Recently, the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, interviewed a few Millennial pastors and their wives. Although Millennial pastors do not experience as many poor and bitter “start-ups” as their Gen X predecessors did, they also shoulder arduous tasks such as “preserving their heritages” and “evangelizing”.
The clash of expectations at the beginning of a ministry
Brother Ying Jie (pseudonym), a Millennial pastor, whose parents are devout Christians, followed his family’s faith in a rural area of the Central Plains when he was a child. Jie had one year of working experience, but he was still searching to find the meaning of life while he was working. Later, he studied theology at his mother’s suggestion and enrolled in online Bible and theology correspondence programs.
After completing the programs in 2008, he has since served a church in a small city with a developed economy in the Southeast.
Ying Jie admitted that he had encountered setbacks in his ministry, shedding tears and feeling extremely wronged at times. Especially at the beginning of his service, Ying Jie found there was a gap between the problems faced by pastors and the knowledge learned in seminaries - that is, a gap between theory and practice.
During his ministry, he realized that urban pastoral care was different from rural churches in his hometown. In rural areas, believers were very simple. A gathering was about getting together happily to sing hymns and read scriptures, listen to sermons, and have a lively meeting while expecting to meet again in the next service. “But in the city church, believers come from different places, and everyone is different, which is complicated. Pastors do not only give sermons; they also deal with relationships. They also need to study church management, think about church development and theological teachings,” he said.
At the beginning of his ministry, he served another small church because of a conflict between staff and believers. They had referred their problems to him. The staff left because they lost their sense of security and the church almost disbanded. During that time, he prayed in tears. Later, he realized that there was a problem in the management of the church. Staff and believers needed to respond and solve their ideas and suggestions rapidly, otherwise, there would be misunderstandings and contradictions.
He realized that there was a problem in the management of the church, so he began to study the church management system. He studied with some senior pastors, attended pastors’ sermons, read many books, and groped along.
A need to study theology and church management
During his study, he realized that doctrine and organizational system were the two pillars of a church and that they were both needed to stabilize the church.
He explained: “While I was studying my programs, it was mainly a study of the Bible books. At that time, theological resources were not very extensive and so I had little knowledge of theology and doctrine. Therefore, relatively speaking, I lacked an expanding perspective.”
Because of the problems in the church, Ying Jie gradually established a relatively complete system and stable structure involving theological doctrine, management, a pastoral system, discipleship training, and other aspects.
At present, the church led by Ying Jie is relatively stable, with staff and believers growing steadily. There are more than a dozen serious and responsible staff (group leaders) in the church who are involved in serving together. All staff serve with dedication. Currently, his regular ministry is Sunday service and staff training. He believes that this is a result of the establishment of the church stipulation and management system, the pastoral training system, and clear doctrine. In his view, after the establishment of doctrine, the church has gained direction.
Tensions between the generations
In addition, Ying Jie admitted that the process of determining the church’s doctrine, formulating the management system, and carrying out the ministry was not smooth. Because of the older generation, pastors strongly opposed the practice at first. Ying Jie reminded the new generation of leaders to be humble in this process and avoid arguing with older leaders. He simply proceeded silently and when the elder pastors saw that the ministry was effective, their attitude changed slowly.
Ying Jie believes that it is still very important to connect the older generation with the new generation. If this is not handled well, it will be very destructive to the church. It is true that in some churches the older pastors simply cannot accept the change of the new management system, doctrine, and other matters. Although there are many difficulties and challenges, Brother Ying Jie believes that this is the process of shaping a mature pastor.
Planting new seeds in an age of growth and change
As a new-generation church leader, he dares to make changes and achieve results in the church not unrelated to his growing environment. He saw with his own eyes how the rural church developed in the city and believed that this was through the special guidance of God.
Ying Jie talked about the church he grew up in as a child: “At that time, the Gospel was still quite unknown in our village and faith was closely related to life. What can be done and what can’t be done was clearly divided. If you love God, you can’t love the world. Pastors believed that Christians can’t work and earn money in the world. At that time, I thought poverty was spiritual, and it didn’t matter if a person’s cultural level was not high, because they were all `little matters in the world’. If sisters love to dress up and wear high heels, they will be regarded as imitating gentiles.”
