"Why does believing in Jesus feel like clinging to outdated traditions?" This question was raised by a young pastor during my visit to a church in Anhui.
In most Chinese people's impressions, the Christian faith is associated with rigidity, seriousness, and traditional solemnity. Some might have experienced being reminded or even turned away for wearing short skirts and pants, or flip-flops, especially those young girls who love to wear anime-style clothing. If someone accidentally crosses their legs during a service, an auntie nearby may remind them or even push their leg down. Such experiences can indeed leave people puzzled, but all they can do is smile awkwardly.
Additionally, the unchanging format of church gatherings, elderly congregants, and the decreasing number of young people can easily give Christianity the impression of being "traditional and rigid," making it seem far from "fashionable."
However, as an organism, the church needs to change its gathering formats and improve its faith expression in response to the times and circumstances. Perhaps the journeys of the following two pastors can provide us with insights.
Pastor C works in a church in southern Anhui Province. Originally established by a Wenzhou evangelistic mission, it naturally had some characteristics of Wenzhou gatherings since its foundation. For instance, Sunday worship services lasted the whole day, and members would have lunch in it. However, Pastor C found some issues in practice. Since the faith foundation is not profound, believers generally have a shallow spiritual life and cannot stay in the church for a long time over one service. Forcing them to do so would result in some believers napping or gossiping around, which would cause controversy. Therefore, she adjusted by shortening Sunday service to half a day, and no lunch was served.
Additionally, it was a habit for congregants to chat casually. Pastor C set a rule that Christians could not talk during the service. "Some people would still talk, so I would sit next to them, listening intently to the sermon. Some people really disliked me for this, but gradually, a worshipful atmosphere was created."
This implementation caused some controversy at the time, with opposition from some elderly workers and congregants. But Pastor C continued to push forward and tried to unite with them. "Though some didn't understand, they agreed in the end as they trusted me."
In addition, Pastor C and her husband Pastor Y made some changes in the design of Sunday worship. Currently, the church has only traditional hymns, but for seekers and new believers, it may be difficult for them to know their meanings immediately. Therefore, Pastor Yang found online some modern worship songs that are easier to understand. The song list is printed on the Sunday leaflets. QR codes are provided for believers to scan and listen. The opening praise during worship also adopts styles that are more popular with young people.
Pastor D from Guangdong also has a poignant ministry journey. After graduating from seminary in 2002, he began serving at a rural church. Initially, he mainly assisted the elder pastor, taking care of his daily needs and leading the youth fellowship. At that time, the church only had pews, making it easy for children to fall. He and his wife wanted to buy some small stools, but the church leader thought it was a waste of money and refused. Later, they scoured the entire city to find some cheaper ones, using their own money to buy fifty or sixty small stools.
As the church he served was on a hill, the path to the church was very dark. When events like Christmas activities ended late, he worried about the congregants' safety when they went back home. He applied to the church to install streetlights, which would cost several thousand yuan. The leaders refused, thinking it wasn't worth it for one or two large gatherings a year.
But he didn't give up. Later, he called on nearby villagers to donate money. The supportive villagers donated over 7,000 yuan and supplied a few spare lamp poles, with streetlights installed.
Villagers walked along that path with these lights, unknowingly arriving at the church. Now, the road by the church is called Holy Church Road. Other parts of the village followed suit and installed streetlights.
Pastor D is also among the first to get a driver's license and buy a car with his own money, even though his finances were tight at the time. Later, when visitors came to the church for exchanges, he was responsible for picking them up and dropping them off.
