Since the outbreak of the pandemic three years ago, churches across the country have been suspended, opened, and suspended again. Many ministries have been impacted negatively. Meanwhile, churches are also facing the problem of losing believers. However, the membership in a church in southern Fujian did not decrease but increased instead during the pandemic.
In addition to the church's timely online ministries at the beginning of the pandemic, the senior pastor of the church shared another surprising reason — evangelizing through funeral services.
Recently, the Gospel Times, a Chinese online Christian media, interviewed Pastor S, the senior pastor of the church about the process of the church’s exploration in funeral ministry.
Church Q has a history of more than 100 years. Tracing back to the reason why the church offers funeral services, the pastor indicated that this has been a fine tradition passed down through the generations.
"In our region, weddings and funerals are a top priority. Funerals, in particular, are much larger in scale than those elsewhere." Pastor S said, "Our church has been rooted here for hundreds of years. It is not surprising to place emphasis on the believers’ funeral services. That is how the tradition of funeral service has been preserved.”
Moreover, the pastor firmly believes that funeral service is a ministry that deserves special attention in the church in terms of demand. "More than 100 brothers and sisters in our church rest in peace every year. The number almost makes up a small church. Now the aging of the church members has become prevailing. It is the responsibility and mission of the church to provide hospice care for the elderly believers."
Because of the tradition and the demand, funeral services have “exceptionally” become as important as other ministries in Church Q. To this end, the church has two pastors in charge of funeral services to streamline "hospice care" and "funeral planning." Furthermore, all the pastors in the church participate in the funeral service. "At one busiest time, our church held five memorial services simultaneously in one night. The five pastors in the church were sent to five places respectively at the same time to deliver funeral sermons. At another time, there were two or three funeral services held concurrently in the same location. It was confusing for believers to know which one to attend,” recalled a young pastor in the church.
In terms of logistical planning, Church Q organizes five events from the beginning to the end of a funeral after taking into account the local funeral customs and the remains’ need for pastoral care. The entire process lasts three days and two nights. In the course of these three days, the church will hold separate services for visitation, procession, burial, and memorial. Each detailed service aims for the relatives to grieve, receive condolences and feel hopeful before God’s throne of grace. While the relatives grieve, they can be grateful for God’s provision and ponder on the meaning of life during the service.
Thanks to a good balance between tradition and faith, the church's funeral service has naturally gained the recognition and support of many believers. Pastor S stated, "Over the years, the brothers and sisters in the church have been devoted. Whenever there is a funeral, everyone volunteers spontaneously to assist and serve. They have been a great help and encouragement to the pastoral staff.” Many who had never been familiar with the faith were touched and intrigued by the funeral and started coming to the church.
With years of inheritance and development, the pastor now has more new insights into the funeral service. "Actually, in our case, the funeral service is the only opportunity for the church to evangelize to the outside world under the current conditions." Compared with the past, the opportunities for churches to integrate into society and provide services have become much smaller in his view due to the pandemic and many other reasons. Funeral services are a good opportunity, which is hard to come by, to reach non-believers. The family of the deceased is the group to which the church attaches great importance.
"Some bereaved relatives have not yet believed in the Lord, and it is usually difficult for them to have time to gather together. We have been exploring proper ways to relieve their emotional pain, and to touch their hearts and souls through the love of Christ," Pastor S said.
Hoping to make the gospel known to more people through funeral services, Pastor S believes that sharing the gospel does not necessarily come from the sermon messages or prayers in funeral services. Rather, funeral attendants would notice the positive and hopeful attitudes of Christians towards life and death through the life testimonies of the deceased or the church members who serve in the funeral. That is how the seed of the gospel is sowed.
"Both life and death are in fact a spiritual battle of faith. The church cannot and should not shy away from helping believers comprehend the meaning of life and death. It is a sound approach for the church to explore ways of delivering relevant messages and caring," Pastor S added.
