In the WeChat group of N Church, the Bible reading relay activity continues seven days a week. This campaign has been ongoing for over half a year, attracting more believers to participate.
Just past 5 a.m. every day, Pastor Y of the church posts his daily scripture reading guide video. In less than half an hour after the video is posted, more than twenty believers have already completed their Bible reading tasks. Several believers have even started reciting the required scriptures for the week in voice messages.
"In the past three years, we had more time off than when we could gather together. The longest interruption was last year when in-person gatherings were suspended continuously for eight months," Pastor Z, responsible for the church, recalled when discussing the situation of face-to-face gatherings in the church since the pandemic.
Due to limited pastoral staff and financial resources, during suspension period of gathering, N Church did not live-stream Sunday sermons but shared recorded sermon videos in the WeChat group. "Because of the pandemic control requirements, only a few of us could be present at the church, so we didn't have the capacity to record and edit sermon videos during the weekdays. We could only share some spiritual reflections every day or send sermon videos from previous years to the group for self-guided spiritual growth," Pastor Z explained.
Pastor Z added that that in contrast to pre-pandemic times, there is now a noticeable decrease of over a hundred regular attendees at the in-person Sunday worship services. Prioritizing the restoration of the lives of long-standing believers whose faith has wavered due to sporadic gatherings, as well as those returning to the church from elsewhere, has become a central focus for N Church.
"We previously deliberated whether to initiate the study and implementation of novel pastoral management systems. However, we came to the realization that it was premature for such discussions."
As a result, in the first year of recovery from the pandemic, the church decided to start rebuilding the spiritual foundation of all its believers through Bible reading. "Even if other activities in the church are postponed, we must first go through the Bible thoroughly from beginning to end and then proceed with the nurturing of the entire congregation," Pastor Z said.
Since early April, N Church has prioritized the "everyone reading the Bible" ministry. With the resumption of in-person gatherings, the church established a dedicated Bible reading and testimonial session every Thursday morning, where multiple pastors take turns guiding believers through Bible study and encouraging them to share recent grace and testimonies.
In addition to the congregation, the pastoral staff commenced Bible reading sessions during the pandemic, either during weekday meetings on Thursdays and Fridays or following church council meetings.
In the online Bible reading relay activities, Pastor Y expounds upon the scripture's content, historical context, causality, structure, and fundamental meanings in his self-produced videos.
Pastor Y disclosed that due to the necessity of scripting his daily videos, he had to consult numerous biblical reference materials and contemplate the content deeply. He stated, "Though each video may be less than 10 minutes, the preparation often demands more than two to three hours. Nevertheless, through this preparatory process, I have gained a profound comprehension of many formerly ambiguous scriptures."
Several pastors noted that over the past few months, both in physical gatherings and online, the participation in Bible reading has progressively grown. "At present, the Bible reading group is almost at full capacity, and we are exploring ways to accommodate more enthusiastic participants!" exclaimed another young pastor with a grin.
Pastor Z remarked that while N Church currently lags behind numerous churches in East and South China regarding small-group pastoral care, initiatives like "collective Bible reading" enable the church to discern a pastoral strategy that truly aligns with its distinct requirements and welcomes a spiritual revival.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
在N教堂的微信群中，读经接龙活动，一周七天，雷打不动。这项活动已经坚持了大半年有余，而且不断吸引着信徒参与。
每天凌晨5点刚过，该堂Y牧师每日一更的经文导读视频又发出了。视频发出后不到半小时，已有二十几位信徒完成了读经任务。还有好几位信徒以发语音背诵起了当周的必背经文。
“这三年暂停的时间比开放的更多。最长的一次就是去年，实地聚会连续停了8个月。”谈起疫情以来教会实地聚会的情况，负责教会的牧者Z牧师回忆道。
由于教牧人手及经济水平等各方面有限，聚会暂停期间，N教堂没有直播主日证道，只是录制证道视频并发布在微信群。“因为疫情防控要求，能驻堂的教牧同工就我们几个，所以没有余力录制剪辑周间的证道视频。只能每天发一些灵修短文，或者把前几年的证道视频发在群里在周间让大家自行灵修。”
Z牧师向笔者介绍，较比疫情之前，现在固定参加实地主日礼拜的信徒少了百余人。面对因断断续续的聚会而信心动摇的老信徒，和刚刚回归教会的异乡回归肢体，如何重建他们的生命，成为了N教堂亟待解决的当务之急。
“我们之前也探讨过是否要去学习引进一些新的牧养管理体系，后来我们发现，谈这些还为时尚早。”
由此，在疫情恢复后的第一个年头，教会决定带领全教堂的信徒，从读经开始，重新建造灵命的根基。“哪怕堂里其他活动往后放一放，也要先把圣经从头到尾地好好过一遍，随后再开展全群的进深栽培。”Z牧师如此表示。