“The change occurred when my family had to provide for my sister and me to go to school. My family was very poor and we didn’t have much income from farming. In order to increase my income, my mother raised pigs, but there was still not much left to pay tuition fees. My mother had a Bible reading and worship service in her hometown church, and the pastor didn’t want my mother to go out to work. At that time, it was still very difficult to work and it was not easy for people to go out to work. If believers went out and came back, they would be considered as being disciplined by God,” he added.
“After the reform and opening up, there was a tide of migrants looking for employment. With the introduction of relatives, my parents came to the city to work in 1999 and 2000. After going out, my mother tried to find a gathering place, but she couldn’t. She contacted staff from her hometown church and told the staff: ‘I have a little preaching here, but there is no church. Can you come here and serve us?’ When the pastors in my hometown heard this, their thoughts changed somewhat. They suddenly found that those who went to the cities were not greedy for the world and could still preach the Gospel! People began to be sent to serve in cities.”
As far as he knows, during that time, there were some Christians who left to work throughout the country, slowly taking the Gospel with them and then sending workers to different cities. “The tide of migrant workers drives the development of urban gospel and urban churches, which is passive, but looking back, it was God’s preparation. In time, relatively conservative pastors realized it was enough for everyone to live happily together while spreading the Gospel instead of simply staying in the countryside. It is God’s job to spread the Gospel from the same culture to the near culture to the cross culture, from passive to active.”
In Ying Jie’s view, the dichotomy between the holy and the vulgar of the church in that era was very clear, but there were also some things worth learning. “At that time, my mother was very enthusiastic and loving in the faith. For example, there was only one bucket of rice at home, and if pastors or poor people came, they would use this bucket of rice for guests. They loved the Lord very much and were not afraid of ridicule, which many people lack today. When I was young, my mother used to come back late from gatherings. When she came back, she pushed her bike, took me and my sister, and walked on the edge of the empty land without street lamps. On the way back, I almost fell asleep. My mother is my role model, she has a great influence on me, and her faith inspires me.”
No worries about finance
When asked about the economic problems encountered by pastors, Ying Jie said: “In recent years, thanks to the grace of God, the maturity and stability of brothers and sisters’ beliefs is sufficient to supply the income and life of the pastors.”
However, Ying Jie said that economic issues were not his consideration. “We are not serving ourselves, or simply serving. At the beginning of my service, I didn’t expect to get full financial support from the church. Because my parents are Christians, they fully support my ministry. Later, church pastors also considered giving living subsidies. Sometimes it is sufficient, sometimes it is lacking, but there are secrets to victory.”
Husband and wife serve with one heart; both church and parenting should be grasped.
Ying Jie’s wife is his seminary classmate. The couple serve together in the church. Besides preaching, she plays the piano and lute and also trains in music worshiping. “The two of us are in harmony. I usually deal with theological issues and she deals with counseling. If I visit believers’ homes, I visit with male believers, and she with female believers. If I meet the opposite sex, we the couple will visit together.”
Regarding the education of the two children, the husband and wife will pay more attention to the children’s academic, psychological and emotional health. Two people will take turns to accompany and take care of the children’s studies, and the children are relatively healthy both psychologically and emotionally. Ying Jie also thanked their colleagues for being trained, taking on many responsibilities and therefore making her own life easier.
The current confusion: big church or small church?
Although the church is developing steadily and the staff are more energetic than ever, as a pastor, Ying Jie is confused about which route the church should take.
Like many churches at present, churches are mostly about group activities. He thinks that small gatherings are beneficial, more precise, and have a better atmosphere of fellowship and love. However, the ritual feeling of large gatherings is more sacred. The ideal state is to have a large-scale collective worship on Sunday and a small group fellowship during the week.
The importance of rest and relaxation for pastors
Ying Jie has never stopped studying since he graduated from seminary. He believes that pastors need time to retreat, preferably once a quarter, with five days’ rest at a time, so that the body and mind can rest in peace. Besides the usual theological equipment, pastors must pay attention to the construction of their inner life and their relationship with the Lord.
Because it is hard to avoid exhaustion and lack of motivation in serving, Ying Jie believes it is extremely important to return to God, learn orthodox spiritual traditions, establish a stable spiritual life and gain strength from the Lord.
