A pastor highlighted that the church needs to focus on teaching truth, tracing church history, and sharing the gospel.
Recently, a pastor surnamed Gao from a city church in East China, born in the 1980s, believed that the reason many believers are currently weak is that the church hasn’t explained biblical truths clearly.
He perceived that the current Chinese church has a weak theological foundation. Not only believers but also many pastors lack a seasoned spiritual life. Moreover, overall, their level of education is relatively low. This has led to a lack of professionalism and systemization in diverse aspects, restricting their own and the church's growth and possibly leading to regression.
Furthermore, Gao also believed that the church ought to trace history and see how the early church did. "Throughout the history of Christianity, no period should have been more difficult than the apostolic age. Many Christians even had to sacrifice their lives for their faith. But looking at the present, although the church and believers face some difficulties, they cannot be compared to the challenges of the early church."
"However, it cannot be denied that in today's era, both pastors and believers face temptations and trials. Therefore, in order to ignite people's enthusiasm in this era, we must trace church history and see how the early Christians believed and lived," he added.
A pastor's wife from his church also stated, "Previously, many people hadn’t formed a Bible reading habit, and I was one of them. But since the church has faced challenges, I've developed a strong desire to read the Bible. It seems like reading the Bible has become essential in my life because, besides God, there's no one else who can help or comfort me. I can only find help and strength in God's words."
Apart from these two aspects, Gao mentioned another crucial thing, which is preaching the gospel, because that's the purpose of the church's existence. "Our gatherings, sermons, disciple-making, theological training, nurturing... aren't they all ultimately for sharing the gospel? However, looking at reality, many churches indeed do a lot, but it's all 'inward,' and there's not much done 'outward.' So, even if the church and pastors work hard, the church remains stagnant, lacking vitality."
He contrasted, "Some churches are small but emphasize evangelism. With just 20 or 30 people, they can send out and support several missionaries. Some churches have over 100 people but can't send out a single worker or support even one evangelist. It's not because they lack the capability, but because they simply haven't pursued it."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
一牧者认为，中国教会目前要做的最重要事情有三件，那就是教导真理、追溯教会历史、分享福音。
近日，生于20世纪80年代的华东一城市教会的高牧师认为，目前之所以很多信徒软弱，教会是需要负很大责任，因为没有把圣经真理讲明白。
高认为现在的中国教会在真理上是非常薄弱的。不仅仅是信徒，包括很多牧者、传道人在内的很多人的生命都是没有经过历练的。而且，整体上看，他们的教育程度都是比较低。这导致了很多方面都不太专业也不太系统，限制了他们自己和教会的成长，而且还可能会倒退。
另外，高牧师也认为教会需要仔细追溯历史，要看初代教会他们是怎么样的。“整个基督教历史当中无论哪一个时期应该都没有初代教会的时候更加艰难。那时很多基督徒甚至是要用自己的性命来换信仰的。可是再看现在，虽然教会和信徒也都会有一些艰难，但是跟初代教会完全没有办法相比。”
“但是不可否认的是，今天的时代无论是牧者还是信徒都会面对诱惑和试探。因此，想要在今天这样的时代当中激发起来人们的热心，我们就必须追溯教会历史，去看初代教会的基督徒们他们是怎么信仰、生活的。”他补充说。
这所教会的师母也见证说：“以前让大家读经很多人都读不下去，就连我自己也是这样。但是自从教会出事以后，我的心里就变得很想读经。读经好像已经成为了我的生命一样，变得如此重要。因为知道除了上帝以外，再也没有任何人能够帮助我、安慰我，那就只能够从上帝的话语里面得到帮助和力量。”
除了以上这两件事情之外，高牧师认为还有一件重要事情，那就是分享福音，因为这是教会存在的目的。“我们聚会、讲道、带领门徒、得到神学装备、牧养……终极目的不就是为了分享福音的好处吗？但是现实去看的话，很多教会确实也做了很多事情，但是却都是‘对内’的，‘向外’却没有做什么事情。所以这样的时候，就算教会和牧者都很努力地做了很多事情，但是教会依然是一潭死水，缺乏生命和活力。”
他对比说：“有的教会很小，但是重视福音分享，只有20、30人，但是却能够差出去并且养活好几个宣教士。有的教会是有100多人，但是却差不出去哪怕一名工人，养活不了哪怕一个传道人。不是他们没有这个能力，而是根本就没有去养。”
牧者说：教会需专注于教导真理 追溯教会历史 分享福音
A pastor highlighted that the church needs to focus on teaching truth, tracing church history, and sharing the gospel.
Recently, a pastor surnamed Gao from a city church in East China, born in the 1980s, believed that the reason many believers are currently weak is that the church hasn’t explained biblical truths clearly.
He perceived that the current Chinese church has a weak theological foundation. Not only believers but also many pastors lack a seasoned spiritual life. Moreover, overall, their level of education is relatively low. This has led to a lack of professionalism and systemization in diverse aspects, restricting their own and the church's growth and possibly leading to regression.
Furthermore, Gao also believed that the church ought to trace history and see how the early church did. "Throughout the history of Christianity, no period should have been more difficult than the apostolic age. Many Christians even had to sacrifice their lives for their faith. But looking at the present, although the church and believers face some difficulties, they cannot be compared to the challenges of the early church."
"However, it cannot be denied that in today's era, both pastors and believers face temptations and trials. Therefore, in order to ignite people's enthusiasm in this era, we must trace church history and see how the early Christians believed and lived," he added.
A pastor's wife from his church also stated, "Previously, many people hadn’t formed a Bible reading habit, and I was one of them. But since the church has faced challenges, I've developed a strong desire to read the Bible. It seems like reading the Bible has become essential in my life because, besides God, there's no one else who can help or comfort me. I can only find help and strength in God's words."
Apart from these two aspects, Gao mentioned another crucial thing, which is preaching the gospel, because that's the purpose of the church's existence. "Our gatherings, sermons, disciple-making, theological training, nurturing... aren't they all ultimately for sharing the gospel? However, looking at reality, many churches indeed do a lot, but it's all 'inward,' and there's not much done 'outward.' So, even if the church and pastors work hard, the church remains stagnant, lacking vitality."
He contrasted, "Some churches are small but emphasize evangelism. With just 20 or 30 people, they can send out and support several missionaries. Some churches have over 100 people but can't send out a single worker or support even one evangelist. It's not because they lack the capability, but because they simply haven't pursued it."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Pastor Advises Churches to Focus on Teachings of Truth, Reflections on History, Evangelism
