According to the teachings of the Bible, the church encourages Christians to participate in community welfare activities. Although many churches and Christians in China are passionate, they gradually lose their enthusiasm after participating in community services and public welfare activities for a year or two. Mr. G, who has provided consulting services for small charity organizations and individuals for many years, shared his perspectives on this issue recently.
Mr. G is a Christian. At the beginning of 2008, a severe snowstorm in the south caused many migrant workers stranded at the train station and unable to go home for the Chinese New Year. That was the inception of Mr. G’s community services. Thereafter, he joined the Wenchuan Earthquake relief and other activities. He witnessed many zealous organizations and individuals stagnate for various reasons in their practices. He stated frankly, “There are numerous unsuccessful cases of churches and believers in providing community services. These cases include not only those that discontinue their services halfway but also those that remain but have lost their vitality.”
Reasons for failing in the initial stage
According to Mr. G, churches and Christians are not professional enough to provide community services. It is prone to failure in the initial stage.
The main reasons are as follows: The initiators have impure motives and their own agenda. In particular, churches and Christians tend to regard community services as a means of "evangelizing" or testimony-sharing opportunities. Because they do not provide services as an end, their enthusiasm is likely to diminish when they do not see the results of evangelism. Some are passionate about community services but do not want to play by the rules. Neither do they engage themselves in professional development. Little by little, they come to a stop. Some simply duplicate others’ work to save effort. They have learned on the superficial level but not the essence. Without seeing the results, they gradually stagnate after a year or two.
The reason to fall after getting on the right track
Even after charities or public welfare organizations are established, they could run into bottlenecks at a later stage. Here are some reasons for charity organizations and individual teams are unable to sustain their growth.
1. Leadership development
If an organization is dominated by one individual, no one else could take over when this person leaves the leadership position. Without a leadership successor, it will be difficult for the team to continue. Because there is so much business to attend to, it is not uncommon for leaders to be occupied by business and overlook the development and training of new leadership.
It could also be a deficit in leadership influence, which causes the followers to quit. For instance, the leader has problems with finances, marriage, or character.
2. Volunteers’ enthusiasm decreases due to negative feedback
Volunteers will definitely receive much negative feedback while providing community services. Any negative emotions and thoughts should be resolved. If the "garbage" is not cleaned up timely, it would be detrimental to the service providers themselves. The zeal and love of the service providers are vulnerable. They might be misunderstood, wronged, discredited, defamed, or falsely accused. Besides, these volunteers make mistakes like everyone else. All these would lead to a decline in enthusiasm to serve.
3. The issue of trust
People today are guarded and not receptive to services due to a lack of trust in each other. To resolve the trust issue, it is critical to find those who can help people open up to run the service.
4. The factor of social changes
As social changes occur rapidly, the population served is also constantly changing. The programs provided need to be tailored accordingly. It is difficult for the original program to last beyond three to five years in general. Another situation that is set up to fail is when the program is duplicated to serve another community without taking into consideration the different population structures.
5. Resources
Resources are a bottleneck that community service teams and institutions will inevitably face in the long-term development.
Three stages of the establishment of community service organizations
From a consultant’s perspective, Mr. G indicated that the process of initiating a service program can be roughly divided into three stages: mobilization, action, and team building (including registration).
He stated that mobilizing the community is the first step to establish a healthy community service organization. "Mobilizing" does not simply resort to "emotions." Rather, it is to help people understand the meaning of life and to examine their motives for providing services. "Preaching the gospel" or gaining other benefits ought not to be the goal of service programs for Christians. He emphasized, "If the motive is not pure, the organization will not go far."
Secondly, Mr. G suggested that action should be followed by registration for the next stage of establishment. In his opinion, it is important to put ideas into practice. Find the sweet spot and take action. Be specific and concrete. For example, a haircut service, meal delivery, or a moving service for a specific population. After the projects are implemented and practiced for a period of time, people will find their specialty areas. Subsequently, they can choose to be certified or receive professional training based on their gift and expertise.
