To commemorate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Wu Yi-fang, Professor Jin Yihong from Jinling Women's College of Nanjing Normal University gave a lecture titled “Wu Yifang and her ‘Jinling Daughters’.” In the lecture, she mentioned the concept of the “Jinling College family,” and the profound impact it had on the students.
Founded in 1913, Ginling College was the first-ever women’s college in China and one of the 13 missionary universities in the Republic of China, with Mrs. Lawrence Thurston, an American missionary, as the first president. The school had a total of 999 female graduates, who were called the “999 roses”.
Professor Jin talked about Feng Jin’s The Making of a Family Saga: Ginling College. Under the management of passionate teachers, female students were interacting with their teachers and integrated into the family. At that time, the students were separated from the traditional family, and they established a new self and interpersonal relationship. They had a new sense of home.
Similarly, the church also uses the concept of family to shape the church and its ministries. Pastor C, who leads a church in Central China, referred to the church in a broad sense as a family. He is like an enterprising parent at the helm of the family.
Many churches in China are facing a shortage of young leaders. One of the reasons is that, for fear of losing their position and financial support, the elderly leaders are unwilling to train the young ones. Pastor C’s church has established a subsidy system for retired staff, who can basically receive more than 80% of their salary. He regards the young pastors of the church as his own children and is proud of their achievements.
When fellow workers and believers have difficulties or are sick, the church provides help. When elderly believers need to be taken care of, church volunteers accompany them constantly. Believers are buried in the church cemetery after their deaths. So, the idea is that believers worshipped together when they were alive and would be buried together after they died.
Due to the unity of the church, its believers have a strong sense of belonging. They contribute to the church as much as they are able, and even beyond their ability. All the money needed to build a new church was donated by believers, and no outside funds were needed.
Concerning guiding believers who have completed discipleship training to participate in church services, an elder of a church in North China said, “When children grow up, they must contribute to their families. Isn’t that right?”
The church run by Pastor T in South China uses the concept of family more specifically and plainly than the churches mentioned above, which use it in a broad sense.
Pastor T’s church relies on interactions among discipleship training, groups, and ministries. In groups, members learn words in the Bible in a more daily-life manner, and they also have emotional connections with each other. Team leaders are like parents, and they assign team members to different “discipleship training classes” according to their life levels and supervise the study to help them absorb what they have learned. Group leaders also recommend team members participate in different ministries according to their gifts.
This church defines disciples as team leaders specifically, which means they can be the "parents" and help build the lives of the team members. All the work of the church is built around the goal to train believers into group leaders.
The notion of a family is not always synonymous with warmth and love; it also has harbor elements of oppression. If such aspects infiltrate the church, they may give rise to autocratic and authoritarian practices. Consequently, it's necessary to establish and implement a comprehensive institutional framework.
Wu Yifang was the second president of Ginling College. Professor Jin Yihong thought that Wu Yifang’s important work was to train students from “Ginling Daughters” to “National Daughters”.
The "sinicization and localization" of Christianity is the path that the Chinese church must take, and the Great Commission of churches is to establish God's Kingdom on earth. In addition to uniting believers with the concept of family, the church may also need to cultivate the self-awareness of believers as Chinese citizens and citizens of the kingdom of heaven and have an attitude of "here am I, send me" when it comes to the needs of the country and the needs of the kingdom of God.
-Translated by Charlie Li
为纪念吴贻芳先生诞辰130周年，南京师范大学金陵女子学院的金一虹教授做了一场题为“吴贻芳与她的‘金陵女儿’”的讲座。在讲座中，她提到金陵女子大学塑造的“金陵家庭”理念。
金陵女子大学创立于1913年，是中国第一所女子大学、民国时期13所教会大学之一，由美国传教士德本康夫人担任第一任校长。学校共有毕业生999人，称为“999朵玫瑰”。
金一虹教授在讲座中谈到冯进的《一个家庭传奇的诞生——金陵女子文理学院》。在学校充满爱意的管理方式下，女孩们与老师互动，融入金陵家庭。当时的女孩从传统家庭结构中抽离出来，建立了新的自我和新式的人际关系，有了一种新的家的归属。
类似地，教会也在不同程度上用家的概念塑造教会及其事工。带领一间华中教会的C牧师宽泛意义上用家指代教会，他像是这个家有魄力的大家长、掌舵人。
中国不少教会面临着领袖青黄不接的现象，其中一个原因是年长的教会领袖出于对失去位置和供养的担忧，不愿意培养年轻领袖。C牧师的教会制定了对退休同工的补贴制度，基本能领到侍奉时工资的80%以上。他将教会的年轻牧者视为自己的孩子，为他们取得的成就感到骄傲。
同工和信徒有困难，生病时，他们出钱帮助。老年信徒需要照顾，教会义工不间断陪伴。信徒归天之后葬在教会公共墓地，大家生前在教会一起敬拜，死后葬在一处。
教会凝聚起来，信徒有极强的归属感。他们为教会奉献不仅是按着力量而且是过了力量，建新堂需要的钱款全部由信徒奉献，未接受捐助。
谈到引导参加完门训课程的信徒参与教会服侍，华北一教会长老说：“孩子长大了，就要为家里出力，是不是这个道理？”
