Elderly believers in a church located in an East China city make up nearly 70% of the congregation. Despite the small number of believers, the church's various ministries are in full swing, with the elderly believers outnumbering younger believers in participation. How have they achieved it? Recently, a pastor of the church showed their practical experience to the Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper.
The meaning of service: overcome loneliness by loving each other
"In our small city, it is quite common for young people to migrate to bigger cities where they work or start families. Meanwhile, most elderly members as their parents staying here can rarely feel the warmth of home, which reflects the absence of the family," the female pastor of the church, C (pseudonym), shared.
At the same time, as the cognitive ability of the elderly weakens, the high-tech and high-efficiency modern life also put them at a loss. Nowadays, there are quite a few senior people who live in houses full of smart furniture but still maintain old-fashioned and simple living habits.
"In order to help the empty-nest elderly members to overcome loneliness, we start to implement the concept 'the church is the home of God's children', so that believers can experience the warmth of home in the church," said C.
Based on this pastoring concept, Church A (pseudonym) stresses more on the teaching in their regular sermons that believers should love each other. At the same time, they also encourage the elderly believers to help each other in the meeting points, fellowships, and small groups. Whenever an elderly believer encounters difficulties in life or physical health, other churchgoers in the same group, under the call of the pastor, will pay them a visit at their home offering comfort or making donations within their financial capabilities.
"It is observed that the elder members in our church really treat one another as family members, for we all understand that everyone may inevitably encounter some difficulties." C said: "At present, our elderly members gather at various meeting points in the city. Every morning they will check in with the WeChat group of devotionals, to exchange greetings and discuss their spiritual progress. Those who need help will also communicate in that group. Now, there are far fewer senior believers coming to pastors for a way out of loneliness or intercession than before.”
C also told the Gospel Times that the church would organize an outing for the elderly believers every six months. While admiring the beautiful scenery, they would enjoy the wonderful spiritual fellowship as well. "Many members acquainted with each other at outing camps have eventually become close friends in faith and life."
Seeing the need for ministries: pastors lead by example to revitalize the church
In the book Pastoral Care for the Elderly, the author, Dr. Li Zonggao, gave a detailed explanation of the duties of a pastor. He believed that for pastors, in addition to executing the roles of "prophet", "priest" and "shepherd", the "servant" office was also an indispensable and important part.
In reality, however, in some grassroots churches, the absence of pastors in the "servant" position is often one of the causes of tension inside the church. Some pastors give believers the impression of "being aloof". Except for during gatherings and worships, they don't see much of the pastors at all during the rest of the time.
“In order to encourage our pastoral staff to truly serve and care for the lay people, the church has set a benchmark of 100 family (or believers) visits per person per year for each of us. So almost every week we have a plan to visit the homes of believers,” C said. “During the suspension of onsite gatherings due to the pandemic, our visits were mostly to bring comfort and exhortation to believers, helping them with answers to some doubts about their faith. For the elderly or disabled members who are not familiar with smartphones, we also teach them how to use mobile phones. In this way, on the one hand, they can connect with the outside world at home. On the other hand, it also facilitates subsequent online pastoral communication.”
"Before, some believers who didn't know the situation might have some misunderstandings of our pastoral staff. When we went to their homes to visit with deep care, believers know more about us. When they saw the ministry need in the church, many elderly Christians began to join us in the visitation ministry.”
"Now, every time we visit, we don't worry about whether there will be a shortage of people to serve. Instead, everyone is enthusiastic about participating in the ministry, sometimes 'competing for the opportunity’!" She said with a smile.
Provide serving positions to believers
"The church now offers sufficient serving positions for the elderly members in the choir, the reception team, the cleaning team, and the visiting team. At present, all active (members) are participating in the church service," Pastor C said.
Today, in Church A, the elderly volunteers have accounted for over half the personnel in the church ministries. Nevertheless, their volunteer training continues.
"Next, we plan to empower the young believers and engage them in more ministries. Although there are not so many young members, it is still necessary for them to stand strong in the Lord. It is not always possible for the young people to enjoy the old ones' serving," Pastor C concluded.
Postscript:
Rev. Shan Weixiang, vice-president and general-secretary of CCC&TSPM, once articulated in the article "Some Reflections on Pastoring Silver-haired People in an Aging Society": "The church should attach importance to the elderly ministry, in which the basis is spiritual pastoring, the key is pure teaching, and the soul is loving care. Encouraging their participation in ministry is a channel for the elder people to make contributions.”