Mr. G specifically pointed out, "Certification may not work for some people, but they can do things that others can't. There is no need to force them to be certified. Before a specific project is identified, avoid seeking certifications and registration blindly. The tedious preparatory work in the process may wear down some people's confidence and passion. Registration is optional even after the team is well established. If it is only a small-scale community service that does not cross communities, being flexible is desirable. For the teams that choose to register, we can also provide assistance to avoid detours."
Stable organizations maintain a healthy growth
Mr. G indicated that even after a service team is well established, professional guidance is still needed to provide consultation and leadership training and help resolve negative emotions. These will prevent the organizations from falling behind.
"After establishing a stable team, we need to consider how to promote healthy development. For example, how to get the support of the government and the church, how to transition when necessary, how to deal with failure, shortage of funds and resources, and organizational management issues, etc. Community services could be sparked by passion, but they need rational thinking to be the backing support. Rational thinking is a must. Many problems cannot be solved with passion but with rational thinking. That is why leadership training is required, and so are organizational management courses.” Mr. G added.
In addition, healthy development will go through transition and transformation. For instance, many teams were organized for earthquake relief. However, disaster relief is time specific and cannot be an everyday regular practice. Mr. G witnessed that charity teams formed because of the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008. Those who persist until today have all undergone some transformation.
Mr. G advocated that the service should be continuously deepened. He explained, "When we provide services, we will find that we can't just solve the superficial problems. Many times, there are underlying reasons or causes. For instance, the lonely elderly need not only material resources but genuine care; Taking care of employment problems for some people is more effective than simply giving them food. A project might initially start with providing supplies, but the service content needs to be transformed at a later stage. When tree leaves are wilting, it’s most likely that the root has a problem. We must learn the root cause of superficial problems. If the underlying need is addressed, the service could create a once-and-for-all impact.”
Mr. G also pointed out that the services for underlying causes can prevent problems from escalating. He gave us an example. To help a person (or a region) in poverty, we must think about whether there are spiritual and psychological reasons behind their poverty besides meeting their physical needs. If what people need is spiritual or psychological, material provision alone cannot solve any problems. Instead, it will grow people who are poor in spirit and mind.
