The three-year-long pandemic has had both positive and negative effects on the churches in China. The bad news is that church gatherings aren't as free as they used to be, believers are leaving in large numbers, and pastors' and evangelists' spiritual lives have dried up. The good news is that church pastors are starting to realize that the church can't just be a building. Instead of a focus on food and the number of churches, there should be a focus on pastoral strategies that are nuanced and focus on the family.
A few days ago, seven Boomers and Gen X pastors in East China exchanged views on the changes brought to the church by the post-pandemic era and talked about their concerns and worries. The following narratives are in the first person.
Pastor Qi
Keywords: training group leaders; pastoral ability; and meticulous pastoral ministry
During the pandemic, thanks to the Lord’s protection, the turn-round rate of our church was about one-twentieth. Our church was mainly concerned with the training of group leaders and the herding of groups. That is the top priority of my church. At the same time, for the development of individual spirituality and the whole church, there are more ways to improve the level of pastoral care. We began to pay attention to the refined pastoral care of groups. In addition, I think different churches can help each other with church resources and information so that they can support each other.
Xu, a teacher
Keywords: the church into the society; workplace ministry; the Great Commission
Through the three-year pandemic, my focus was on how my church responded to the challenges posed by the frequent disasters in the apocalyptic era. For example, wars, floods, and earthquakes are increasing, so how can the church pay attention to every believer and their family? I think the linkage of workplace ministry can meet this challenge. For example, you can set up a main resort to prepare for the health of workers, combined with Chinese medicine. Church pastors need comfort in interaction. Social concern includes three parts, the first is the ministry of spiritual life, the second is the ministry of how to solve the life difficulties of their families, and the third is the ministry for the needs of the elderly and families of the laity and fellow-workers in the church.
For example, when a place encounters a disaster, the church needs to stand up to relieve it and be a testimony of faith to the place. At present, my church is characterized by little prayer. Therefore, I feel that the church needs to encourage believers to do a good job in the workplace and encourage brothers and sisters to do business and link between various industries. The transformation of the church group and the workplace service of the church are all important, but the humility and unity of the pastor are more important. Everything integrates the core of resources, such as life, time, money, knowledge, art, tea ceremony, traditional Chinese medicine, etc., all of which serve the Great Mission of Jesus.
Pastor Xun
Keywords: family ministry; stable model
First, we served in a three-self church, and then we came out to build a family church alone with the main feature of serving Christian families. We usually bring three to four pairs of families to a pastor, and at the same time help parents and children to turn to Christ so that couples and parent-child relationships will be restored and promoted. The past pastoral care models caused the loss of families because of the change of environment, but the gathering and pastoral care with the family as the unit are more stable than before. This model is also introduced to my own church after I observed and studied in other churches.
Mrs. Xu, the wife of a pastor
Keywords: freedom of worship; adolescent ministry; lack of fellow workers; dryness of spirituality
I am concerned about the plight of the church and myself in four aspects: the first one is that we can no longer have large gatherings now, and believers feel that the past worship mode is gone. That makes me greatly regretful. Secondly, in terms of the spiritual needs of young people, Sunday school and young ministry are now stagnant and powerless. The third is that there are fewer and fewer full-time fellow workers in the church. When the missionary calls and demands come, I feel deeply powerless in my heart, because these part-time workers have their own jobs, or they want to work for the Lord but have a lot of struggles considering the needs of their families. The fourth aspect, I feel that my spirituality is very dry during the three years of the pandemic. As the head of the church, I really want to be recharged and updated. The church needs to pay attention to the spirituality and health of the pastor’s wife, and it needs to hold services, especially for them.
Zhang, a teacher
Keywords: business as mission; the church in the society
I used to work in a church myself, but I also had a burden on business. My feeling is that it is still very effective to serve the Lord by doing business, and I really want to serve more pastors. I hope to help more people through traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment and characteristic treatment technology. In the future, I also plan to serve disadvantaged groups in remote mountainous areas.
Wan, a teacher
Keywords: mentality; executive power; theology; system
The development of the church in China needs a group of pastors with mental and executive power, but the problem is that most pastors are used to learning superficially, and they can’t grasp the essence, such as learning a development strategy of a church. They don’t know what its essence is for, whether it is centered on seekers or the gospel. Therefore, I think it is necessary to pay attention to the improvement of pastors in theology, church management, and knowledge of local culture. Besides sharing and exchanging their experiences through future gatherings, we need to read more books and learn more about the holistic belief system and the execution of the landing practice.
Zhang, a teacher
Keywords: sticking to faith; awakening faith; joint resources
Our church was developed three years ago. We once did a video interview to discuss how Christians should stick to their faith during the pandemic from different angles. Later, the video was uploaded on a network platform, and Christians responded very well. That video woke up the brothers and sisters. It turned out that the church was really prepared to face such a problem that many churches will face in history or now. Therefore, we want to meet the spiritual needs of different believers by combining resources from different churches.
