It's not easy to do anything in this world and we shouldn’t expect it to be smooth if one wants to do things for the church. Sometimes there will be ‘storms’, but we believe that God has never left the church (if you think of it as a ship) because God is the God at the helm, and he is the God who leads us to sail continuously to our destination.
The need for pastors is high.
The first impression we have of urban migrant workers may be that they are looking for jobs, their elderly family members stay behind to attend the children (or perhaps mainly women who stay behind) as well as the young working class who participate in different jobs. It is not easy to set up a church for urban migrant workers to begin with because it takes a lot of resources, which require not only the commitment of pastors but also suitable venues and a proper gathering time. Considering that most groups working in cities have very strict requirements on time, some have time in the morning and evening, and some have time at noon. Therefore, the scheduling of city churches requires that clergy and pastors must painstakingly arrange them one by one.
Newly established churches of urban migrant workers need not only the time that pastors can give but also a lot of their energy, and pastors have more to let go than believers. A newly established church puts many demands on pastors. There are courses and lectures that need to be prepared. They must also be distributed and delivered in different stages. Because there are old and new believers in the new urban church for working class one pastor is far from enough. Many pastors are needed to coordinate with each other, including those responsible for training, those responsible for prayers, those responsible for group Bible study, those responsible for visiting and caring for the training of new believers, and those who preach the gospel to save people.
The demand for economic resources is high.
In fact, for a new church, one of the major problems is finances. Renting places requires funds, the daily expenses of the church need economic support, and the everyday life of a pastor also needs funds. On the other hand, the church needs to buy tables and chairs, communion sets, kitchen utensils, and so on. I visited a newly established urban working-class church and found that the church was facing more economic pressure. Although believers would give, there were shortages sometimes because the expenses in different areas were different. If the church needed to support its staff, it needed to meet their basic living needs and additional family subsidies so that people could be attracted and pastors could work exclusively.
When I went to northern Henan, I saw that some pastors were laid off. The reason was that the churches of the urban working class lack young people, all of whom were old people. Because the elderly believers did not have a fixed job and could not afford to support their pastors they finally chose to leave the city church and chose to serve another church while also working to earn money. Later, the pastors rarely went to the church where he served.
Preaching the gospel is difficult.
When a church is founded, we often focus on "how many people there are in the church". In fact, this focus is only about the number, but a revived church is concerned not only with the number of people but also with the improvement in quality and spiritual growth.
Evangelism is the way out for the church. Newly established city churches are full of challenges in preaching because there are people with different backgrounds and beliefs in the city and even atheists. When faced with people of different groups and identities, the ways and methods of preaching the gospel will also be different. In addition, there are many crises and obstacles in the external environment and the gospel ministry is full of difficulties.
In some areas I visited, the local gospel choir and dance teams were stopped. It seemed that many people thought that singing must be done in a church and not in other places.
Although there are many working groups in cities whose churches have just been established, I believe that God will keep providing guidance because the church is not our own, and God is responsible for the stability of the church. I firmly believe that God will open a way for the present church to preach the gospel.
- Translated by Charlie Li
引子：
在这个世界上做什么事都不是容易的，我们也不要想做教会的事就可以一帆风顺；有时会有风雨飘摇、狂风大作，但要相信神始终没有离开教会这艘船，因为神是掌舵的神，更是带领我们不断航行的神，直达目的地。
一，对于传道人的需求
城市打工群体教会给我们的第一印象可能就是以打工人、留守看孩子的老年人、亦或妇女为主要群体的，当然也包括参与不同工作的年轻上班族。城市打工群体教会的起初建立阶段是不容易的，因为需要的资源非常多，既需要传道人的委身，也需要合适的场地，合宜的聚会时间安排。考虑大多数在城市工作的群体，对于时间都有非常严格的要求，有的是早晚有时间，有的是中午有时间，因此城市教会的调度也让同工与传道人煞费苦心，一一按秩序安排。
城市打工群体教会的新兴建立，不仅需要传道人花时间，也需要耗费很多精力，要放下的也比信徒更多。刚建立的教会，对于传道人的要求是多方面的，需要预备的课程和讲题也是分不同阶段，进行不同程度地栽培学习。因为刚建立起的城市打工群体教会，有老信徒也会有新信徒，一位传道人是远远不够的，需要多位传道人进行搭配协作，有负责牧养的，有负责带祷告的，有负责小组查经的，有负责探访关怀初信徒栽培的，以及传福音吸纳人群的。
二，对于经济资源的需求
其实对于刚建立起的教会来讲，所面临的一大问题就是资金问题，因为租地方需要资金，教会的日常开销需要经济的支持，传道人的饮食生活也需要资金。还有一方面就是教会需要购置桌椅凳子、圣餐工具、厨房用具等。笔者曾走访过刚建立起的城市打工群体教会，就发现城市里的教会更加面对经济方面的压力，虽然信徒会奉献，但有时候也有缺乏，因为地点不同场地的花销也不一样，教会需要养工人，就需要满足工人的基本生活需求，而且还需要额外的家庭补助，以便于可以留住人，使传道人专一作工。
