In recent years, with the changes in religious policies, the "no entry to religious places for minors" regulation has been strictly enforced across the country, and the "Sunday school" that was once in full swing in various places has long disappeared from the church system. However, regardless of the changes in the outside world, the question of "How can Christians pass on their faith to the next generation?” "How can we do a good job of pastoral support and follow-up for the 'second generation of believers?" is still a real topic that believers, pastors, and even grassroots churches can hardly avoid talking about.
However, it is encouraging to note that even in such a restrictive environment, some pastors in the system are still looking for a way forward in youth ministry despite the unfavorable policy and are actively exploring new ideas for pastoral care.
Changing the way of thinking and making the family the first classroom of faith
Before the suspension of Sunday school, Y Church in northern China had held summer camps for 15 consecutive years, leading nearly 1,000 "second-generation believers" into the faith. Today, many of the church's young co-workers, who stand as the backbones of the church, are children from the camp.
Pastor W is not worried that the Sunday school ministry has stagnated in the past few years. In his opinion, the church still has "room" to carry out the next generation of pastoral work under restrictive policies and can take advantage of the Internet age to carry out more new attempts.
From pastoring children to shepherding parents, allowing parents to grow as "Sunday School teachers" in the family is a new ministry that Y Church has begun to explore in the "post-Sunday School" era.
In order to make a change in the direction of pastoral care, the church reconvened the teachers who had led the service at Sunday school and organized them to conduct special training courses on parent-child pastoral care and audio-visual production, so that, with the assistance of the church, parents with young children could strategically build family altars at home.
"If the church does not lead parents in the faith, there is no way for the parents to lead their children properly." In his talk, Pastor W talked much about how important it is for the church to be involved in the education of parents. He thinks that the church's educational materials are an important part of being a parent. "As long as there is a sufficient system of teaching materials based on the Bible's truth, parents will not lose their way in raising their children."
Under the leadership of Pastor W and the pastor in charge of the parent-child ministry, the Sunday school teachers have been working in small groups to create and publish short parent-child educational videos based on Bible stories, nursery rhymes, and Bible comics. Every Friday and Saturday, the teachers would urge parents to watch those education videos with their children. Parents are also encouraged to read the scriptures that correspond to the video's content and punch in.
Also, the Sunday School teachers often go to the homes of the children to help the parents with any problems they may be having as parents.
"Although pastoral care for minors cannot be carried out directly in religious establishments nowadays, there is no documented interference in the pastoral education of children by their guardians in the family, so what the church actually wants to do is enable the parents of children to grow up to be qualified 'Sunday school teachers' to enable the children to receive edification and lay a good foundation in the faith during their childhood." Pastor W said, "Despite the need to submit to the policy from above, the church should not give up on any group and should also have the acumen to change its thinking and take timely measures."
Renewed perceptions: Planting the seeds of the gospel through atmosphere and relationships
Apart from the young children who are still in the arms of their parents, the majority of the minors in the church are children and teenagers who are already in school. With Sunday school and summer camps currently unavailable, it is a challenge for the church to sow the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of this age group and lead them on the path of faith.
Faced with this reality, Pastor C from East China empathizes as a mother who has led her two children into ministry. For years, she has kept a list of the preschool children in her Sunday school class taped to her bed and prays every night before she goes to bed for the spiritual well-being of these future "seeds."
She thinks that for children who spend most of their time in school, atheistic education in schools, on the Internet, and the temptations of the secular culture have an effect on the "second generation of believers" that was not expected.
"It would be best if parents could do a good job of looking after their children spiritually while they are in school." Pastor C said, "But then again, how many parents can do a good job of keeping an eye on their children while they are at school?"
To this end, at the suggestion of Pastor C, the church is determined to continue to provide spiritual care and counseling for young people outside the home. Instead of preaching the gospel directly at summer camps or spiritual meetings, the church took a new approach and brought in well-known experts in adolescent education to take into account the different problems that young people face at that age. In the name of "Adolescent Psychology Class," experts conducted a holiday camp for "second generation" children in the suburbs. During the camp, church volunteers lived and ate with the children, guiding and leading them to participate in a life of fellowship through service and interaction.
