In the past three years, the church's in-person gatherings have been interrupted from time to time due to the pandemic. In order to continue pastoral care, many group fellowships have started online services. Taking a church in a city in northern Jiangsu as an example, the shepherd of a youth fellowship uses the internet platform to form WeChat study groups to conduct Bible studies.
Traditional group study is limited by time and space and cannot cover many aspects. WeChat groups have no limit on time and space so believers can learn anytime and anywhere. With the playback function, believers who do not participate in online learning can play back at any time to catch up with others in Bible studies.
At the same time, the fellowship leader also understands the individual ability of each group member and will formulate customized learning plans according to their individual needs. For example, believers with lively and active personalities will be arranged as the host or lead readers in the group, while the believers with quiet personalities will focus more on their ability of prudence and analysis.
While focusing on "teaching" and "learning" in WeChat group courses, the pastor also emphasizes “practice”, guiding believers to participate in practices, such as leading believers in taking Bible study notes and encouraging believers to write spiritual articles and publish them on platforms such as WeChat official account or Meipian (a Chinese we media platform). In the process, the pastor would give inspiration and appropriate suggestions. In the practice, the pastor should have the courage to let believers try and make mistakes. By making mistakes, they can learn from their failures.
In cultivating believers' self-learning ability, the pastor should stimulate their desire to learn. For the vast majority, the decisive factor is that pastors should create a situation similar to scientific research in their Bible study activities so that believers can discover problems and seek answers through their own perception, observation, and operation. During a Bible study, believers learn to collect, think about, and judge all kinds of information through active experience. This will promote their thinking, practice, and creativity so that believers can have a comprehensive understanding of Bible knowledge and spiritual life practice.
During this period, pastors should develop believers’ habits of self-management, and believers can make a plan for their own learning situation and progress. Believers will record and manage themselves, while pastors only give suggestions and opinions when appropriate. This is reading self-management, which cultivates believers' initiative and autonomy in learning.
The Bible study WeChat group can have communication and study without the limitations of time and space and can also extend the study to real life and belief practice. Believers can learn and analyze from multiple angles and dimensions and have a wider theological cognitive scope. In addition, believers can be encouraged to participate in a series of theological bible studies to form a systematic and solid foundation of faith.
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
这三年，教会的线下实体聚会是断断续续，停停开开。为了能够让教会在特殊时期继续实现牧养的不间断，许多小组团契开启了网络侍奉。以苏北城市一家教会，青年团契的负责牧者利用互联信息平台，通过学习微信群，进行团契查经工作。
传统小组查经受时间、空间的限制，有时无法关顾到每个信徒的每一个时间节点的学习。而学习微信群则可以超越时间、空间，让信徒可以随时随地进行学习。并且学习微信群的回放功能，可以让没有参加微信群线上学习的信徒，在任何时间都可以进行回放学习，让每一节查经课都不会落下。
与此同时，团契负责人还注重信徒个性化能力的淬炼，会根据群成员的个性特点来为他们制定不一样的学习方案。比如性格比较活泼好动的信徒，负责人会让他在群里做主持人或领读员的角色；而性情比较安静的信徒，负责人会着重培养他们审慎、剖析的能力。
团契负责牧者在微信群课程中注重“教”与“学”的同时，更要注重信徒的“实践”。即让信徒参与实践与活动之中，比如引导信徒做查经笔记，鼓励信徒写灵修文章发表在公众号或美篇等平台。在信徒做的过程中，牧者可以给予启发，并给予适当的建议。在“做”这一查经学习理念里，牧者需要知道的就是勇于让信徒试误，即不怕犯错误，多犯几次错误，让他们在失败中总结教训经验。
在培养信徒自主学习能力的过程中，应激发他们自主学习的欲望。对于绝大多数人来说，决定性因素就是牧者在查经活动中，要创设一种类似科学研究的情景，让信徒通过自身的感知、观察、操作等活动来发现问题、 寻求答案。在查经活动中，信徒通过主动参与体验，学会对各种信息的收集、思考和判断。从而促进思维、 实践和创造能力的发展，进而让信徒对圣经知识、属灵生活实践有一个全面的认知。
在此期间，牧者要让信徒养成自主管理的习惯，即让信徒自己对自身的学习情况与进度做一个规划表。让信徒自己去记录与管理，而牧者只是在适当的时候给予建议与意见。这就是阅读自主管理，培养信徒学习的能动性与自主性。
查经学习微信群是网络里的超时空交流、学习，还可以将这种学习延伸至现实生活中、信仰实践中。让信徒可以多角度、多维度地进行学习与思辨，让信徒的神学认知范围更开阔、更广泛。另外可以鼓励信徒全程参与一系列的神学查经，形成系统而扎实的信仰基础。
学习微信群促团契小组成员全景式查经
In the past three years, the church's in-person gatherings have been interrupted from time to time due to the pandemic. In order to continue pastoral care, many group fellowships have started online services. Taking a church in a city in northern Jiangsu as an example, the shepherd of a youth fellowship uses the internet platform to form WeChat study groups to conduct Bible studies.
Traditional group study is limited by time and space and cannot cover many aspects. WeChat groups have no limit on time and space so believers can learn anytime and anywhere. With the playback function, believers who do not participate in online learning can play back at any time to catch up with others in Bible studies.
At the same time, the fellowship leader also understands the individual ability of each group member and will formulate customized learning plans according to their individual needs. For example, believers with lively and active personalities will be arranged as the host or lead readers in the group, while the believers with quiet personalities will focus more on their ability of prudence and analysis.
While focusing on "teaching" and "learning" in WeChat group courses, the pastor also emphasizes “practice”, guiding believers to participate in practices, such as leading believers in taking Bible study notes and encouraging believers to write spiritual articles and publish them on platforms such as WeChat official account or Meipian (a Chinese we media platform). In the process, the pastor would give inspiration and appropriate suggestions. In the practice, the pastor should have the courage to let believers try and make mistakes. By making mistakes, they can learn from their failures.
In cultivating believers' self-learning ability, the pastor should stimulate their desire to learn. For the vast majority, the decisive factor is that pastors should create a situation similar to scientific research in their Bible study activities so that believers can discover problems and seek answers through their own perception, observation, and operation. During a Bible study, believers learn to collect, think about, and judge all kinds of information through active experience. This will promote their thinking, practice, and creativity so that believers can have a comprehensive understanding of Bible knowledge and spiritual life practice.
During this period, pastors should develop believers’ habits of self-management, and believers can make a plan for their own learning situation and progress. Believers will record and manage themselves, while pastors only give suggestions and opinions when appropriate. This is reading self-management, which cultivates believers' initiative and autonomy in learning.
The Bible study WeChat group can have communication and study without the limitations of time and space and can also extend the study to real life and belief practice. Believers can learn and analyze from multiple angles and dimensions and have a wider theological cognitive scope. In addition, believers can be encouraged to participate in a series of theological bible studies to form a systematic and solid foundation of faith.
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
'Panoramic Bible Study' in WeChat Group Promotes Fellowship
