Unlike the last generation Christians who often suffered political pressure and poverty, today's urban Christians in China are in a new battlefield: fighting against materialism, secularism, moral decay, and even the pressure to get married. Despite the challenges in the workplace and life, urban Christians get closer to God and live out the Christian faith, forming a new power in the Christian community.
A large percentage of urban Christians are second or third-generation Christians who follow their parents to go to church in their childhood but fail to have the right knowledge of "faith". Many of them stop going to church due to the busy studying in middle or high school. During college, some are "re-found" by campus fellowships where they gradually understand the essence of Christianity.
"When I was little, I followed my family to the church. Every week I attended services and Sunday school, but for me, a church was just a place to play with other children. Since I never had a deep understanding of faith, I quit going to church little by little. However, after joining in a campus fellowship, I had a stable faith life and participated in services every week. Thenceforth, I started to know what I believed and what the baptism into Jesus Christ meant," said Sister J who runs a bubble tea shop in Jiangsu. Now she supports her husband who is a full-time preacher and a months-old son.
After graduation from college, she worked as a sales and made some profits. Later she planned to start her own business and took over a boba shop. Shortly afterward, she opened up another shop and entrusted it to someone she hired. However, the poor performance and other problems caused the second shop to be closed. She thought that God would definitely bless her business that supported her husband's sacred work.
But the reality struck her who was depressed for a while. Later she realized that many things happened not because of God, but because people didn't think it through. In this case, she opened the shop before making any specific plan. God always gave opportunities to everyone, but it didn't mean that people needn't make any effort. She learned a lesson that a Christian shouldn't just wait for the grace that descends from heaven or see the service as a trade. Indeed, service was a choice of a willing heart rather than a trade.
Different from her, Sister Xu was from an atheist family and contacted Christianity in her college life.
Xu said that there was a deep ditch of emptiness in her heart before knowing Jesus, but God filled it with His love. Born in a family with four children, she had two older sisters and one younger brother. As the third child, she was often ignored by her family. Over time, indignation grew inside her and she was often beaten by her parents, contributing to her stubborn character.
However, God's love comforted her wounded heart. She became considerate of her parents – after all, it was not easy to raise four children and almost impossible to attend to all of them well. God erased the harm caused by her family. She started to pray for her family and share the gospel with them. At last, her elder sisters and parents miraculously converted to Christianity.
Now Xu works in an educational institution. "I don't hide my faith in the workplace. I help the children in difficulty or in need in my class as much as possible." She tells short Christian stories to children on special occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving Day so that they might know the history of these holidays. Although her salary is not commensurate with her efforts, she works dutifully. "However, I know that I don't work for people or my boss, but God," said Xu. She has never complained about the busy work, winning the trust from her boss and praise from her students' parents.
Nonetheless, her body was crushed with a heavy workload and various diseases like insomnia hit her. Problems then appeared in her faith and work in succession. Her spirituality hit rock bottom: she started to fall away from the church, seldom attending services or coming near to God... After some time, she had to surrender to the reality and solely depended on God to get through the tough time.
Mentioning the dark days, Xu expressed her gratitude and joy instead of grumbling and bitterness: God showed her her own weakness and limits, leading her to think and reflect on herself.
The Shanghainese Daniel Bian went to the church for the first time at the age of seven in the late 1970s when the church in Shanghai was just restored. Influenced by his devout Christian neighbors, he wanted to decide to be a Christian at 18. His grandparents were opposed to his future conversion due to the patriarchal values, but his parents still supported him. Later God gave him the wisdom to persuade his grandparents, but he gave up receiving baptism at 18, who regarded himself far away from being a qualified Christian.
Later his father suggested him study in a seminary, but he refused. Bian explained, "Because I don't want to be a pastor. If I keep telling people not to make mistakes like a surgeon ceaselessly sterilizing patients in my future life, that is too boring. I'm very curious about the sinful world, it has an irresistible attraction for me."
God still asked him whether he wanted to be His child when he was 20 and 30 years old. But his answer was always no. In hesitation, Daniel Bian missed over 30 years, but the word of God was rooted in his heart and laid his values.
He had a great success in the workplace. Despite graduating from a normal college, he obtained the position of director of human resources at a Fortune 500 company from a migrant worker who washed dishes. He became "the first person of Chinese professional consultant."