After serving the elder pastor for seven years, Pastor D was ordained in 2009. Six months later, the elder pastor was bedridden and passed the leadership baton to him. Because of this experience, Pastor D was aware early on of the need to train staff workers and successors. Ten years later, when he left this church due to changes, the two millennial church workers he had trained began to undertake pastoral care work.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
“为何一提信耶稣就感觉传统落后？”这是笔者在走访安徽一间教会时，一位年轻牧者提出的问题。
在大部分人的印象中，基督教信仰好像都和古板严肃、传统庄重挂钩。有些人或许就有因为穿短裙、短裤、拖鞋而被提醒甚至拒之门外的经历，尤其是那些爱穿二次元衣服的小姑娘了。礼拜时不小心翘起二郎腿，可能旁边的阿姨就会提醒，甚至帮你扒拉下去。类似的经历确实会让人不解，但也只能尴尬一笑。
再加上教堂里面一成不变的聚会形式、年老的信徒、以及越来越少的年轻人，基督教很容易就给人留下了“传统古板”，“不太好亲近”的印象，与“时尚”二字简直不搭边。
可是，教会作为人的有机体，是需要随着时代和处境的变化而在聚会形式和表达上有所更新和改变的。或许以下两位牧者的服侍之路可以带给我们一些思考。
C牧师在皖南一家教会服侍，这间教会最初是温州福音团帮助建立的，所以建立起初就自然带有一些温州聚会的特色，比如主日礼拜会一整天都在教会聚会，中午信徒会在教堂一起吃饭。但在实际牧会服侍中，C牧师发现一些问题，因为当地福音根基并不深厚，信徒普遍生命比较浅，在教堂待不了很长时间，时间太长，大家反而睡觉、说闲话，一些矛盾也就爆发了，所以她神学毕业开始参与牧会后，就逐步做了一些改进，主日礼拜一天改成半天，中午也不一起吃饭。
以前信徒还有一个习惯就是拉家常，C牧师就立规矩，礼拜前提醒大家不要说话。“有人还是会讲，我就坐在他旁边，认真听道。所以有的人很恨我，但这样下来，大家就逐渐养成了敬拜的氛围。”
这些改变当时都是面临一些争议的，有些老同工和信徒也表示反对。但C牧师还是努力推进，并且尽力和他们合一。“他们比较信任我，虽然有些不理解，但最后也是都好了。”
此外，为了切合年轻人和初信者的需要，C牧师和丈夫Y牧师还在主日礼拜的设计中进行了一些改进。
首先，目前教会大多只有新编赞美诗，但对于慕道友和初信者来说，大家可能很难第一时间领会其中意境。所以Y牧师会从网上找一些比较浅显易懂的赞美诗，在主日单张中打印出来，并配上二维码，信徒可以扫码听，礼拜的开始赞美也是选取更受年轻人喜欢的敬拜风格。
广东D牧师的服侍之路也让人唏嘘。他02年神学毕业，开始在一间农村教会服侍.开始主要是做老牧者的跟班，照顾他起居，也带领青少年团契。当时教会只有大凳子，孩子容易摔倒，他和妻子想买一些小凳子。可教会负责人觉得浪费钱，拒绝了。后来他和妻子就为了便宜5毛钱，跑遍了全城找，然后自掏腰包买回来了五六十个小凳子。
他所服侍的教堂在山上，有一段路很黑。圣诞节活动结束或者教会活动散会比较晚的话，信徒走的时候他就比较担心。他跟教会申请安装路灯，需要几千块钱。牧者拒绝了，觉得为了每年一两场聚会安装路灯不值。
但他没有放弃，后来呼吁附近村民捐钱。村民很支持，结果捐了7000多，并且赠送了几个闲置的灯杆，路灯就装起来了。
村民们沿着那条路遛弯，不知不觉就来到教堂，现在教堂那边那条路就叫圣教堂路。村子其他地方也随之效法安路灯。
为了做好服侍，他也是最早一批考驾照、自掏腰包买车的人，即便当时自己的手头也不宽裕。后来教会有人来参访交流，都是他负责接送。
就在这样的位置上，D牧师服侍老牧者整整7年。他09年被按立牧师，半年之后，老牧师在床上不能起来的时候，才把主任牧师交棒到他手里。正因为有这样的经历，C牧师早早就有培养同工和接班人的意识。十年后，在他因变动离开这个教会后，他培养出来的两名90后的同工开始负责这间教会的牧养。
两位牧者如何让信耶稣在当地成为“时尚”？
"Why does believing in Jesus feel like clinging to outdated traditions?" This question was raised by a young pastor during my visit to a church in Anhui.