自4月初起，N教堂将“全员读经”这一事工作为最优先的工作推进。随着线下实地聚会的恢复，教会在每周四上午设立了专门的读经和见证会，由几位牧者轮流带领信徒开展读经查经，还鼓励信徒分享近来的恩典和见证。
除了信徒以外，教牧同工则早在疫情期间就开始了集中的读经聚会，在周四、周五的周间聚会或堂委会后。
在开展的线上读经接龙活动中，Y牧师在自己录制的视频中，从经文的内容、时代背景、前因后果、起承转合再到核心要义进行阐述。
Y牧师向笔者介绍，由于每天的导读文案都得自己撰写，所以每天就需要查阅很多解经参考资料，以及默想。“虽然每个视频可能不到10分钟，但是预备可能都得在两三个小时以上。”他表示，“不过借着这个预备的过程，我自己对于很多原先模棱两可的经文也有了更深入的理解。”
多位传道人表示，最近几个月，不论是实地还是线上，参与读经的人数稳步提升。“目前读经群接近满员，我们正考虑怎么给更多积极参与的信徒预留位置呢！”另一位青年牧者笑着表示。
Z牧师说，尽管相较华东、华南许多教会，N教堂现阶段想要开展小组牧养确实存在一定差距。但是借着全员读经之类的活动，教会能找到真正符合自身的牧养方式，迎来复兴。
后疫情时代，这间基层教会用读经迎来属灵复兴
In the WeChat group of N Church, the Bible reading relay activity continues seven days a week. This campaign has been ongoing for over half a year, attracting more believers to participate.
Just past 5 a.m. every day, Pastor Y of the church posts his daily scripture reading guide video. In less than half an hour after the video is posted, more than twenty believers have already completed their Bible reading tasks. Several believers have even started reciting the required scriptures for the week in voice messages.
"In the past three years, we had more time off than when we could gather together. The longest interruption was last year when in-person gatherings were suspended continuously for eight months," Pastor Z, responsible for the church, recalled when discussing the situation of face-to-face gatherings in the church since the pandemic.
Due to limited pastoral staff and financial resources, during suspension period of gathering, N Church did not live-stream Sunday sermons but shared recorded sermon videos in the WeChat group. "Because of the pandemic control requirements, only a few of us could be present at the church, so we didn't have the capacity to record and edit sermon videos during the weekdays. We could only share some spiritual reflections every day or send sermon videos from previous years to the group for self-guided spiritual growth," Pastor Z explained.
Pastor Z added that that in contrast to pre-pandemic times, there is now a noticeable decrease of over a hundred regular attendees at the in-person Sunday worship services. Prioritizing the restoration of the lives of long-standing believers whose faith has wavered due to sporadic gatherings, as well as those returning to the church from elsewhere, has become a central focus for N Church.
"We previously deliberated whether to initiate the study and implementation of novel pastoral management systems. However, we came to the realization that it was premature for such discussions."
As a result, in the first year of recovery from the pandemic, the church decided to start rebuilding the spiritual foundation of all its believers through Bible reading. "Even if other activities in the church are postponed, we must first go through the Bible thoroughly from beginning to end and then proceed with the nurturing of the entire congregation," Pastor Z said.
Since early April, N Church has prioritized the "everyone reading the Bible" ministry. With the resumption of in-person gatherings, the church established a dedicated Bible reading and testimonial session every Thursday morning, where multiple pastors take turns guiding believers through Bible study and encouraging them to share recent grace and testimonies.
In addition to the congregation, the pastoral staff commenced Bible reading sessions during the pandemic, either during weekday meetings on Thursdays and Fridays or following church council meetings.
In the online Bible reading relay activities, Pastor Y expounds upon the scripture's content, historical context, causality, structure, and fundamental meanings in his self-produced videos.
Pastor Y disclosed that due to the necessity of scripting his daily videos, he had to consult numerous biblical reference materials and contemplate the content deeply. He stated, "Though each video may be less than 10 minutes, the preparation often demands more than two to three hours. Nevertheless, through this preparatory process, I have gained a profound comprehension of many formerly ambiguous scriptures."
Several pastors noted that over the past few months, both in physical gatherings and online, the participation in Bible reading has progressively grown. "At present, the Bible reading group is almost at full capacity, and we are exploring ways to accommodate more enthusiastic participants!" exclaimed another young pastor with a grin.
Pastor Z remarked that while N Church currently lags behind numerous churches in East and South China regarding small-group pastoral care, initiatives like "collective Bible reading" enable the church to discern a pastoral strategy that truly aligns with its distinct requirements and welcomes a spiritual revival.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Grassroots Church Revives Through Bible Reading After COVID-19