Bian added, "Since I was a child, I asked God to give me courage, wisdom, and confidence under stress – the three elements gave me great motivational force... but I didn't give glory to God. I glorified myself because I deserved the fruit of my intelligence, competence, bravery, and pains. I even believed that I should use more worldly means to maintain my success."
In the winter of 2007, he was wakened up from the sinful life through blows to his family, relationship, and health, starting to see the meaninglessness of the world and nature of life. His father died of cerebral hemorrhage and his mother who worshiped him as an idol wanted to commit suicide. His fiancee's parents raised harsh prerequisites for their marriage, wishing to use him as a tool of making money, which conflicted his Christian value of a loving family. Jealous of his fame, some human resource seniors attacked him, even by posting insulting words. What was worse, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer... Sunk in hatred 24 hrs, Bian finally walked into the church at 40. Hearing the sermon of Exodus, he prayed the sinners' prayer on that day.
A few years ago, he founded a fund for caring for AIDS patients of Shanghai Charity Foundation, the only Christian fund in Shanghai. In the past "Christian" was a symbol of progressiveness that led the world, he urged Christians to be pioneers in philanthropy, who should be the gold lampstands of society. "We need to unite Christian ministers in the church to show the power of a gold lampstand because the leading roles of social philanthropy must return to the hands of Christians and we are the motive force of philanthropy."
当代职场基督徒虽不像上世纪七八年代的基督徒常常遭遇政治上的逼迫和贫穷，新一代城市基督徒在面对新的战场：物质主义，世俗主义、道德沦丧和逼婚。他们因着在工作生活中遇到的挑战，反而渐渐地靠近神，也在活出信仰，并迸发出一种新的力量。
城市基督徒中很大一部分是基督徒后代，小时候跟着父母一起去教会，跟着唱赞美诗和做礼拜，不太明白信仰的真正含义，大多因为初高中学习的缘故，渐渐地不去教会。有些会去寻找大学的团契或者被找到，慢慢明白了信仰的含义。
“从小我就跟着家人一起去教会，那时虽然每周都去做礼拜、参加主日学，但教会对我而言，就是个能和小朋友一起玩耍的地方。因为从来没有深入地认识过信仰，所以长大后渐渐就不去教会了。高中时学习太忙，基本上是等到放月假了才能去一次教会。加入大学生团契后，基本上我的信仰就稳定了，每周都会过去参加。也是从那时我开始慢慢知道信仰究竟是什么，受洗归入耶稣基督又意味着什么。”
Sister J是一位全职传道人的妻子，支持着家里的经济。大学毕业后，找了份销售的工作，赚了一些钱，开了一家正在转让的奶茶店，然后又开了另一个店面。但我毕竟个人精力有限，就把第二家店交给了雇佣的人去做。结果那人越做越差，再加上一些其它问题，渐渐就做不下去导致店面最后直接关闭了。那时我的想法是：我的丈夫成为了团契负责人，做的是神喜悦的工作，那我开两家店的话，神一定会祝福我的。然而现实情况却并不是这样。当时，因为这事我沉静了一段时间，后来我发现，其实很多事情的发生跟神没有关系，是我们自己的原因，我们自己想得不周全，例如店面人员是不是到位等，也没有详细地做好计划，直接就把店面给开起来了。在生活里，神是会给每个人机会的，但同样需要我们去付出很多的努力。不该坐着等待恩典从天而降，也不能把事奉当成是一种交换。事奉不是交换，而是甘心乐意的去做，是我们自己的选择。
许姊妹是从2006年开始接触信仰的，那时的她刚上大学。许姊妹说，在认识信仰以前，她的内心有一道很深的沟渠，里面空落落的，什么都没有；信仰后她才知道里面所缺失的是爱，而神已经用祂的爱将她心底那道沟渠填满。许姊妹出生在有四个孩子的家庭。而亲戚就非常喜欢老大和老四，做为老三的许姊妹夹在中间，处于一个尴尬的位置，常被人忽略。觉得自己被不公平的对待，加上常常挨打的缘故，性格变得很倔强。神的爱安慰了许姊妹受伤的心，她开始体谅家庭与父母，神抹去了原生家庭给许姊妹带来的伤害，许姊妹开始为家人祷告，向他们传福音。信仰使许姊妹变得成熟、豁达，在家里所表现出来的也不仅仅只是倔，而是更多的去体贴父母、友爱兄弟姐妹，懂事且善解人意。她的两个姐姐和父母都成为了基督徒。
现在的许姊妹在一家教育机构上班。“我不会在工作上避忌我的信仰，也会尽力帮助班上有困难、有需要的孩子们。”许姊妹说，她会利用圣诞节、感恩节这样特殊的节期给孩子们讲述基督教里的小故事，使他们知道这些节日的来历。她尽职尽责地去完成在工作上的每一件事，尽管有时候她的回报与付出不能成对等，“但我知道我并不是在为人工作，也不是为老板工作，而是在为神工作。”机构的老板对交托给她的事情极为放心；家长们也对许姊妹交口称赞。