- Translated by Charlie Li
最近一段时间，接触了一些80后牧者和80后师母。80后牧者虽然没有70后、60后等老一辈牧者经历那么多的贫穷和心酸的“创业”路，但是他们肩上也承担了非常艰巨的“守业”和“拓展”的重任。
事奉初期发现服事与自己的想象不太一样
80后牧者颖杰（化名）弟兄，父母是虔诚的基督徒，小时候在中原农村跟着家里人信仰。颖杰有过一年工作经历，但是工作期间总是想要寻找人生的意义，后来在母亲的建议下去读了神学，之后陆续报名圣经函授课程，网络神学课程的学习等。
2008年神学毕业之后，他在一个东南经济发达的小城市服事教会一直到现在。
颖杰坦言自己在牧养中遇到过挫折，流过泪，也有感受到极度委屈的时候。尤其在初期服事过程中颖杰发现传道人所面临的问题和在神学院所学的知识是有差距的，就是从理论到实践的差距。
颖杰在服事中认识到，城市牧养不同于老家农村教会，在农村，信徒很简单，聚会就是喜乐地聚在一起唱诗读经，听传道人分享话语，之后热闹地散会并期待下一次聚会。“而在城市教会里，信徒都来自不同的地方，每个人都不同，相对比较复杂，传道人不仅是传道牧养，还要处理关系问题，还需要学习教会管理，思考教会开拓、神学教义等等问题，”他说。
在服事初期，他带过另外一个小型教会，因为同工与会友之间发生了矛盾，最后矛头指向自己，同工因为失去了安全感而离开，教会差点散掉。那段时间，他为此流泪祷告。后来他意识到教会的管理出现了问题，同工和信徒在表达自己的想法和建议的时候需要及时回应和解决，否则就会出现误解和矛盾。
他意识到教会的管理出现了问题，于是开始学习教会管理制度。他跟一些资深牧者学习，听牧者的讲道，也读很多书，一路摸索。
神学教义和教会管理都需要学习
在学习中，颖杰意识到，教义和建制是教会的两根柱子，具有稳固教会的功用。
他解释到：“在神学院期间更多是以学习圣经书卷为主，那个时候神学资源不是很丰富，在神学和教义方面接触比较少，因此相对来说，自己缺乏开扩的视角。”
因为教会出现了问题，颖杰在神学教义、管理模式、牧养体系、门徒培训等各方面都逐渐建立起相对完善的体系和稳定的架构。
目前颖杰带领的教会比较稳定，同工和信徒都稳固成长。教会里有十几名认真负责的同工（小组长）一起参与服事，同工们都是尽心尽力。目前他固定的事奉是主日和同工培训。他认为这得益于教会建立了教会章程和管理制度、牧养培训体系，以及确定了明确的教义，在他看来，确立教义之后教会就有了方向。
老一辈和新一辈衔接中的张力
此外，颖杰表示在确定教会的教义、制定管理制度、开展事工的过程中并不是那么顺利的。因为老一辈传道人刚开始是极力反对的。颖杰提醒新一代领袖在这个过程中一定要谦卑，避免跟老一辈领袖争执。他只是默默地做，等到长辈牧者看到事工有果效的时候，态度慢慢就转变了。
颖杰认为老一辈和新一辈衔接还是很重要的。如果处理不好，对教会的破坏性是很大的。因为的确在有些教会中，老一辈传道人对新的管理体制、教义等问题的改变是根本接受不了的。 回首走过的路，虽然很多困难和挑战，但颖杰弟兄认为这也是塑造一个传道人成熟的过程。
成长在变革的年代种下更新的种子
作为新一辈教会领袖敢于在教会中作出变革并取得果效，跟他的成长环境不无关系。他亲眼看到农村教会是怎么发展到城市中的，相信这也是上帝对他的特别的带领。
颖杰分享小时候感受到的教会：“那个时候福音在我们村还是小众化的，信仰跟生活比较密切，什么能做，什么不能做，分得很清楚，爱上帝就不能爱世界。牧者认为基督徒不能到世界打工赚钱。那时候觉得穷是属灵，一个人文化水平不高也没关系，因为都是“世上的小学”。姊妹如果爱打扮，穿高跟鞋等都会被认为是学外邦人。”
“改变是我家里要供我跟姐姐上学，家里很穷，种地也没多少收入，为了增加收入母亲养猪，但是付上学费也所剩无几。母亲在老家教会有读经敬拜的服事，牧者不希望我母亲外出打工。那时候打工还是很难的，人们外出打工也不顺利，如果信徒出去了经历了不顺回来，就会被认为是被上帝管教了。”