- Translated by Shuya Wang
在华东某地市的市区，有这么一家老年信徒占比近七成的教会，虽然信徒数量不多，但是教会的各项服侍却开展的如火如荼，而且老年信徒撑起了教会服侍的大半边天，那他们是如何做到的呢？近日，一次偶然的机会，该教会传道人同福音时报同工介绍了他们的实践经历：
看到服侍意义——在彼此相爱中走出孤独困境
“我们这里城市不大，年轻人外流现象还是比较常见的，儿女大多在外地工作或成家，留在当地的老人们就很少能感受到家的温暖，这就体现出一个家庭的缺位。”教会的传道人C姊妹向我们介绍。
与此同时，随着老年人认知能力的减弱，高科技、高效率的现代生活也令他们无所适从。现如今，坐拥满屋智能家具，却依旧保持着守旧古朴生活习惯的老人也不在少数。
“为了帮助我们教会的空巢老年肢体走出孤独，我们从‘教会就是神儿女的家’这一理念入手，让弟兄姊妹们在教会里重新找回家的温暖。”C传道表示。
基于这一牧养理念，A教堂在平时的证道中更加强调信徒当彼此相爱的教导，同时还积极发挥聚会点、团契以及小组的作用，鼓励老年弟兄姊妹们开展互助帮扶。每当某位老年肢体在生活或身体健康方面遇到难处时，与其同在一起的其他弟兄姊妹便会在牧者的呼召下，前往其家中进行探望慰问，或是进行力所能及的奉献。
“可以说，我们教会的老弟兄姊妹们真的是互相把对方当作亲人一样看待，大家也都明白，谁家都难免会遇上点难处。”C传道说，“目前我们的老年肢体分散在市区的各个聚会点，每天早上大家都会在灵修群里打卡，互相问候，交流灵修进度，有需要帮助的也会在群里交流。现在，来找牧者排解内心孤独，寻求代祷的老弟兄姊妹相比以前要少了许多。”
C传道还告诉笔者，教会还会每半年组织老年信徒们进行一次郊游，大家会在欣赏美景之余，享受属灵团契的美好相交。“许多肢体都是在郊游营会上相互熟悉，最后成为信仰与生活中的挚友的。”
看到服侍需要——牧者以身作则，让教会重焕活力
在《老年牧养学》一书中，作者李宗高博士曾对牧者应尽职分进行了细致的归纳讲解。他认为，对于牧者而言，除了“先知”“祭司”以及“牧人”职分以外，“仆人”职分同样是不可或缺的重要一环。
而在现实中的某些基层教会，牧者在“仆人”职分上的缺位则往往也会成为教会内部张力的成因之一。有些牧者带给信徒的印象是“神龙见首不见尾”，除了聚会礼拜，其余时间根本见不着人。
“为了勉励我们教牧同工真正做好对平信徒的服侍关怀，堂里为我们每位教牧同工设立了每人每年100个家庭（或信徒）的探访标杆。所以基本上每周我们都会有深入信徒家中的探访计划。”C传道向笔者介绍道。“疫情暂停期间，我们的探访更多是给弟兄姊妹带去安慰和劝勉，帮他们解答信仰中的一些疑惑。对于不会使用智能手机的老年肢体或残障肢体，我们也会顺便教他们手机的使用方法，这样一方面能让他们在家里跟外界接轨，另一方面也方便后续的线上牧养交流。”
“之前也会有一些不了解情况的信徒对我们教牧同工有这样那样的看法，但是当我们深入到信徒的家中送去探望关怀时，大家也渐渐对我们有了许多的见证，也看到了教会里的服侍需求，不少老年弟兄姊妹开始加入到我们的探访服侍的行列中了。”
“现在，我们每次探访都不担心会不会缺人服侍的问题，大家参与的热情高涨，有时候还需要‘抢名额’呢！”她笑着说道。
提供服侍岗位—— 让弟兄姊妹服侍有处
“教会现在为老年肢体们预备了充足的服侍岗位，圣诗班、接待组、清洁组、探访组……目前基本上能动的（肢体）都参与到教会的服侍中了。”C传道说
现如今，在A教堂，老年服侍义工已经担负起了教堂服侍的“大半边天”，然而，他们的义工栽培步伐却依旧没有止步。
“接下来，我们计划把青年信徒坚立起来，让他们参与更多的侍奉，虽说人数没有那么多，但是还是有必要让他们在主里站立起来的，不能总是让年轻人享受老年人的服侍。”说起接下来的信徒栽培计划，C传道向我们介绍。
后记：
单渭祥牧师曾在《老龄化社会中对银发族牧养的若干反思》一文中提出：“教会应重视长者事工，将灵性的牧养作为老人事工的基础、将纯正的教导作为长者牧养的关键、将爱心的关怀作为老人事工的灵魂、将鼓励参与事奉作为长者发挥余热的渠道。”
如何激发老年信徒的侍奉活力？看看这间教会是怎么做的
Elderly believers in a church located in an East China city make up nearly 70% of the congregation. Despite the small number of believers, the church's various ministries are in full swing, with the elderly believers outnumbering younger believers in participation. How have they achieved it? Recently, a pastor of the church showed their practical experience to the Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper.