- Translated by June I. Chen
教会根据圣经教导，鼓励基督徒参与社会公益活动，而很多教会和基督徒虽然有热心却在的参与社会服务和公益活动的一两年之后就慢慢失去热情。近日，一位为小型公益机构及慈善个人提供多年咨询服务的G老师对此问题分享了自己的看法。（==当summary）
G老师是一名基督徒。2008年初，南方特大雪灾事件导致很多农民工滞留火车站无法回家过年，G老师因此开始接触社会服务。之后他也陆续参与了汶川地震的救灾等活动，目睹了很多热心机构和个人在参与社会实践的路上因为各种原因而停滞。他坦言：教会和信徒参与社会公益，失败的案例非常多，这里的失败，不只是中途停下来、不能持续提供服务的团体，也包括那些虽然存在，但已经失去活力的团体。
起步阶段容易失败的原因
G老师谈到教会及基督徒参与社会服务工作不够专业，很容易在前期起步或者发起阶段失败的原因主要以下几点：
发起人动机不纯，有其他目的。尤其是教会和基督徒很容易把做社会服务当做是“传福音”或者希望有更多见证空间的手段。因为不是真心去做社会服务，很容易在看不到传福音的果效时，就失去服务的热情。有些人有热心做服务，但是不愿意按照规则去做，也不去发展资质，慢慢就停下来了.有些不能承受失败，想去复制别人的成功模式。学到了表面，没有学到内核，很可能一两年之后，看不到果效，慢慢就停滞了。
步入正轨后容易失败的原因
而即便慈善组织或公益机构逐渐步入正轨，后期也是会遇到瓶颈。导致服务机构及个人团队不能持续发展的原因：
1、领导力发展问题
一个机构如果是由一个人撑起来的，一旦这个人离开了，就没有其他人能接替。没有接班人，这个小团队就很难持续下去。这很常见，由于事情太多，领袖忙于业务而忽略领导力的发展和培训。
或者领袖本身影响力下降的问题导致跟随者不愿意跟从，比如：领袖自身出现财务、婚姻或者品格问题等。
2、负面影响导致的志愿者热情下降
志愿者做社会服务的同时肯定会看到很多负面信息，这些“垃圾”如果没有及时清理，负面情绪和想法没有及时疏导，对于服务者本身是极为不利的。此外，服务者的热心和爱心容易受到打击，可能遭到不理解、误解甚至抹黑和诬陷。还有一点，服务人员本身也会犯错。以上情况都会影响志愿者的服务热情。
3、爱心服务的信任感张力
现代人的防备心很强，彼此之间没有信任感，提供服务往往不容易被接受。要解决信任问题，就需要找到可以化解防备心的人群去操作。
4、社会变化因素
由于社会变化比较快，服务的人群也在不断发生变化，社会服务的内容也需要随之变化。一般3-5年时间左右，原有的项目就很难继续了。还有一种情况是，服务在扩张的时候，比如转移到一个陌生的社群，仍然复制同样的模式，往往也会失败，因为人群结构发生了变化。
5、资源
资源是社会服务团体和机构长期发展必然会面临的一个瓶颈。
社会服务机构孵化三阶段
G老师从咨询的角度谈到把一个社会服务机构孵化出来，大致分为三个阶段：动员、行动、团队建设（包括注册）。
G老师介绍说，为建立健康的社会服务机构，首先要对其进行动员工作。“动员”，不是简单地“煽情”，而是首先要帮助人们认识人生意义，并要为他们做社会服务的动机把关。基督徒做社会服务不应该以“传福音”或获取其他利益为目标。他强调：“如果动机不纯正，机构不会走的长远。”
其次，在行动和注册阶段，G老师建议行动在前，注册在后。他觉得需要帮助他们将想法落地，首先要找到切入点然后行动，比如先找好服务的对象，并确定具体要做的事情。比如具体到为某个人群提供理发、送餐或者搬家等可操作性的服务。找到这些能落地的项目并且实践一段时间之后，会发现擅长的领域，然后根据个人的恩赐和特长去选择考证、接受专业培训。
G老师特别指出，“有些人不适合考证，但是他能做别人做不了的事情，那就不要勉强他去考证。如果没有找到具体的项目去做就盲目考证和注册，前期繁琐的预备工作可能就会拖垮一些人的信心和热情。团队稳定之后也不一定要注册，如果只是小型的社区服务，不涉及到跨社区，其实灵活来做更好。对于那些选择注册机构的团队，我们也可以提供帮助，减少走弯路。”
稳定机构如何良性发展
G老师表示一个社会服务团队稳定建立起来之后，更需要专业的指导，帮助他们疏通理念、倾倒“垃圾”、做领导力方面的培训等以避免落队。
“建立稳定的团队之后，就需要考虑如何良性发展的问题。比如如何得到政府和教会的支持，如何在必要的时机实现转型，如何面对失败、资金以及资金以外的资源短缺问题、组织管理问题等等。社会服务，需要感性在前点火，理性作为后盾支持。必须有理性为后盾，必须要考虑很多只靠热情解决不了的问题。因此需要领导力培训，需要学习组织管理。” G老师补充道。
另外，适当转型也是良性发展的必要阶段。比如很多团队是从地震救灾开始的，但是不可能一直救灾。G老师看到2008年汶川地震中开始的一些慈善公益机构，坚持做到现在的都经历了转型。
G老师还主张服务要不断深化。他解释说：“我们去做服务时会发现不能只解决表面的需求，很多时候某些表面需求的背后有更深层的原因或者需求。比如孤寡老人需要的不仅仅是物质而是关怀；而对于有些人解决他的吃饭问题，不如解决他的就业问题等等。所以有些项目最初是提供物资，后期就需要转变服务内容。这就像一棵树的叶子蔫了，可能是根部出了问题。要学会透过现象判断问题的根源。根源的问题解决了，社会服务工作可能会达到一劳永逸的效果。”
G老师还指出深化服务还能避免一些问题。他举例说：帮助一个人（或一个地区）出现贫穷问题，除了给他（他们）提供物资，也要去考虑这个地区的人是不是精神上和心理上的贫穷导致的经济贫穷。如果是这方面原因，一味地给予物质帮助并不能解决实际问题，反而会培养一群心智上的穷人。
https://christiantimes.cn/news/38125/%E8%AE%BF%E8%B0%88%7C%E4%B8%80%E6%85%88%E5%96%84%E5%90%8C%E5%B7%A5%E5%88%86%E4%BA%AB%EF%BC%9A%E5%9F%BA%E7%9D%A3%E5%BE%92%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E5%9C%A8%E7%A4%BE%E4%BC%9A%E6%9C%8D%E5%8A%A1%E7%9A%84%E8%B7%AF%E4%B8%8A%E4%BF%9D%E6%8C%81%E8%89%AF%E6%80%A7%E5%8F%91%E5%B1%95%EF%BC%9F
访谈|一慈善同工分享：基督徒如何在社会服务的路上保持良性发展？
According to the teachings of the Bible, the church encourages Christians to participate in community welfare activities. Although many churches and Christians in China are passionate, they gradually lose their enthusiasm after participating in community services and public welfare activities for a year or two. Mr. G, who has provided consulting services for small charity organizations and individuals for many years, shared his perspectives on this issue recently.