“改革开放后出现打工潮，在亲戚的介绍下，我父母先后于1999年、2000年来到城市打工。出去之后我妈妈就想找聚会的地方，但是找不到。就跟老家同工联系，说，‘我在这里传了几个福音，但是没有教会，你们能不能来这里给我们讲道？’老家的牧者听到这，想法就有些改变了，他们突然发现：你们出去不是贪爱世界，还可以把福音种子带出去！就有人开始陆续被派到城市服事。”
据他所知，那段时间，各地都有一些外出打工的基督徒，慢慢把福音带出去，然后就有了差遣工人去不同城市。“民工潮带动城市福音和城市教会的发展，这是被动的，但是回头看是上帝有预备。曾经相对保守的牧者也意识到要把福音传出去，不是停留在农村，大家一起喜乐生活就够了。福音的传播从同文化到近文化到跨文化，从被动到主动，这是上帝的工作。”
在颖杰看来，那个年代教会的圣俗二分很鲜明，的确有不好的，但是也有值得我们学习的，“那时候，我母亲他们的信仰非常热忱，非常有爱心，比如家里只有一斗米，如果有传道人或穷人来，那他们就真的会把这一斗米用来接待。他们非常爱主，不怕人讥笑，这是今天很多人缺少的。我小的时候，我母亲常常聚会到很晚，回来的时候她推着自行车，带我和我姐姐，没有路灯，走在空旷的土地边上，回来的路上，我几乎都是睡着的状态。母亲是我的榜样，她对我影响很大，她的信仰激励了我。”
面对经济单纯摆上，不要忧虑
问到传道人都会遇到的经济难题，颖杰谈到：“这几年感谢上帝的恩典，随着弟兄姊妹信仰的成熟和稳定，能够供应房租，供应传道人的生活。”
但是，颖杰表示经济问题并不是自己考虑的事情。“我们本身也不是为了供应事奉的，就是单纯去服事。服事的初期，也没有想到会拿到教会的供应。因为我的父母是基督徒，他们对我的服事全力支持。后来教会牧者也考虑给生活补贴，有时候充足，有时候缺乏，或丰富或缺乏，都有得胜的秘诀。”
夫妻同心服事，教会和育儿都要抓
颖杰的妻子是他的神学院同学。两个人在教会里搭配服事，她除了讲道，还有弹琴司琴，也去培养敬拜人员。“我们两个配搭起来很和谐。一般我处理神学教义问题，她处理辅导。探访的话，我可能跟弟兄一起探访，她跟姐妹去探访，如果遇到异性，我们两个一起探访。”
关于两个孩子的教育问题，夫妻二人会比较关注孩子的学业和心理、情感的健康。两个人会轮流陪伴和照顾孩子的学习，孩子目前心理和情感还都比较健康。颖杰也感谢同工们被培养起来，担当了很多，自己也轻松了一些。
目前的困惑：走大教会还是小教会路线？
虽然教会稳定发展，同工们也比较给力，但是作为牧者，颖杰对于教会该走什么路线也有困惑。
跟很多教会一样，目前教会更多是小组为单位活动。他认为小型聚会有好处，更精准，团契、爱的氛围更好。但是大型聚会仪式感神圣性更强。比较理想的状态是主日有集体大型的崇拜，周间有小组小型的团契。
传道人充电和退修的重要性
颖杰自己神学毕业服事到现在没有间断过学习。他认为传道人需要有退修的时间，最好是一季度一次，一次有五天的休息，让身体和心灵得安息。除了平时的神学装备之外，传道人一定要注重内在生命的建造、与主的关系。
因为事奉中难免会疲惫枯干，没有动力，所以颖杰认为需要回到上帝面前，学习正统的灵修传统，建立稳定的灵修生活，从主那里获得力量极其重要。
特写|华东一80后牧者的服事路：从农村到城市牧会中的破碎、成长、困惑与感悟-基督时报-基督教资讯平台 (christiantimes.cn)
特写|华东一80后牧者的服事路：从农村到城市牧会中的破碎、成长、困惑与感悟
Recently, the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, interviewed a few Millennial pastors and their wives. Although Millennial pastors do not experience as many poor and bitter “start-ups” as their Gen X predecessors did, they also shoulder arduous tasks such as “preserving their heritages” and “evangelizing”.