与上述在宽泛意义上使用家概念的教会不同，华南地区T牧师带领的教会对家概念的使用更为具体、清晰。
T牧师的教会，教会的运转和发展依赖于门训、小组、事工三者的良性互动。在小组内组员以较为生活化的方式学习话语，互相之间也产生情感上的连接。组长作为父母，按照组员的生命程度送往不同的门训“班级”，监督学习，帮助他们吸收所学内容。组长亦会根据组员的恩赐推荐他们参与不同事工的服侍。
门徒培训中培养一个人到可以做小组长，带领新的小组，帮助建立组员的生命。教会的各项体系都围绕此目标建立。
家庭并不总是温馨有爱的一面，也有专制压迫的一面，若是这一面带入教会就会发展成家长制、一言堂教会。所以建立完善的制度也十分必要。
吴贻芳是金女大第二任校长，讲座中金一虹教授认为吴贻芳做的重要工作是将学生从“金陵女儿”培养成了“国家女儿”。
神的国是教会要在地上成就的大使命。教会除了以家的概念凝聚信徒，或许也需要培养信徒中国公民、天国子民的自我认识。在国家的需要、神国度的需要上，有“我在这里，来差遣我”之态度。
注：本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系一名基督徒。
对教会中“家概念”应用的观察及思考
To commemorate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Wu Yi-fang, Professor Jin Yihong from Jinling Women's College of Nanjing Normal University gave a lecture titled “Wu Yifang and her ‘Jinling Daughters’.” In the lecture, she mentioned the concept of the “Jinling College family,” and the profound impact it had on the students.
Founded in 1913, Ginling College was the first-ever women’s college in China and one of the 13 missionary universities in the Republic of China, with Mrs. Lawrence Thurston, an American missionary, as the first president. The school had a total of 999 female graduates, who were called the “999 roses”.
Professor Jin talked about Feng Jin’s The Making of a Family Saga: Ginling College. Under the management of passionate teachers, female students were interacting with their teachers and integrated into the family. At that time, the students were separated from the traditional family, and they established a new self and interpersonal relationship. They had a new sense of home.
Similarly, the church also uses the concept of family to shape the church and its ministries. Pastor C, who leads a church in Central China, referred to the church in a broad sense as a family. He is like an enterprising parent at the helm of the family.
Many churches in China are facing a shortage of young leaders. One of the reasons is that, for fear of losing their position and financial support, the elderly leaders are unwilling to train the young ones. Pastor C’s church has established a subsidy system for retired staff, who can basically receive more than 80% of their salary. He regards the young pastors of the church as his own children and is proud of their achievements.
When fellow workers and believers have difficulties or are sick, the church provides help. When elderly believers need to be taken care of, church volunteers accompany them constantly. Believers are buried in the church cemetery after their deaths. So, the idea is that believers worshipped together when they were alive and would be buried together after they died.
Due to the unity of the church, its believers have a strong sense of belonging. They contribute to the church as much as they are able, and even beyond their ability. All the money needed to build a new church was donated by believers, and no outside funds were needed.
Concerning guiding believers who have completed discipleship training to participate in church services, an elder of a church in North China said, “When children grow up, they must contribute to their families. Isn’t that right?”
The church run by Pastor T in South China uses the concept of family more specifically and plainly than the churches mentioned above, which use it in a broad sense.
Pastor T’s church relies on interactions among discipleship training, groups, and ministries. In groups, members learn words in the Bible in a more daily-life manner, and they also have emotional connections with each other. Team leaders are like parents, and they assign team members to different “discipleship training classes” according to their life levels and supervise the study to help them absorb what they have learned. Group leaders also recommend team members participate in different ministries according to their gifts.
This church defines disciples as team leaders specifically, which means they can be the "parents" and help build the lives of the team members. All the work of the church is built around the goal to train believers into group leaders.
The notion of a family is not always synonymous with warmth and love; it also has harbor elements of oppression. If such aspects infiltrate the church, they may give rise to autocratic and authoritarian practices. Consequently, it's necessary to establish and implement a comprehensive institutional framework.
Wu Yifang was the second president of Ginling College. Professor Jin Yihong thought that Wu Yifang’s important work was to train students from “Ginling Daughters” to “National Daughters”.
The "sinicization and localization" of Christianity is the path that the Chinese church must take, and the Great Commission of churches is to establish God's Kingdom on earth. In addition to uniting believers with the concept of family, the church may also need to cultivate the self-awareness of believers as Chinese citizens and citizens of the kingdom of heaven and have an attitude of "here am I, send me" when it comes to the needs of the country and the needs of the kingdom of God.
-Translated by Charlie Li
Observation and Reflection on the Application of 'the Concept of Family' in the Church
