The "Happiness Group's gospel ministry", promoted by the Hainan Haixiu Church, seeks to evangelize and lead people to the Lord. It has been performed in two batches of catechumens, which has a significant effect.
Mr. Zhu, the pastor in charge of the ministry, introduced that the Happiness Group was an extension of the original Cell Group of the Church. The authentic cell group leader was named the new group leader called Blessing Leader in the Happiness Group. Three or four original Cell Group members were selected into the new group. After they discussed strategies through a tea party, the Happiness Group team was formally formed.
Once the team was established, the co-workers had to look for friends who had not yet believed in the Lord. These people were called "BEST" and were the target of evangelism. In Zhu's view, the team did not need too many members. The most important thing was that "the co-workers must have the same intention, the same mind, and the same confidence to save people from the darkness."
A "Happiness Group" was composed of a Blessing Leader, three or four co-workers, plus their BEST (those invited friends who had not yet known the Lord as their Savior). Started in July 2019, 14 happiness groups of Haixiu Church were established in the first session. A total of 77 colleagues participated in the evangelism for 87 catechumens, eventually, there were 54 people baptized to become Christians.
The "Happiness Group" campaign had to be suspended for a few months after the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. When the church resumed its gathering in June, it held a second "Happiness Group" session, which established 26 groups with 285 catechumens participating, while 68 people were baptized. In the subsequent baptisms, most of them were the fruits of the Happiness Group. It is estimated that the number of baptized people from the second batch will be over 80.
Zhu said that the Happiness Group was an evangelical platform deliberately created as the locomotive ministry by Haixiu Church. It was the starting point as well as the goal of all the church's ministries. "If there is no success of the Happiness Group, there will be no driving force for follow-up work," said the pastor.
Unlike traditional churches, the Happiness Group is dedicated to group preaching the gospel. "We need group evangelism. Instead of preaching alone, a group of people work together.", said Zhu. In his view, real evangelism should be like this. He continued, "It's like working in a big harvest field where it's very laborious for one person, and it's difficult to complete the harvest effectively."
So far, each session of the Happiness Group" lasts 12 weeks. Brother Wu, another happiness group co-worker, said that the happiness group leader usually used different forms to complete the weekly theme according to the group members' characteristics. The specific time, place, and format of each group were freely arranged. Apart from the same article shared every week by all groups, the elderly groups took turns to share a testimony, for example, while the young people held tea parties to discuss pre-designed topics. It was relatively easy the whole process. The group leader needed only to control the direction of the case.
During the last week of the Happiness Group session, the group leader would ask the BEST members if they intended to be baptized, and the willing ones would enter the pre-baptism training class to prepare for baptism. In the next session, the newly baptized members can join the organization directly after simple training. They will take part in inviting and leading new catechumens. As for those who have not made up their minds, the group leaders will also ask them to continue participating in the next Happiness Group session.
Although the gospel group has only held two sessions, there are some real testimonies. Brother Wu told a story of an aunt, a cleaner, in the first batch of catechumens. After attending several group meetings, the people around her were surprised to see her changes. The sister testified that the people around her said that her whole person's state was completely different, "it seems that one will become happy once she/he joins the Happiness Group."
With the encouragement of everyone, the aunt was finally baptized. She has joined the Happiness Group with enthusiasm. Furthermore, she will work as a group leader in the coming session and look forward to passing the joy of knowing the Lord to more people around her.
- Translated by Jerry Liu
探索团体传福音的新路径——海口海秀教会“幸福小组”事工介绍
海南海秀教会积极推进的“幸福小组”福音事工，以传福音带领人归主为目的，针对慕道友，目前已经开展两期，效果明显。
该事工的负责人朱传道介绍，“幸福小组”从教会原有的细胞小组延伸而来，由原有的细胞小组组长担任组长（在“幸福小组”被称为福长），再从小组成员中挑选3-4 名有负担的成员，大家透过茶话会安排及讨论策略后，正式组建“幸福小组”同工团队。
团队成立后，同工们就要去寻找他们身边还未信主的朋友，这些人被称为“BEST”，也是他们传福音的目标对象。在朱传道看来，幸福小组同工团队不需要太多的成员，最重要的是，“同工必须是要有同一异象同一心志，同样信心统一沟通的，要将人从黑暗势力中救出来。”
基本上，一个“幸福小组”就是由一位福长，3-4 位的同工，再加上他们的BEST（那些慕道的，被邀请的朋友）而组成的。海秀教会一期“幸福小组”开始于2019年7月份，海秀教会第一期建立了14个幸福小组，共77为同工参与，为87位慕道友做福音布道，结束时有54人受洗成为基督徒。
受疫情影响，之后活动暂停。教会在2020年6月恢复聚会后便举办第二期“幸福小组”，建立26个幸福小组，有多达285位慕道友参与，最后有68人受洗归主。在后续的受洗中，多数也是幸福小组时候结的果子，预计受洗的人数达80多位。
朱传道说，作为海秀教会的火车头事工，幸福小组是教会刻意打造的一个传福音的平台，是教会所有事工的起点和落点，“如果没有幸福小组的成功，就没有后续工作的驱动力了”。