笔者去到豫北地区的时候，就看到有一些传道人下岗的现象，原因是城市打工群体教会缺乏年轻人，都是老年人。因为老年人没有固定工作，也供应不起，所以最终传道人选择离开了城市教会，自己选择一边服事本地教会，一边参与工作，后来也很少去到原来服事的教会。
三，福音拓展的艰难
当一间教会初建立时，我们常常关心的是“教会有多少人”，其实这句话只是在关心数量的问题，但一间复兴的教会所关心的不仅仅是人数的多少，比这更重要的是质量的提升，生命的长进。
传福音是教会的出路，刚建立起来的城市教会在传福音上是充满挑战的，因为城市中有不同的群体，不同背景、不同信仰的人，甚至还会有无神论的问题。当面对不同群体、不同身份的人时，传福音的方式和方法也是不一样的。再加上如今外在的环境存在诸多危机和阻拦，福音的工作也充满了困难。
笔者去到一些地区走访时，当地的福音诗歌、舞蹈是被叫停的，似乎很多人认为唱歌就要到教会里去唱，不要在其它地方。
虽然有许多城市打工群体教会是刚建立起来的，但相信神会一路保守前行，因为教会不是我们个人的，对于教会的稳固是由神负责的，坚信神会为当下的教会开传福音的出路。
观察丨刚建立的城市打工群体教会所面临的压力
It's not easy to do anything in this world and we shouldn’t expect it to be smooth if one wants to do things for the church. Sometimes there will be ‘storms’, but we believe that God has never left the church (if you think of it as a ship) because God is the God at the helm, and he is the God who leads us to sail continuously to our destination.
The need for pastors is high.
The first impression we have of urban migrant workers may be that they are looking for jobs, their elderly family members stay behind to attend the children (or perhaps mainly women who stay behind) as well as the young working class who participate in different jobs. It is not easy to set up a church for urban migrant workers to begin with because it takes a lot of resources, which require not only the commitment of pastors but also suitable venues and a proper gathering time. Considering that most groups working in cities have very strict requirements on time, some have time in the morning and evening, and some have time at noon. Therefore, the scheduling of city churches requires that clergy and pastors must painstakingly arrange them one by one.
Newly established churches of urban migrant workers need not only the time that pastors can give but also a lot of their energy, and pastors have more to let go than believers. A newly established church puts many demands on pastors. There are courses and lectures that need to be prepared. They must also be distributed and delivered in different stages. Because there are old and new believers in the new urban church for working class one pastor is far from enough. Many pastors are needed to coordinate with each other, including those responsible for training, those responsible for prayers, those responsible for group Bible study, those responsible for visiting and caring for the training of new believers, and those who preach the gospel to save people.
The demand for economic resources is high.
In fact, for a new church, one of the major problems is finances. Renting places requires funds, the daily expenses of the church need economic support, and the everyday life of a pastor also needs funds. On the other hand, the church needs to buy tables and chairs, communion sets, kitchen utensils, and so on. I visited a newly established urban working-class church and found that the church was facing more economic pressure. Although believers would give, there were shortages sometimes because the expenses in different areas were different. If the church needed to support its staff, it needed to meet their basic living needs and additional family subsidies so that people could be attracted and pastors could work exclusively.
When I went to northern Henan, I saw that some pastors were laid off. The reason was that the churches of the urban working class lack young people, all of whom were old people. Because the elderly believers did not have a fixed job and could not afford to support their pastors they finally chose to leave the city church and chose to serve another church while also working to earn money. Later, the pastors rarely went to the church where he served.
Preaching the gospel is difficult.
When a church is founded, we often focus on "how many people there are in the church". In fact, this focus is only about the number, but a revived church is concerned not only with the number of people but also with the improvement in quality and spiritual growth.
Evangelism is the way out for the church. Newly established city churches are full of challenges in preaching because there are people with different backgrounds and beliefs in the city and even atheists. When faced with people of different groups and identities, the ways and methods of preaching the gospel will also be different. In addition, there are many crises and obstacles in the external environment and the gospel ministry is full of difficulties.
In some areas I visited, the local gospel choir and dance teams were stopped. It seemed that many people thought that singing must be done in a church and not in other places.
Although there are many working groups in cities whose churches have just been established, I believe that God will keep providing guidance because the church is not our own, and God is responsible for the stability of the church. I firmly believe that God will open a way for the present church to preach the gospel.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Newly Established Churches Formed by Urban Migrant Workers Face Pressure