The clash of expectations at the beginning of a ministry
Brother Ying Jie (pseudonym), a Millennial pastor, whose parents are devout Christians, followed his family’s faith in a rural area of the Central Plains when he was a child. Jie had one year of working experience, but he was still searching to find the meaning of life while he was working. Later, he studied theology at his mother’s suggestion and enrolled in online Bible and theology correspondence programs.
After completing the programs in 2008, he has since served a church in a small city with a developed economy in the Southeast.
Ying Jie admitted that he had encountered setbacks in his ministry, shedding tears and feeling extremely wronged at times. Especially at the beginning of his service, Ying Jie found there was a gap between the problems faced by pastors and the knowledge learned in seminaries - that is, a gap between theory and practice.
During his ministry, he realized that urban pastoral care was different from rural churches in his hometown. In rural areas, believers were very simple. A gathering was about getting together happily to sing hymns and read scriptures, listen to sermons, and have a lively meeting while expecting to meet again in the next service. “But in the city church, believers come from different places, and everyone is different, which is complicated. Pastors do not only give sermons; they also deal with relationships. They also need to study church management, think about church development and theological teachings,” he said.
At the beginning of his ministry, he served another small church because of a conflict between staff and believers. They had referred their problems to him. The staff left because they lost their sense of security and the church almost disbanded. During that time, he prayed in tears. Later, he realized that there was a problem in the management of the church. Staff and believers needed to respond and solve their ideas and suggestions rapidly, otherwise, there would be misunderstandings and contradictions.
He realized that there was a problem in the management of the church, so he began to study the church management system. He studied with some senior pastors, attended pastors’ sermons, read many books, and groped along.
A need to study theology and church management
During his study, he realized that doctrine and organizational system were the two pillars of a church and that they were both needed to stabilize the church.
He explained: “While I was studying my programs, it was mainly a study of the Bible books. At that time, theological resources were not very extensive and so I had little knowledge of theology and doctrine. Therefore, relatively speaking, I lacked an expanding perspective.”
Because of the problems in the church, Ying Jie gradually established a relatively complete system and stable structure involving theological doctrine, management, a pastoral system, discipleship training, and other aspects.
At present, the church led by Ying Jie is relatively stable, with staff and believers growing steadily. There are more than a dozen serious and responsible staff (group leaders) in the church who are involved in serving together. All staff serve with dedication. Currently, his regular ministry is Sunday service and staff training. He believes that this is a result of the establishment of the church stipulation and management system, the pastoral training system, and clear doctrine. In his view, after the establishment of doctrine, the church has gained direction.
Tensions between the generations
In addition, Ying Jie admitted that the process of determining the church’s doctrine, formulating the management system, and carrying out the ministry was not smooth. Because of the older generation, pastors strongly opposed the practice at first. Ying Jie reminded the new generation of leaders to be humble in this process and avoid arguing with older leaders. He simply proceeded silently and when the elder pastors saw that the ministry was effective, their attitude changed slowly.
Ying Jie believes that it is still very important to connect the older generation with the new generation. If this is not handled well, it will be very destructive to the church. It is true that in some churches the older pastors simply cannot accept the change of the new management system, doctrine, and other matters. Although there are many difficulties and challenges, Brother Ying Jie believes that this is the process of shaping a mature pastor.
Planting new seeds in an age of growth and change
As a new-generation church leader, he dares to make changes and achieve results in the church not unrelated to his growing environment. He saw with his own eyes how the rural church developed in the city and believed that this was through the special guidance of God.
Ying Jie talked about the church he grew up in as a child: “At that time, the Gospel was still quite unknown in our village and faith was closely related to life. What can be done and what can’t be done was clearly divided. If you love God, you can’t love the world. Pastors believed that Christians can’t work and earn money in the world. At that time, I thought poverty was spiritual, and it didn’t matter if a person’s cultural level was not high, because they were all `little matters in the world’. If sisters love to dress up and wear high heels, they will be regarded as imitating gentiles.”