- Translated by Charlie Li
持续了三年的疫情，对国内教会的影响其实是具有积极和消极的双面性。消极的一面是，教会聚会的自由度下降，信徒流失情况严重，牧者、传道人灵命的枯干等问题；但积极的一面是，教会牧者开始认识到教会需要不再是外在的建筑物和聚会人数的复兴，而是需要看重精细化牧养和以家庭为中心牧养策略。
日前，华东某地区七位50后、60后、70后、80后的牧者一同交流，探讨后疫情时代给教会带来的改变以及他们的关注与苦恼的话题。
——齐牧师
关键词：培养小组长、牧养能力、精细化牧养
疫情期间，感谢主的保守，我们教会的流失率是二十分之一左右。我们教会现在主要是关注的是小组长培养与小组的牧养，这是教会的重中之重。同时对于个人灵性和整体教会的发展上有更多的路径和牧养水平的提升，我们开始注重小组精细化牧养。另外，我觉得不同的教会之间可以在教会资源和信息上互相帮助，这样可以彼此扶持。
——徐老师
关键词：教会入社会 职场事奉 营商互助联动 大使命
借着3年的疫情，我所关注的焦点是教会如何应末日时代灾难频发对教会的挑战。比如战争、水灾、地震，越来越多，教会怎么能关注到每一个信徒和他的家庭。我认为职场事奉的联动可以应对这个挑战。比如，可以建立主内度假村，为了工人的身体健康而预备，结合中医。教会牧者需要有互动中的安慰。社会关注包括着三个部分，第一是属灵的生命层面的事工，第二是如何解决他们家庭的生活困境的事工，第三是如何照顾到教会里信徒和同工的老人和家庭需要的事工。
例如，当某地遭遇灾害的时候，教会需要挺身而出，活出见证。现在教会的生命特点是，祷告行动很少。因此，我觉得，教会需要鼓励信徒做好职场事奉，鼓励弟兄姐妹在各个行业之间做生意与联动。教会小组转化，教会的职场事奉都很重要，但牧者的谦卑和联合更重要。所有一切的整合资源的核心，生命、时间、金钱、学识、艺术、茶道、中药等等，所有一切的核心是为了耶稣大使命而服务的。
——徐牧师
关键词：家庭牧养、稳定模式
原来我们是在三自教会信仰事奉，后来我们单独出来做了家庭教会，主要特点是事奉基督徒家庭。以家庭为单位来联合牧养，我们一般是带3-4对家庭来牧养，同时帮助父母和孩子都转向基督，夫妻和亲子关系都会来到医治和提升。过去的牧养模式会因为环境的变化而流失很多，但以家庭为单位聚会和牧养就比以往更加稳定。这个模式也是我在别的教会观摩学习后，引进自己的教会。
——徐师母
关键词：敬拜自由度 青少年牧养 同工缺乏 灵性枯干
我所关注在教会和我个人层面的困境有四个方面：第一个是现在不能再做大堂聚会了，信徒们觉得没有往日的敬拜了，这个让我感受到很大的遗憾。第二个是在青少年的牧养的需求的方面，主日学和青少年牧养现在都是停滞状态，无能为力。第三个就是教会里全职的工人越来越少，当宣教呼召和需求过来的时候，我心里面有很深的无力感，因为这些兼职的同工有自己的工作，或者考虑到自己家庭的需要，想为主做工但有很多的挣扎。第四个方面，我觉得自己在疫情三年里，自己灵性很枯干。作为教会负责人，我很想得到充电和更新。教会需要关注牧师的妻子的灵性和生命的健康，需要做专门为她们而举办的聚会。
——张老师
关键词：营商事奉 教会入社会
我本人以前做过教会，但是我同时对商业有负担。我的感受是以做生意的方法事奉主还是很有效果的，也很想事奉到更多的牧者。我希望通过中医诊疗与特色的治疗技术帮助到更多的人。未来，我也计划可以为偏远山区的弱势群体事奉。
——万老师
关键词：思想力 执行力 神学 体系
中国教会的发展需要有思想力和执行力的牧者群体，但问题是，大部分的牧者习惯于学习事物外在的样子，却无法抓住本质，比如学习某个教会的一个发展策略，但是却不知道其本质是为了什么，是以慕道友为中心，还是以福音为中心。因此，我觉得需要关注牧者们在神学方面、教会管理方面和对当地文化认知等方面的提升。通过以后的见面分享和交流各自的经验以外，但还需要多读书，多学习整体性的信仰体系和落地实践的执行力。
——张老师
关键词：坚守信仰 唤醒信仰 联合资源
我们教会是三年前开拓的。我们曾经做过一期视频访谈，从不同角度探讨在疫情之下，基督徒到底该如何坚守信仰生活。后来放在网络平台上，基督徒的反应很好。那个视频给教会的弟兄姐妹带来唤醒，原来教会真的是要准备面对当下，而且历史上或者是现在很多教会都会面对的这样一个问题。因此我们想通过联合不同教会资源，满足不同信徒的灵性需要。
七位牧者谈：三年疫情后教会牧者的关注与苦恼
The three-year-long pandemic has had both positive and negative effects on the churches in China. The bad news is that church gatherings aren't as free as they used to be, believers are leaving in large numbers, and pastors' and evangelists' spiritual lives have dried up. The good news is that church pastors are starting to realize that the church can't just be a building. Instead of a focus on food and the number of churches, there should be a focus on pastoral strategies that are nuanced and focus on the family.