然而，巨大的工作量使得许姊妹身体崩塌，得了失眠，灵命陷入到前所未有的低谷当中，开始远离教会和神了……在一段时间远离神后，许姊妹还是不得不屈服在“现实”之下，唯有倚靠神来突破这个阶段。每每谈及那段灰暗的病痛历史时，许姊妹话语里所包含的并不是埋怨与苦毒，反而是感恩与喜乐：神让她看清楚了自己的软弱和有限，让她去思考和反省。
也有基督徒通过服务这个社会创造出影响力，陆陆续续地有一些基督徒开始成立慈善机构。
上海本地人卞秉彬，1993年刚毕业放弃分配，从最底层奋斗成为500强企业的人力资源管理总监；后来1999年又在中国提出和宣扬“不会跳槽的人是可耻”、“就业权就是人权”等观念给中国人力资源管理界带着彻底革新，“中国职业顾问第一人”；再到远离上帝20多年后，重新归回成为基督徒，投身关怀艾滋病患者事工推动成立上海关爱艾滋病专项基金，“关爱艾滋病基金会是上海唯一一家基督徒公募基金会”。他认为过去基督徒曾经是先进、还曾成为领袖，今天尝试做一个开创者、引导者；这对教会也是一种示范，让教会成为社会的金灯台。他认为，“我们需要广泛团结教会里各样服事的基督徒显明金灯台的能力，因为社会慈善的领导的位置必须要回到基督徒的手中，因为我们才是慈善的原动力。。。”他呼吁要放弃我们自身的短视、肉体的局限和小确幸，我们真正要前赴后继的是跟随耶稣做那更大的事情，来认识生命，得着生命，让失丧生命的来认识生命，让有生命的失丧生命。
冯利锋，2013年在澳洲定居的他经历了上帝医治他的儿子持续两年的噩梦，于是从佛教徒转为信主成为基督徒，之后不到几个月内就因看到医疗救助的呼召，就立马又放下澳洲的事业，回到国内开始推动医疗救助，成为中华志愿者协会医疗救助志愿者委员会的负责人。耶稣是慈善事业的重要推动者。耶稣在传道的过程中，行善医病，而且他的门徒们也都这么做了下去。《圣经》告诉我们：“人若知道行善，却不去行，这就是他的罪了”（雅4:17）。作为基督徒传道行善，这是神给我们的使命。中华志愿者协会医疗救助志愿者委员会会组织一些医疗救助方面的培训，增加志愿者在医疗方面的技能，也会组织一些有技能的志愿者，给予帮助给那些需要的人。2015年国家扶贫日，中华志愿者协会医疗救助志愿者委员会为张家口捐赠医疗设备，为康保国际马拉松提供服务。
城市基督徒见证
Unlike the last generation Christians who often suffered political pressure and poverty, today's urban Christians in China are in a new battlefield: fighting against materialism, secularism, moral decay, and even the pressure to get married. Despite the challenges in the workplace and life, urban Christians get closer to God and live out the Christian faith, forming a new power in the Christian community.
A large percentage of urban Christians are second or third-generation Christians who follow their parents to go to church in their childhood but fail to have the right knowledge of "faith". Many of them stop going to church due to the busy studying in middle or high school. During college, some are "re-found" by campus fellowships where they gradually understand the essence of Christianity.
"When I was little, I followed my family to the church. Every week I attended services and Sunday school, but for me, a church was just a place to play with other children. Since I never had a deep understanding of faith, I quit going to church little by little. However, after joining in a campus fellowship, I had a stable faith life and participated in services every week. Thenceforth, I started to know what I believed and what the baptism into Jesus Christ meant," said Sister J who runs a bubble tea shop in Jiangsu. Now she supports her husband who is a full-time preacher and a months-old son.
After graduation from college, she worked as a sales and made some profits. Later she planned to start her own business and took over a boba shop. Shortly afterward, she opened up another shop and entrusted it to someone she hired. However, the poor performance and other problems caused the second shop to be closed. She thought that God would definitely bless her business that supported her husband's sacred work.