不同于传统教会，幸福小组致力于团体布道传福音的工作。“我们需要团体布道，不是单打独斗。而是有一群人，大家齐心合力来做”，在朱传道看来，真正的传福音应该如此，“好比一个大禾场收割的时候一样，一个人是很吃力的，也很难有效地来完成收割工作。”
每期“幸福小组”持续时间为12周。另一名幸福小组同工吴弟兄介绍道，幸福小组组长一般会根据组员的特点，采用不同的形式来完成每周的主题，各个小组除了每周分享的主题相同外，具体的时间、地点、形式都由小组自由安排，比如组内老年人居多的小组会在一起轮流分享见证，青年人居多的小组会举行茶话会，就某一主题展开交流讨论，整个过程相对轻松，组长们只需负责把控话题的方向。
在幸福小组的最后一周，组长会询问组员是否有意向受洗，愿意的组员会进入预备受洗培训班，预备受洗。到了下一期，之前一期的组员成受洗后就可以经由简单的培训后直接加入到组织中来，邀请和带领新一期的慕道友组员们。至于未做决定的成员，组长们也会邀请他们继续参加下一期的幸福小组。
虽然福音小组仅举办了两期，但其中不乏一些真实的见证。吴弟兄讲了这样一个故事，在第一期慕道友中有一位清洁工阿姨，在参加了几次小组聚会后，她身边的人就惊讶的看到了她身上的变化，这个姐妹见证说，身边的人说她整个人的状态完全不一样了，“就好像加入了幸福小组人就变得幸福了一样”。
最后，这位阿姨最后也在众人的鼓励下受洗归信，怀揣着对幸福小组的热情继续加入到了下一期的幸福小组中，而在这一期她作为组长，将这份认识主的幸福传递给了更多的人。
探索团体传福音的新路径——海口海秀教会“幸福小组”事工介绍
The "Happiness Group's gospel ministry", promoted by the Hainan Haixiu Church, seeks to evangelize and lead people to the Lord. It has been performed in two batches of catechumens, which has a significant effect.
Mr. Zhu, the pastor in charge of the ministry, introduced that the Happiness Group was an extension of the original Cell Group of the Church. The authentic cell group leader was named the new group leader called Blessing Leader in the Happiness Group. Three or four original Cell Group members were selected into the new group. After they discussed strategies through a tea party, the Happiness Group team was formally formed.
Once the team was established, the co-workers had to look for friends who had not yet believed in the Lord. These people were called "BEST" and were the target of evangelism. In Zhu's view, the team did not need too many members. The most important thing was that "the co-workers must have the same intention, the same mind, and the same confidence to save people from the darkness."
A "Happiness Group" was composed of a Blessing Leader, three or four co-workers, plus their BEST (those invited friends who had not yet known the Lord as their Savior). Started in July 2019, 14 happiness groups of Haixiu Church were established in the first session. A total of 77 colleagues participated in the evangelism for 87 catechumens, eventually, there were 54 people baptized to become Christians.
The "Happiness Group" campaign had to be suspended for a few months after the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. When the church resumed its gathering in June, it held a second "Happiness Group" session, which established 26 groups with 285 catechumens participating, while 68 people were baptized. In the subsequent baptisms, most of them were the fruits of the Happiness Group. It is estimated that the number of baptized people from the second batch will be over 80.
Zhu said that the Happiness Group was an evangelical platform deliberately created as the locomotive ministry by Haixiu Church. It was the starting point as well as the goal of all the church's ministries. "If there is no success of the Happiness Group, there will be no driving force for follow-up work," said the pastor.
Unlike traditional churches, the Happiness Group is dedicated to group preaching the gospel. "We need group evangelism. Instead of preaching alone, a group of people work together.", said Zhu. In his view, real evangelism should be like this. He continued, "It's like working in a big harvest field where it's very laborious for one person, and it's difficult to complete the harvest effectively."
So far, each session of the Happiness Group" lasts 12 weeks. Brother Wu, another happiness group co-worker, said that the happiness group leader usually used different forms to complete the weekly theme according to the group members' characteristics. The specific time, place, and format of each group were freely arranged. Apart from the same article shared every week by all groups, the elderly groups took turns to share a testimony, for example, while the young people held tea parties to discuss pre-designed topics. It was relatively easy the whole process. The group leader needed only to control the direction of the case.
During the last week of the Happiness Group session, the group leader would ask the BEST members if they intended to be baptized, and the willing ones would enter the pre-baptism training class to prepare for baptism. In the next session, the newly baptized members can join the organization directly after simple training. They will take part in inviting and leading new catechumens. As for those who have not made up their minds, the group leaders will also ask them to continue participating in the next Happiness Group session.
Although the gospel group has only held two sessions, there are some real testimonies. Brother Wu told a story of an aunt, a cleaner, in the first batch of catechumens. After attending several group meetings, the people around her were surprised to see her changes. The sister testified that the people around her said that her whole person's state was completely different, "it seems that one will become happy once she/he joins the Happiness Group."
With the encouragement of everyone, the aunt was finally baptized. She has joined the Happiness Group with enthusiasm. Furthermore, she will work as a group leader in the coming session and look forward to passing the joy of knowing the Lord to more people around her.
- Translated by Jerry Liu
Hainan Ministry Aims to Explore Group Evangelism