"Although the number of children attending the camp in recent years is far lower than that of previous camps, both colleagues and parents can attest that many of the children who have come through our camp have experienced significant life changes. They have learned to serve and care for others and have a greater sense of kinship and identity with each other." Speaking of the effect of the camp on the children's growth, Pastor C felt God's grace overflowing, "Although we cannot run church camps now, we will continue to run camps like this."
During the exchange, Pastor C believed that in the current environment where minors are restricted from participating in the ministry, churches should, on the one hand, strictly adhere to the "red line" of religious policies to ensure their own safety, and on the other hand, try to be flexible and provide opportunities for the "second generation" to experience the spiritual atmosphere and loving relationships as much as possible under the premise of legal compliance, so as to indirectly sow the seeds of the gospel in their hearts.
In line with Pastor C's vision, Pastor W also saw the role of "atmosphere and relationship" in youth ministry in the "post-Sunday school" era. Testimonies from the exchange and study in churches in Hong Kong and Taiwan have given him a deeper understanding of the way forward for the youth ministry.
"The youth fellowship of churches in Hong Kong and Taiwan focuses more on sports, excursions, and interest activities than Bible study." When he was first introduced to the local youth fellowship, Pastor W could not understand it for a moment and always felt that it was "unorthodox." But when he saw how the children were able to enjoy themselves in sports and how they were enthusiastic and eager to learn the Word, he came to understand that one of the foundations of good youth pastoral care is that the church should focus on "relationship building."
Pastor Huang explained that in traditional grassroots churches, the word of truth is often presented in a one-way manner through the pulpit, and it is difficult for believers to build a sense of involvement and relationship with each other beyond simply listening to the sermon. This is especially true for the "second generation of believers," who are still spiritually young but have an active mind, and for young people who have just entered the church. In the past, many of the "second generation" did not attend church willingly but were "dragged" there by their parents.
"At the end of the day, the traditional form of meeting does not attract young people to develop genuine interest in and connection with the faith, resulting in misconceptions about the church and the faith, not to mention taking the initiative to attend the church in the future."
Therefore, in order to arouse children's interest in "coming to church," in recent years, Pastor W has identified several young believers in the church who have a strong faith, a burden for evangelism, and the gift of sports and asked them to set up interest groups among the "second generation of young believers." They often bring the children together for fellowship in the form of "ball games" and "eating together," building trust and love for each other in a fellowship atmosphere, and leading them step by step into the Word.
"I heard that (the group) recently added new members who were referred in by believers' children." Pastor W shared the recent developments of this interest group so far. In his opinion, such pastoral exploration is still relatively successful. Although he does not expect these children to have a clear understanding of the key points of the faith through one or two soccer games and get-togethers, in the process, the beautiful atmosphere of love for each other in the fellowship and the Christian values based on the truth of the gospel have begun to be implanted in their hearts and memories. I think it is enough that when they grow up and wander away from home, they can still think of the church as a presence that they feel close to and are willing to go to it for help when they need it.
Regarding the future pastoral development of minors, both pastors said that, given the current overall policy situation, it is difficult for the church level to carry out any other actions that are too loud for self-preservation. But they agreed that changing the church's pastoral thinking to fit the times and try out new ways to get together is a "never-ending" process, regardless of the current situation.
"In any case, the church must not lose the mission of evangelism nor adopt the 'lying flat' culture. External hardships are no excuse for our church to abandon any group of believers," said Pastor C.