- Translated by June I. Chen
疫情发生三年以来，全国各地教会都陷入了暂停、开放、再度暂停中，在对各项圣工事工带来影响的同时，许多教会也在面临着或多或少的信徒流失的问题。而在闽南某地市的一间教会中，这里的信徒数量不仅在疫情期间没有减少，反而还在不断增加。
究其原因，除了教会早在疫情之初就及时开展线上牧养之外，教堂的负责牧者还向我们道出了另一个令人倍感意外的原因——借助丧事礼拜让福音广传。
近日，一中国的网络基督教媒体福音时报采访了该堂的负责牧者，他分享了教堂在丧事服侍方面的探索历程：
Q教堂已经走过了百余年历史，而追溯起教堂开展丧事服侍的原因，负责牧者表示，这可以说是教堂历来的沿袭下来的一项优良传统。
“在我们这里，婚丧嫁娶在民间是头等大事，尤其是丧礼更是重视，规模和仪式都要比其他地方要盛大许多。”负责牧师S牧师向我们如此介绍道，“我们教堂也在这片土地上扎根了上百年，所以也就自然而然会对信徒的丧葬事宜特别的注重，丧葬服事的传统也就这样保留下来了。”
另一方面，就教堂现实的牧养需求而言，S牧师也坚定地认同丧葬服事是教会中一项值得特别着重关注的事工。“我们堂里每年光归天家的弟兄姊妹就有一百多位，差不多等于一个小教会。现在教会里老龄化已经成为十分现实的趋势，做好老年信徒的临终关怀，也是教会的职责与使命。”
正是在历史与现实的双重因素影响下，在Q教堂，丧礼服事被“破格”提升为了与其他牧养事工同等重要的一项工作。为此，教堂还特别安排了两位牧师专门负责治丧服侍，将“临终关怀”与“丧礼筹办”进行了专职专人的对接。不仅如此，堂里所有牧者也都会参与到丧礼的服侍中。“最忙碌的一次，我们教会一晚上要同时举办五场追思礼拜，堂里五位牧者要同时派去五个地方进行丧礼证道。还有一次，同一个场所里有两三家丧礼在同步举行，搞得信徒们都不知道该去参加哪一场了。”另一位青年牧者向我们回忆道。
在丧礼的筹办方面，Q教堂则是结合当地传统丧葬习俗以及对于丧家牧养关怀的实际需求，将丧礼的完整流程设定为了前后共五场，时间长达三天两夜的追思礼拜。在这三天的过程中，教会将会从入殓、出殡、追思、遗体告别等五个环节分别举行礼拜，旨在通过每一场细化的礼拜，让丧亲的悲伤都能在神的施恩宝座前得着化解、安慰与盼望，并让亲友能够在表达哀伤的同时，能够在丧礼中感恩神对生命的保守以及思考生命的意义。
由于做到了传统与信仰的兼顾，教会的丧礼服事自然也收获了许多信徒的认可与支持，S牧师表示：“这么多年来，堂里的弟兄姊妹都很热心，每逢有归天家的弟兄姊妹家里举办丧礼，大家都会自发参与到帮忙服侍的队伍里来，给我们教牧同工带来了很大的帮助与鼓励。” 而不少原先未曾接触过信仰的肢体，也通过参加丧礼而受到了触动，对于教会与信仰产生了兴趣，并走进了教会。
走过多年的传承与发扬之路，现如今，牧师对于丧礼服事又有了更多新的感悟，“实际上，在我们这里，丧事礼拜是目前条件下教会能够唯一对外布道的机会。”在他看来，由于疫情等诸多原因，教堂目前能够融入社会参与服侍的机会相较以往已经大为减少，而丧事礼拜则成为少有的能够聚集非信徒的契机。而在这之中，丧家的家属是教会尤为重视的群体。
“有些丧家的亲属还没有信主，平时他们也很难有时间去聚在一起，而怎样能以合宜的方式用基督的爱去抚慰他们内心的伤痛，打动他们的心，触动他们的灵魂，这也是我们一直在探索的功课。”苏牧师说。
尽管希望能够借助丧事礼拜让更多人认识福音，但苏牧师认为，让非信徒了解福音并不一定非要借助丧礼中的证道、祷告等形式，而是希望通过逝者或是参与服侍的主内肢体的生命见证，让人看到基督徒对于死亡与生命彰显出的美好乐观的态度，在心底种下福音的种子。
“不论生与死，其实都是一场关乎信心的属灵争战，而如何帮助信徒更好的认识生命，认识死亡，教会不用避讳，也不应避讳，做好正面的教导与关怀，这才是教会应当探索的美好道路。”S牧师牧师补充道。
专访闽南教会一牧者：丧事礼拜也可以成为更多生命的祝福
Since the outbreak of the pandemic three years ago, churches across the country have been suspended, opened, and suspended again. Many ministries have been impacted negatively. Meanwhile, churches are also facing the problem of losing believers. However, the membership in a church in southern Fujian did not decrease but increased instead during the pandemic.