Mr. G is a Christian. At the beginning of 2008, a severe snowstorm in the south caused many migrant workers stranded at the train station and unable to go home for the Chinese New Year. That was the inception of Mr. G’s community services. Thereafter, he joined the Wenchuan Earthquake relief and other activities. He witnessed many zealous organizations and individuals stagnate for various reasons in their practices. He stated frankly, “There are numerous unsuccessful cases of churches and believers in providing community services. These cases include not only those that discontinue their services halfway but also those that remain but have lost their vitality.”
Reasons for failing in the initial stage
According to Mr. G, churches and Christians are not professional enough to provide community services. It is prone to failure in the initial stage.
The main reasons are as follows: The initiators have impure motives and their own agenda. In particular, churches and Christians tend to regard community services as a means of "evangelizing" or testimony-sharing opportunities. Because they do not provide services as an end, their enthusiasm is likely to diminish when they do not see the results of evangelism. Some are passionate about community services but do not want to play by the rules. Neither do they engage themselves in professional development. Little by little, they come to a stop. Some simply duplicate others’ work to save effort. They have learned on the superficial level but not the essence. Without seeing the results, they gradually stagnate after a year or two.
The reason to fall after getting on the right track
Even after charities or public welfare organizations are established, they could run into bottlenecks at a later stage. Here are some reasons for charity organizations and individual teams are unable to sustain their growth.
1. Leadership development
If an organization is dominated by one individual, no one else could take over when this person leaves the leadership position. Without a leadership successor, it will be difficult for the team to continue. Because there is so much business to attend to, it is not uncommon for leaders to be occupied by business and overlook the development and training of new leadership.
It could also be a deficit in leadership influence, which causes the followers to quit. For instance, the leader has problems with finances, marriage, or character.
2. Volunteers’ enthusiasm decreases due to negative feedback
Volunteers will definitely receive much negative feedback while providing community services. Any negative emotions and thoughts should be resolved. If the "garbage" is not cleaned up timely, it would be detrimental to the service providers themselves. The zeal and love of the service providers are vulnerable. They might be misunderstood, wronged, discredited, defamed, or falsely accused. Besides, these volunteers make mistakes like everyone else. All these would lead to a decline in enthusiasm to serve.