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
近年来，随着宗教政策形势的变化，“未成年人禁止进入宗教场所”这一规定开始在全国各地严格施行，曾在各地开展的如火如荼的“主日学”也早已在体制内教会销声匿迹。然而，不论外界环境如何变幻，关于“基督徒如何将信仰传承给下一代？”“如何做好‘信二代’们的坚立与跟进牧养？”依旧是信徒、牧者乃至基层教会难以避而不谈的现实话题。
但是，可喜的是，即便在如此局限的环境中，仍有一些体制内教会牧者在政策夹缝中寻找青少年牧养事工的破局，积极探索开拓新牧养思路。
转换思路 让家庭成为信仰第一课堂
位于华北某地的Y教会是当地的中心堂，在“主日学”暂停前，该教会连续15年举办夏令营活动，前后带领近千名“信二代”走进信仰，如今教会中许多青年骨干同工大多是从夏令营出来的孩子。
对于近年来主日学事工的停滞，W牧师却并不悲观，在他看来，现阶段教会开展下一代牧养工作并非“没有空间”，反而是能够借助网络时代的东风，开展更多全新尝试。
“从牧养孩子变成牧养家长，让父母成长为家庭里的‘主日学老师’”，这是Y教会在“后主日学”时代开始探索的全新事工。
为了做好牧养方向的转换调整，教会将曾在主日学带领服侍的老师们重新召集回来，组织她们围绕亲子牧养、音视频制作等方面的课程进行专题培训学习，以此通过教会的协助，帮助家中有幼儿的父母家长能够有的放矢地开展家庭祭坛的建立。
“要是教会不靠着真道带领家长，家长就没办法正确带领孩子。”在分享中，W牧师特别强调了教会在家庭亲子教育中参与的必要性。在他看来，教会提供的教育素材是亲子牧养流程中关键重要的一环。“只要有基于圣经真理话语的教学素材足够成体系，家长们对小孩子的牧养就不至于迷失方向。”
在W牧师和负责亲子事工牧者的组织带领下，主日学老师们借助轮班负责制，以圣经故事、圣经儿歌、圣经漫画为题材，分小组开展亲子教育短视频的创作以及发布工作，每个周五周六，老师会在家长群里督促家长跟孩子们共同观看亲子教育视频，并引导父母们结合视频内容的对应经文进行读经打卡。
除此之外，主日学的老师们还会定期前往孩子们的家中开展家访慰问，及时帮助父母们解决亲子牧养过程中遇到的各样难题。
“虽然现在宗教场所里不能直接开展对未成年人的牧养，但是家庭里监护人对孩子的牧养教育是没有什么文件规定干涉的，所以教会实际上要做的就是让孩子家长成长为合格的‘主日学老师’，让小朋友们能在童年时期就接受到信仰的熏陶，打好信仰的底子。”W牧师表示，“尽管需要顺服上面的政策，但是教会不能就此放弃任何一个群体，也应该有及时转换思路的敏锐度与及时的对策。”
观念更新 借氛围关系埋下福音种子
除了年纪尚幼，还未脱离父母怀抱的幼儿以外，在教会里的未成年人之中，还有更大部分是业已步入校园的少儿及青少年群体。而面对当前教会主日学、夏令营等活动都无法开展的情况，如何将福音的种子根植在这一年龄段孩子们的心中，带领他们走上信仰的道路，对于教会而言无疑更具挑战。
面对这一现实，华东的C牧师感同身受，她是带领两个孩子走上侍奉道路的母亲。多年来，她一直将自己教会主日学中班大班孩子们的名单贴在自己的床头，每晚睡前为这些未来的“种子”们的灵命祈祷。
在她看来，对于绝大多数时间都在校园里孩子而言，无论是学校的无神论教育、网络与世俗风气的诱惑侵蚀，都是对“信二代”们的信仰建立以及灵命成长都有着难以预见的影响。
“如果在孩子读书期间，家长能做好孩子灵命方面的照顾，那自然最好。”C牧师说，“但是话说回来，又有几个父母能在孩子在校期间做到时刻关注呢？”
为此，在C牧师的建议下，教会决心在家庭之外，继续抓好对青少年孩子灵命的关怀辅导，并改换了以往夏令营或暑期培灵会这样直接宣讲福音的形式，而是另辟蹊径，结合青少年在青春期遇到的各样问题，邀请知名青少年教育专家，以“青春期心理课堂”的名义在郊区为“信二代”孩子们开展假期营会活动。营会期间，教会同工们以志愿者身份与孩子们同吃同住，并引导带领孩子们一起参与彼此侍奉，相互交流的团契生活。
“虽然近几年参加营会的孩子人数远不如管控之前的夏令营，但是同工以及父母们都能见证的是，不少参加完我们营会的孩子生命改变都特别大，学会了侍奉与关爱他人，彼此之间也有了更多亲切感和认同感。”提及营会对孩子们成长的果效，C牧师感到神的恩典满溢，“虽然现在教会夏令营没法办，但是类似这样的营会我们会继续坚持办下去。”