In most Chinese people's impressions, the Christian faith is associated with rigidity, seriousness, and traditional solemnity. Some might have experienced being reminded or even turned away for wearing short skirts and pants, or flip-flops, especially those young girls who love to wear anime-style clothing. If someone accidentally crosses their legs during a service, an auntie nearby may remind them or even push their leg down. Such experiences can indeed leave people puzzled, but all they can do is smile awkwardly.
Additionally, the unchanging format of church gatherings, elderly congregants, and the decreasing number of young people can easily give Christianity the impression of being "traditional and rigid," making it seem far from "fashionable."
However, as an organism, the church needs to change its gathering formats and improve its faith expression in response to the times and circumstances. Perhaps the journeys of the following two pastors can provide us with insights.
Pastor C works in a church in southern Anhui Province. Originally established by a Wenzhou evangelistic mission, it naturally had some characteristics of Wenzhou gatherings since its foundation. For instance, Sunday worship services lasted the whole day, and members would have lunch in it. However, Pastor C found some issues in practice. Since the faith foundation is not profound, believers generally have a shallow spiritual life and cannot stay in the church for a long time over one service. Forcing them to do so would result in some believers napping or gossiping around, which would cause controversy. Therefore, she adjusted by shortening Sunday service to half a day, and no lunch was served.
Additionally, it was a habit for congregants to chat casually. Pastor C set a rule that Christians could not talk during the service. "Some people would still talk, so I would sit next to them, listening intently to the sermon. Some people really disliked me for this, but gradually, a worshipful atmosphere was created."
This implementation caused some controversy at the time, with opposition from some elderly workers and congregants. But Pastor C continued to push forward and tried to unite with them. "Though some didn't understand, they agreed in the end as they trusted me."
In addition, Pastor C and her husband Pastor Y made some changes in the design of Sunday worship. Currently, the church has only traditional hymns, but for seekers and new believers, it may be difficult for them to know their meanings immediately. Therefore, Pastor Yang found online some modern worship songs that are easier to understand. The song list is printed on the Sunday leaflets. QR codes are provided for believers to scan and listen. The opening praise during worship also adopts styles that are more popular with young people.
Pastor D from Guangdong also has a poignant ministry journey. After graduating from seminary in 2002, he began serving at a rural church. Initially, he mainly assisted the elder pastor, taking care of his daily needs and leading the youth fellowship. At that time, the church only had pews, making it easy for children to fall. He and his wife wanted to buy some small stools, but the church leader thought it was a waste of money and refused. Later, they scoured the entire city to find some cheaper ones, using their own money to buy fifty or sixty small stools.
As the church he served was on a hill, the path to the church was very dark. When events like Christmas activities ended late, he worried about the congregants' safety when they went back home. He applied to the church to install streetlights, which would cost several thousand yuan. The leaders refused, thinking it wasn't worth it for one or two large gatherings a year.
But he didn't give up. Later, he called on nearby villagers to donate money. The supportive villagers donated over 7,000 yuan and supplied a few spare lamp poles, with streetlights installed.
Villagers walked along that path with these lights, unknowingly arriving at the church. Now, the road by the church is called Holy Church Road. Other parts of the village followed suit and installed streetlights.
Pastor D is also among the first to get a driver's license and buy a car with his own money, even though his finances were tight at the time. Later, when visitors came to the church for exchanges, he was responsible for picking them up and dropping them off.
After serving the elder pastor for seven years, Pastor D was ordained in 2009. Six months later, the elder pastor was bedridden and passed the leadership baton to him. Because of this experience, Pastor D was aware early on of the need to train staff workers and successors. Ten years later, when he left this church due to changes, the two millennial church workers he had trained began to undertake pastoral care work.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Stories: Two Pastors Make Christianity More 'Trendy' Locally