A few days ago, seven Boomers and Gen X pastors in East China exchanged views on the changes brought to the church by the post-pandemic era and talked about their concerns and worries. The following narratives are in the first person.
Pastor Qi
Keywords: training group leaders; pastoral ability; and meticulous pastoral ministry
During the pandemic, thanks to the Lord’s protection, the turn-round rate of our church was about one-twentieth. Our church was mainly concerned with the training of group leaders and the herding of groups. That is the top priority of my church. At the same time, for the development of individual spirituality and the whole church, there are more ways to improve the level of pastoral care. We began to pay attention to the refined pastoral care of groups. In addition, I think different churches can help each other with church resources and information so that they can support each other.
Xu, a teacher
Keywords: the church into the society; workplace ministry; the Great Commission
Through the three-year pandemic, my focus was on how my church responded to the challenges posed by the frequent disasters in the apocalyptic era. For example, wars, floods, and earthquakes are increasing, so how can the church pay attention to every believer and their family? I think the linkage of workplace ministry can meet this challenge. For example, you can set up a main resort to prepare for the health of workers, combined with Chinese medicine. Church pastors need comfort in interaction. Social concern includes three parts, the first is the ministry of spiritual life, the second is the ministry of how to solve the life difficulties of their families, and the third is the ministry for the needs of the elderly and families of the laity and fellow-workers in the church.
For example, when a place encounters a disaster, the church needs to stand up to relieve it and be a testimony of faith to the place. At present, my church is characterized by little prayer. Therefore, I feel that the church needs to encourage believers to do a good job in the workplace and encourage brothers and sisters to do business and link between various industries. The transformation of the church group and the workplace service of the church are all important, but the humility and unity of the pastor are more important. Everything integrates the core of resources, such as life, time, money, knowledge, art, tea ceremony, traditional Chinese medicine, etc., all of which serve the Great Mission of Jesus.
Pastor Xun
Keywords: family ministry; stable model
First, we served in a three-self church, and then we came out to build a family church alone with the main feature of serving Christian families. We usually bring three to four pairs of families to a pastor, and at the same time help parents and children to turn to Christ so that couples and parent-child relationships will be restored and promoted. The past pastoral care models caused the loss of families because of the change of environment, but the gathering and pastoral care with the family as the unit are more stable than before. This model is also introduced to my own church after I observed and studied in other churches.
Mrs. Xu, the wife of a pastor
Keywords: freedom of worship; adolescent ministry; lack of fellow workers; dryness of spirituality
I am concerned about the plight of the church and myself in four aspects: the first one is that we can no longer have large gatherings now, and believers feel that the past worship mode is gone. That makes me greatly regretful. Secondly, in terms of the spiritual needs of young people, Sunday school and young ministry are now stagnant and powerless. The third is that there are fewer and fewer full-time fellow workers in the church. When the missionary calls and demands come, I feel deeply powerless in my heart, because these part-time workers have their own jobs, or they want to work for the Lord but have a lot of struggles considering the needs of their families. The fourth aspect, I feel that my spirituality is very dry during the three years of the pandemic. As the head of the church, I really want to be recharged and updated. The church needs to pay attention to the spirituality and health of the pastor’s wife, and it needs to hold services, especially for them.
Zhang, a teacher
Keywords: business as mission; the church in the society
I used to work in a church myself, but I also had a burden on business. My feeling is that it is still very effective to serve the Lord by doing business, and I really want to serve more pastors. I hope to help more people through traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment and characteristic treatment technology. In the future, I also plan to serve disadvantaged groups in remote mountainous areas.
Wan, a teacher
Keywords: mentality; executive power; theology; system
The development of the church in China needs a group of pastors with mental and executive power, but the problem is that most pastors are used to learning superficially, and they can’t grasp the essence, such as learning a development strategy of a church. They don’t know what its essence is for, whether it is centered on seekers or the gospel. Therefore, I think it is necessary to pay attention to the improvement of pastors in theology, church management, and knowledge of local culture. Besides sharing and exchanging their experiences through future gatherings, we need to read more books and learn more about the holistic belief system and the execution of the landing practice.
Zhang, a teacher
Keywords: sticking to faith; awakening faith; joint resources
Our church was developed three years ago. We once did a video interview to discuss how Christians should stick to their faith during the pandemic from different angles. Later, the video was uploaded on a network platform, and Christians responded very well. That video woke up the brothers and sisters. It turned out that the church was really prepared to face such a problem that many churches will face in history or now. Therefore, we want to meet the spiritual needs of different believers by combining resources from different churches.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Seven Pastors Share Concerns, Distress After Pandemic