在交流中，C牧师认为，在当前未成年人事工受限的大环境下，一方面教会要严守宗教政策红线，保障自身安全，另一方面可以试着灵活变通，在合法合规的前提下尽可能为“信二代”们提供能感受属灵氛围与爱的关系的契机，从而间接地将福音的种子洒在他们心中。
与C牧师的观念不谋而合，W牧师同样看到了“氛围与关系”在“后主日学”时代青少年牧养事工中的作用，尤其是曾经在港台地区教会交流学习的见证，让他更深刻地认识到了青少年牧养的出路。
“比起圣经话语的学习，港台教会的青少年团契更多开展的是各样运动、游览以及兴趣活动。”在刚接触到当地青少年团契时，W牧师一时也难以理解，总觉得有些“不务正业”。但是当看到孩子们既能在运动时乐在其中，又能在话语学习时保持热情渴慕的高昂劲头时，他才逐渐明白，做好青少年牧养的基础之一就是教会要注重“关系的建立”。
黄牧师解释，在传统基层教会中，真理话语往往借助讲台以单向传播的形式展现，信徒除了单纯的听道以外，参与感与彼此之间的关系很难建立，而对于灵命尚浅却思维活泛的“信二代”以及刚刚进入教会的年轻人更是如此，因此在过去，许多“信二代”去教会听道大多并非处于心甘情愿，而是被父母“拉”来的。
“说到底还是传统的聚会形式并不能吸引青少年与信仰建立真实的兴趣与联系，对教会、对信仰都有误解，就更别提日后主动走进教会了。”
因此，为了让孩子们建立起“来教会”的兴趣，近年来，W牧师在教会里挖掘了几位信仰坚固、有福传负担又有运动恩赐的青年信徒，让他们在青少年“信二代”中建立起兴趣小组，常常以“约球”“约饭”的形式带着孩子们共同开展团契生活，在团契的氛围中建立彼此信任与相爱的关系，进而一步步带领他们走进话语。
“听说（小组）最近又有新成员增加了，是信徒家孩子介绍进来的。”W牧师分享着目前这个兴趣小组的近况。在他看来，这样的牧养探索还是比较成功的，虽然不奢求让这些孩子借着一两次踢球、聚餐就对信仰要义有多么明确的认知，但是在这过程中，团契中彼此相爱的美好氛围以及基督徒基于福音真理的价值观已经开始潜移默化的根植进他们的内心与记忆之中。“到他们长大在外求学漂泊的时候，还能够想到教会是有亲近感的存在，在需要的时候愿意去教会寻求帮助，我想这就足够了。”
对于未来的未成年群体的牧养开展，两位牧者都表示，鉴于当前整体政策形势，出于低调自保考虑，教会层面恐怕难以另行开展任何过于声张的动作。但是大家都一致表示，尽管现状如此，但教会牧养思路与时俱进的转变与聚会形式的更新探索却是一个“永远在路上”的过程。
“不论如何，教会都不能失去福音的使命异象，更不能躺平，外部的艰难都不能成为我们教会放弃任何信徒群体的借口。”C牧师如此说道。
主日学暂停的当下，教会可以怎样做好下一代的牧养？
In recent years, with the changes in religious policies, the "no entry to religious places for minors" regulation has been strictly enforced across the country, and the "Sunday school" that was once in full swing in various places has long disappeared from the church system. However, regardless of the changes in the outside world, the question of "How can Christians pass on their faith to the next generation?” "How can we do a good job of pastoral support and follow-up for the 'second generation of believers?" is still a real topic that believers, pastors, and even grassroots churches can hardly avoid talking about.