“The change occurred when my family had to provide for my sister and me to go to school. My family was very poor and we didn’t have much income from farming. In order to increase my income, my mother raised pigs, but there was still not much left to pay tuition fees. My mother had a Bible reading and worship service in her hometown church, and the pastor didn’t want my mother to go out to work. At that time, it was still very difficult to work and it was not easy for people to go out to work. If believers went out and came back, they would be considered as being disciplined by God,” he added.
“After the reform and opening up, there was a tide of migrants looking for employment. With the introduction of relatives, my parents came to the city to work in 1999 and 2000. After going out, my mother tried to find a gathering place, but she couldn’t. She contacted staff from her hometown church and told the staff: ‘I have a little preaching here, but there is no church. Can you come here and serve us?’ When the pastors in my hometown heard this, their thoughts changed somewhat. They suddenly found that those who went to the cities were not greedy for the world and could still preach the Gospel! People began to be sent to serve in cities.”
As far as he knows, during that time, there were some Christians who left to work throughout the country, slowly taking the Gospel with them and then sending workers to different cities. “The tide of migrant workers drives the development of urban gospel and urban churches, which is passive, but looking back, it was God’s preparation. In time, relatively conservative pastors realized it was enough for everyone to live happily together while spreading the Gospel instead of simply staying in the countryside. It is God’s job to spread the Gospel from the same culture to the near culture to the cross culture, from passive to active.”
In Ying Jie’s view, the dichotomy between the holy and the vulgar of the church in that era was very clear, but there were also some things worth learning. “At that time, my mother was very enthusiastic and loving in the faith. For example, there was only one bucket of rice at home, and if pastors or poor people came, they would use this bucket of rice for guests. They loved the Lord very much and were not afraid of ridicule, which many people lack today. When I was young, my mother used to come back late from gatherings. When she came back, she pushed her bike, took me and my sister, and walked on the edge of the empty land without street lamps. On the way back, I almost fell asleep. My mother is my role model, she has a great influence on me, and her faith inspires me.”
No worries about finance
When asked about the economic problems encountered by pastors, Ying Jie said: “In recent years, thanks to the grace of God, the maturity and stability of brothers and sisters’ beliefs is sufficient to supply the income and life of the pastors.”
However, Ying Jie said that economic issues were not his consideration. “We are not serving ourselves, or simply serving. At the beginning of my service, I didn’t expect to get full financial support from the church. Because my parents are Christians, they fully support my ministry. Later, church pastors also considered giving living subsidies. Sometimes it is sufficient, sometimes it is lacking, but there are secrets to victory.”
Husband and wife serve with one heart; both church and parenting should be grasped.
Ying Jie’s wife is his seminary classmate. The couple serve together in the church. Besides preaching, she plays the piano and lute and also trains in music worshiping. “The two of us are in harmony. I usually deal with theological issues and she deals with counseling. If I visit believers’ homes, I visit with male believers, and she with female believers. If I meet the opposite sex, we the couple will visit together.”
Regarding the education of the two children, the husband and wife will pay more attention to the children’s academic, psychological and emotional health. Two people will take turns to accompany and take care of the children’s studies, and the children are relatively healthy both psychologically and emotionally. Ying Jie also thanked their colleagues for being trained, taking on many responsibilities and therefore making her own life easier.
The current confusion: big church or small church?
Although the church is developing steadily and the staff are more energetic than ever, as a pastor, Ying Jie is confused about which route the church should take.
Like many churches at present, churches are mostly about group activities. He thinks that small gatherings are beneficial, more precise, and have a better atmosphere of fellowship and love. However, the ritual feeling of large gatherings is more sacred. The ideal state is to have a large-scale collective worship on Sunday and a small group fellowship during the week.
The importance of rest and relaxation for pastors
Ying Jie has never stopped studying since he graduated from seminary. He believes that pastors need time to retreat, preferably once a quarter, with five days’ rest at a time, so that the body and mind can rest in peace. Besides the usual theological equipment, pastors must pay attention to the construction of their inner life and their relationship with the Lord.
Because it is hard to avoid exhaustion and lack of motivation in serving, Ying Jie believes it is extremely important to return to God, learn orthodox spiritual traditions, establish a stable spiritual life and gain strength from the Lord.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Millennial Pastor’s Ministry Transforms from Rural to Urban Churches