The meaning of service: overcome loneliness by loving each other
"In our small city, it is quite common for young people to migrate to bigger cities where they work or start families. Meanwhile, most elderly members as their parents staying here can rarely feel the warmth of home, which reflects the absence of the family," the female pastor of the church, C (pseudonym), shared.
At the same time, as the cognitive ability of the elderly weakens, the high-tech and high-efficiency modern life also put them at a loss. Nowadays, there are quite a few senior people who live in houses full of smart furniture but still maintain old-fashioned and simple living habits.
"In order to help the empty-nest elderly members to overcome loneliness, we start to implement the concept 'the church is the home of God's children', so that believers can experience the warmth of home in the church," said C.
Based on this pastoring concept, Church A (pseudonym) stresses more on the teaching in their regular sermons that believers should love each other. At the same time, they also encourage the elderly believers to help each other in the meeting points, fellowships, and small groups. Whenever an elderly believer encounters difficulties in life or physical health, other churchgoers in the same group, under the call of the pastor, will pay them a visit at their home offering comfort or making donations within their financial capabilities.
"It is observed that the elder members in our church really treat one another as family members, for we all understand that everyone may inevitably encounter some difficulties." C said: "At present, our elderly members gather at various meeting points in the city. Every morning they will check in with the WeChat group of devotionals, to exchange greetings and discuss their spiritual progress. Those who need help will also communicate in that group. Now, there are far fewer senior believers coming to pastors for a way out of loneliness or intercession than before.”
C also told the Gospel Times that the church would organize an outing for the elderly believers every six months. While admiring the beautiful scenery, they would enjoy the wonderful spiritual fellowship as well. "Many members acquainted with each other at outing camps have eventually become close friends in faith and life."
Seeing the need for ministries: pastors lead by example to revitalize the church
In the book Pastoral Care for the Elderly, the author, Dr. Li Zonggao, gave a detailed explanation of the duties of a pastor. He believed that for pastors, in addition to executing the roles of "prophet", "priest" and "shepherd", the "servant" office was also an indispensable and important part.
In reality, however, in some grassroots churches, the absence of pastors in the "servant" position is often one of the causes of tension inside the church. Some pastors give believers the impression of "being aloof". Except for during gatherings and worships, they don't see much of the pastors at all during the rest of the time.
“In order to encourage our pastoral staff to truly serve and care for the lay people, the church has set a benchmark of 100 family (or believers) visits per person per year for each of us. So almost every week we have a plan to visit the homes of believers,” C said. “During the suspension of onsite gatherings due to the pandemic, our visits were mostly to bring comfort and exhortation to believers, helping them with answers to some doubts about their faith. For the elderly or disabled members who are not familiar with smartphones, we also teach them how to use mobile phones. In this way, on the one hand, they can connect with the outside world at home. On the other hand, it also facilitates subsequent online pastoral communication.”
"Before, some believers who didn't know the situation might have some misunderstandings of our pastoral staff. When we went to their homes to visit with deep care, believers know more about us. When they saw the ministry need in the church, many elderly Christians began to join us in the visitation ministry.”
"Now, every time we visit, we don't worry about whether there will be a shortage of people to serve. Instead, everyone is enthusiastic about participating in the ministry, sometimes 'competing for the opportunity’!" She said with a smile.
Provide serving positions to believers
"The church now offers sufficient serving positions for the elderly members in the choir, the reception team, the cleaning team, and the visiting team. At present, all active (members) are participating in the church service," Pastor C said.
Today, in Church A, the elderly volunteers have accounted for over half the personnel in the church ministries. Nevertheless, their volunteer training continues.
"Next, we plan to empower the young believers and engage them in more ministries. Although there are not so many young members, it is still necessary for them to stand strong in the Lord. It is not always possible for the young people to enjoy the old ones' serving," Pastor C concluded.
Postscript:
Rev. Shan Weixiang, vice-president and general-secretary of CCC&TSPM, once articulated in the article "Some Reflections on Pastoring Silver-haired People in an Aging Society": "The church should attach importance to the elderly ministry, in which the basis is spiritual pastoring, the key is pure teaching, and the soul is loving care. Encouraging their participation in ministry is a channel for the elder people to make contributions.”
- Translated by Shuya Wang
Church in East China Inspires Elderly Believers to Participate in Ministries