However, it is encouraging to note that even in such a restrictive environment, some pastors in the system are still looking for a way forward in youth ministry despite the unfavorable policy and are actively exploring new ideas for pastoral care.
Changing the way of thinking and making the family the first classroom of faith
Before the suspension of Sunday school, Y Church in northern China had held summer camps for 15 consecutive years, leading nearly 1,000 "second-generation believers" into the faith. Today, many of the church's young co-workers, who stand as the backbones of the church, are children from the camp.
Pastor W is not worried that the Sunday school ministry has stagnated in the past few years. In his opinion, the church still has "room" to carry out the next generation of pastoral work under restrictive policies and can take advantage of the Internet age to carry out more new attempts.
From pastoring children to shepherding parents, allowing parents to grow as "Sunday School teachers" in the family is a new ministry that Y Church has begun to explore in the "post-Sunday School" era.
In order to make a change in the direction of pastoral care, the church reconvened the teachers who had led the service at Sunday school and organized them to conduct special training courses on parent-child pastoral care and audio-visual production, so that, with the assistance of the church, parents with young children could strategically build family altars at home.
"If the church does not lead parents in the faith, there is no way for the parents to lead their children properly." In his talk, Pastor W talked much about how important it is for the church to be involved in the education of parents. He thinks that the church's educational materials are an important part of being a parent. "As long as there is a sufficient system of teaching materials based on the Bible's truth, parents will not lose their way in raising their children."
Under the leadership of Pastor W and the pastor in charge of the parent-child ministry, the Sunday school teachers have been working in small groups to create and publish short parent-child educational videos based on Bible stories, nursery rhymes, and Bible comics. Every Friday and Saturday, the teachers would urge parents to watch those education videos with their children. Parents are also encouraged to read the scriptures that correspond to the video's content and punch in.
Also, the Sunday School teachers often go to the homes of the children to help the parents with any problems they may be having as parents.
"Although pastoral care for minors cannot be carried out directly in religious establishments nowadays, there is no documented interference in the pastoral education of children by their guardians in the family, so what the church actually wants to do is enable the parents of children to grow up to be qualified 'Sunday school teachers' to enable the children to receive edification and lay a good foundation in the faith during their childhood." Pastor W said, "Despite the need to submit to the policy from above, the church should not give up on any group and should also have the acumen to change its thinking and take timely measures."
Renewed perceptions: Planting the seeds of the gospel through atmosphere and relationships
Apart from the young children who are still in the arms of their parents, the majority of the minors in the church are children and teenagers who are already in school. With Sunday school and summer camps currently unavailable, it is a challenge for the church to sow the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of this age group and lead them on the path of faith.
Faced with this reality, Pastor C from East China empathizes as a mother who has led her two children into ministry. For years, she has kept a list of the preschool children in her Sunday school class taped to her bed and prays every night before she goes to bed for the spiritual well-being of these future "seeds."
She thinks that for children who spend most of their time in school, atheistic education in schools, on the Internet, and the temptations of the secular culture have an effect on the "second generation of believers" that was not expected.
"It would be best if parents could do a good job of looking after their children spiritually while they are in school." Pastor C said, "But then again, how many parents can do a good job of keeping an eye on their children while they are at school?"