In addition to the church's timely online ministries at the beginning of the pandemic, the senior pastor of the church shared another surprising reason — evangelizing through funeral services.
Recently, the Gospel Times, a Chinese online Christian media, interviewed Pastor S, the senior pastor of the church about the process of the church’s exploration in funeral ministry.
Church Q has a history of more than 100 years. Tracing back to the reason why the church offers funeral services, the pastor indicated that this has been a fine tradition passed down through the generations.
"In our region, weddings and funerals are a top priority. Funerals, in particular, are much larger in scale than those elsewhere." Pastor S said, "Our church has been rooted here for hundreds of years. It is not surprising to place emphasis on the believers’ funeral services. That is how the tradition of funeral service has been preserved.”
Moreover, the pastor firmly believes that funeral service is a ministry that deserves special attention in the church in terms of demand. "More than 100 brothers and sisters in our church rest in peace every year. The number almost makes up a small church. Now the aging of the church members has become prevailing. It is the responsibility and mission of the church to provide hospice care for the elderly believers."
Because of the tradition and the demand, funeral services have “exceptionally” become as important as other ministries in Church Q. To this end, the church has two pastors in charge of funeral services to streamline "hospice care" and "funeral planning." Furthermore, all the pastors in the church participate in the funeral service. "At one busiest time, our church held five memorial services simultaneously in one night. The five pastors in the church were sent to five places respectively at the same time to deliver funeral sermons. At another time, there were two or three funeral services held concurrently in the same location. It was confusing for believers to know which one to attend,” recalled a young pastor in the church.
In terms of logistical planning, Church Q organizes five events from the beginning to the end of a funeral after taking into account the local funeral customs and the remains’ need for pastoral care. The entire process lasts three days and two nights. In the course of these three days, the church will hold separate services for visitation, procession, burial, and memorial. Each detailed service aims for the relatives to grieve, receive condolences and feel hopeful before God’s throne of grace. While the relatives grieve, they can be grateful for God’s provision and ponder on the meaning of life during the service.
Thanks to a good balance between tradition and faith, the church's funeral service has naturally gained the recognition and support of many believers. Pastor S stated, "Over the years, the brothers and sisters in the church have been devoted. Whenever there is a funeral, everyone volunteers spontaneously to assist and serve. They have been a great help and encouragement to the pastoral staff.” Many who had never been familiar with the faith were touched and intrigued by the funeral and started coming to the church.
With years of inheritance and development, the pastor now has more new insights into the funeral service. "Actually, in our case, the funeral service is the only opportunity for the church to evangelize to the outside world under the current conditions." Compared with the past, the opportunities for churches to integrate into society and provide services have become much smaller in his view due to the pandemic and many other reasons. Funeral services are a good opportunity, which is hard to come by, to reach non-believers. The family of the deceased is the group to which the church attaches great importance.
"Some bereaved relatives have not yet believed in the Lord, and it is usually difficult for them to have time to gather together. We have been exploring proper ways to relieve their emotional pain, and to touch their hearts and souls through the love of Christ," Pastor S said.
Hoping to make the gospel known to more people through funeral services, Pastor S believes that sharing the gospel does not necessarily come from the sermon messages or prayers in funeral services. Rather, funeral attendants would notice the positive and hopeful attitudes of Christians towards life and death through the life testimonies of the deceased or the church members who serve in the funeral. That is how the seed of the gospel is sowed.
"Both life and death are in fact a spiritual battle of faith. The church cannot and should not shy away from helping believers comprehend the meaning of life and death. It is a sound approach for the church to explore ways of delivering relevant messages and caring," Pastor S added.
- Translated by June I. Chen
Interview With Pastor in Southern Fujian: Funeral Services Could Be Blessing to Many
