to have more. Why do so many people pursue prosperity theology? In fact, it is not only that many believers need it, but also many pastors highly admire such a theology. Why? Simply put, it is because they were once poor and hungry. For example, I remember that when I was a teenager at the time to grow fast, I often only had one meal a day because there was not much to eat. Now the economy is developing, more resources are available, and conditions are permissive, but as a result, many problems in the church have emerged.
We used to pursue scale very much, but now, because of the pandemic and various environmental restrictions, I believe that most pastors, if not all pastors, who are in the front line of ministry will certainly understand this: now we must take root in life, including our personal, theological and pastoral equipping.
I believe that at the present time and environment, it is time for pastors to make up their minds in order to settle down. Pastors settle down first, then take root in the Bible and cultivate believers’ lives. It’s so important that we need to spend at least three or five years to prepare from now.
Judging from the current reality, we must turn away from the previous pursuit of institutionalization and large-scale transformation. We can only return to "house" and group churches. So, what we can do is settle down, equip ourselves and the church well in truth, and wait for God’s time.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Interview: Changing from Past Tastes of Institutionalization, Scalization Back to Simpler House Church