To this end, at the suggestion of Pastor C, the church is determined to continue to provide spiritual care and counseling for young people outside the home. Instead of preaching the gospel directly at summer camps or spiritual meetings, the church took a new approach and brought in well-known experts in adolescent education to take into account the different problems that young people face at that age. In the name of "Adolescent Psychology Class," experts conducted a holiday camp for "second generation" children in the suburbs. During the camp, church volunteers lived and ate with the children, guiding and leading them to participate in a life of fellowship through service and interaction.
"Although the number of children attending the camp in recent years is far lower than that of previous camps, both colleagues and parents can attest that many of the children who have come through our camp have experienced significant life changes. They have learned to serve and care for others and have a greater sense of kinship and identity with each other." Speaking of the effect of the camp on the children's growth, Pastor C felt God's grace overflowing, "Although we cannot run church camps now, we will continue to run camps like this."
During the exchange, Pastor C believed that in the current environment where minors are restricted from participating in the ministry, churches should, on the one hand, strictly adhere to the "red line" of religious policies to ensure their own safety, and on the other hand, try to be flexible and provide opportunities for the "second generation" to experience the spiritual atmosphere and loving relationships as much as possible under the premise of legal compliance, so as to indirectly sow the seeds of the gospel in their hearts.
In line with Pastor C's vision, Pastor W also saw the role of "atmosphere and relationship" in youth ministry in the "post-Sunday school" era. Testimonies from the exchange and study in churches in Hong Kong and Taiwan have given him a deeper understanding of the way forward for the youth ministry.
"The youth fellowship of churches in Hong Kong and Taiwan focuses more on sports, excursions, and interest activities than Bible study." When he was first introduced to the local youth fellowship, Pastor W could not understand it for a moment and always felt that it was "unorthodox." But when he saw how the children were able to enjoy themselves in sports and how they were enthusiastic and eager to learn the Word, he came to understand that one of the foundations of good youth pastoral care is that the church should focus on "relationship building."
Pastor Huang explained that in traditional grassroots churches, the word of truth is often presented in a one-way manner through the pulpit, and it is difficult for believers to build a sense of involvement and relationship with each other beyond simply listening to the sermon. This is especially true for the "second generation of believers," who are still spiritually young but have an active mind, and for young people who have just entered the church. In the past, many of the "second generation" did not attend church willingly but were "dragged" there by their parents.
"At the end of the day, the traditional form of meeting does not attract young people to develop genuine interest in and connection with the faith, resulting in misconceptions about the church and the faith, not to mention taking the initiative to attend the church in the future."
Therefore, in order to arouse children's interest in "coming to church," in recent years, Pastor W has identified several young believers in the church who have a strong faith, a burden for evangelism, and the gift of sports and asked them to set up interest groups among the "second generation of young believers." They often bring the children together for fellowship in the form of "ball games" and "eating together," building trust and love for each other in a fellowship atmosphere, and leading them step by step into the Word.
"I heard that (the group) recently added new members who were referred in by believers' children." Pastor W shared the recent developments of this interest group so far. In his opinion, such pastoral exploration is still relatively successful. Although he does not expect these children to have a clear understanding of the key points of the faith through one or two soccer games and get-togethers, in the process, the beautiful atmosphere of love for each other in the fellowship and the Christian values based on the truth of the gospel have begun to be implanted in their hearts and memories. I think it is enough that when they grow up and wander away from home, they can still think of the church as a presence that they feel close to and are willing to go to it for help when they need it.
Regarding the future pastoral development of minors, both pastors said that, given the current overall policy situation, it is difficult for the church level to carry out any other actions that are too loud for self-preservation. But they agreed that changing the church's pastoral thinking to fit the times and try out new ways to get together is a "never-ending" process, regardless of the current situation.
"In any case, the church must not lose the mission of evangelism nor adopt the 'lying flat' culture. External hardships are no excuse for our church to abandon any group of believers," said Pastor C.
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
How Can the Church Pastor the Next Generation When Sunday School Is Suspended?