But the reality struck her who was depressed for a while. Later she realized that many things happened not because of God, but because people didn't think it through. In this case, she opened the shop before making any specific plan. God always gave opportunities to everyone, but it didn't mean that people needn't make any effort. She learned a lesson that a Christian shouldn't just wait for the grace that descends from heaven or see the service as a trade. Indeed, service was a choice of a willing heart rather than a trade.
Different from her, Sister Xu was from an atheist family and contacted Christianity in her college life.
Xu said that there was a deep ditch of emptiness in her heart before knowing Jesus, but God filled it with His love. Born in a family with four children, she had two older sisters and one younger brother. As the third child, she was often ignored by her family. Over time, indignation grew inside her and she was often beaten by her parents, contributing to her stubborn character.
However, God's love comforted her wounded heart. She became considerate of her parents – after all, it was not easy to raise four children and almost impossible to attend to all of them well. God erased the harm caused by her family. She started to pray for her family and share the gospel with them. At last, her elder sisters and parents miraculously converted to Christianity.
Now Xu works in an educational institution. "I don't hide my faith in the workplace. I help the children in difficulty or in need in my class as much as possible." She tells short Christian stories to children on special occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving Day so that they might know the history of these holidays. Although her salary is not commensurate with her efforts, she works dutifully. "However, I know that I don't work for people or my boss, but God," said Xu. She has never complained about the busy work, winning the trust from her boss and praise from her students' parents.
Nonetheless, her body was crushed with a heavy workload and various diseases like insomnia hit her. Problems then appeared in her faith and work in succession. Her spirituality hit rock bottom: she started to fall away from the church, seldom attending services or coming near to God... After some time, she had to surrender to the reality and solely depended on God to get through the tough time.
Mentioning the dark days, Xu expressed her gratitude and joy instead of grumbling and bitterness: God showed her her own weakness and limits, leading her to think and reflect on herself.
The Shanghainese Daniel Bian went to the church for the first time at the age of seven in the late 1970s when the church in Shanghai was just restored. Influenced by his devout Christian neighbors, he wanted to decide to be a Christian at 18. His grandparents were opposed to his future conversion due to the patriarchal values, but his parents still supported him. Later God gave him the wisdom to persuade his grandparents, but he gave up receiving baptism at 18, who regarded himself far away from being a qualified Christian.
Later his father suggested him study in a seminary, but he refused. Bian explained, "Because I don't want to be a pastor. If I keep telling people not to make mistakes like a surgeon ceaselessly sterilizing patients in my future life, that is too boring. I'm very curious about the sinful world, it has an irresistible attraction for me."
God still asked him whether he wanted to be His child when he was 20 and 30 years old. But his answer was always no. In hesitation, Daniel Bian missed over 30 years, but the word of God was rooted in his heart and laid his values.
He had a great success in the workplace. Despite graduating from a normal college, he obtained the position of director of human resources at a Fortune 500 company from a migrant worker who washed dishes. He became "the first person of Chinese professional consultant."
Bian added, "Since I was a child, I asked God to give me courage, wisdom, and confidence under stress – the three elements gave me great motivational force... but I didn't give glory to God. I glorified myself because I deserved the fruit of my intelligence, competence, bravery, and pains. I even believed that I should use more worldly means to maintain my success."
In the winter of 2007, he was wakened up from the sinful life through blows to his family, relationship, and health, starting to see the meaninglessness of the world and nature of life. His father died of cerebral hemorrhage and his mother who worshiped him as an idol wanted to commit suicide. His fiancee's parents raised harsh prerequisites for their marriage, wishing to use him as a tool of making money, which conflicted his Christian value of a loving family. Jealous of his fame, some human resource seniors attacked him, even by posting insulting words. What was worse, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer... Sunk in hatred 24 hrs, Bian finally walked into the church at 40. Hearing the sermon of Exodus, he prayed the sinners' prayer on that day.
A few years ago, he founded a fund for caring for AIDS patients of Shanghai Charity Foundation, the only Christian fund in Shanghai. In the past "Christian" was a symbol of progressiveness that led the world, he urged Christians to be pioneers in philanthropy, who should be the gold lampstands of society. "We need to unite Christian ministers in the church to show the power of a gold lampstand because the leading roles of social philanthropy must return to the hands of Christians and we are the motive force of philanthropy."
[Feature] God Still Reigns: Testimonies of Urban Christians in China