3. The issue of trust
People today are guarded and not receptive to services due to a lack of trust in each other. To resolve the trust issue, it is critical to find those who can help people open up to run the service.
4. The factor of social changes
As social changes occur rapidly, the population served is also constantly changing. The programs provided need to be tailored accordingly. It is difficult for the original program to last beyond three to five years in general. Another situation that is set up to fail is when the program is duplicated to serve another community without taking into consideration the different population structures.
5. Resources
Resources are a bottleneck that community service teams and institutions will inevitably face in the long-term development.
Three stages of the establishment of community service organizations
From a consultant’s perspective, Mr. G indicated that the process of initiating a service program can be roughly divided into three stages: mobilization, action, and team building (including registration).
He stated that mobilizing the community is the first step to establish a healthy community service organization. "Mobilizing" does not simply resort to "emotions." Rather, it is to help people understand the meaning of life and to examine their motives for providing services. "Preaching the gospel" or gaining other benefits ought not to be the goal of service programs for Christians. He emphasized, "If the motive is not pure, the organization will not go far."
Secondly, Mr. G suggested that action should be followed by registration for the next stage of establishment. In his opinion, it is important to put ideas into practice. Find the sweet spot and take action. Be specific and concrete. For example, a haircut service, meal delivery, or a moving service for a specific population. After the projects are implemented and practiced for a period of time, people will find their specialty areas. Subsequently, they can choose to be certified or receive professional training based on their gift and expertise.
Mr. G specifically pointed out, "Certification may not work for some people, but they can do things that others can't. There is no need to force them to be certified. Before a specific project is identified, avoid seeking certifications and registration blindly. The tedious preparatory work in the process may wear down some people's confidence and passion. Registration is optional even after the team is well established. If it is only a small-scale community service that does not cross communities, being flexible is desirable. For the teams that choose to register, we can also provide assistance to avoid detours."
Stable organizations maintain a healthy growth
Mr. G indicated that even after a service team is well established, professional guidance is still needed to provide consultation and leadership training and help resolve negative emotions. These will prevent the organizations from falling behind.
"After establishing a stable team, we need to consider how to promote healthy development. For example, how to get the support of the government and the church, how to transition when necessary, how to deal with failure, shortage of funds and resources, and organizational management issues, etc. Community services could be sparked by passion, but they need rational thinking to be the backing support. Rational thinking is a must. Many problems cannot be solved with passion but with rational thinking. That is why leadership training is required, and so are organizational management courses.” Mr. G added.
In addition, healthy development will go through transition and transformation. For instance, many teams were organized for earthquake relief. However, disaster relief is time specific and cannot be an everyday regular practice. Mr. G witnessed that charity teams formed because of the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008. Those who persist until today have all undergone some transformation.
Mr. G advocated that the service should be continuously deepened. He explained, "When we provide services, we will find that we can't just solve the superficial problems. Many times, there are underlying reasons or causes. For instance, the lonely elderly need not only material resources but genuine care; Taking care of employment problems for some people is more effective than simply giving them food. A project might initially start with providing supplies, but the service content needs to be transformed at a later stage. When tree leaves are wilting, it’s most likely that the root has a problem. We must learn the root cause of superficial problems. If the underlying need is addressed, the service could create a once-and-for-all impact.”
Mr. G also pointed out that the services for underlying causes can prevent problems from escalating. He gave us an example. To help a person (or a region) in poverty, we must think about whether there are spiritual and psychological reasons behind their poverty besides meeting their physical needs. If what people need is spiritual or psychological, material provision alone cannot solve any problems. Instead, it will grow people who are poor in spirit and mind.
- Translated by June I. Chen
Interview: How Can Christians Maintain Healthy Development on the Path of Social Services?
