Editor's note: As the saying goes, "The family is the smallest unit of a nation, and the nation is made up of millions of families." This sentiment aligns with the concept of family, country, and world, which is deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people. In the construction of the kingdom of heaven, the family is also the fundamental unit for faith inheritance and practice. This article documents how a grassroots town church in Southern Fujian, with a steadfast vision amidst prevalent folk beliefs and strong family values, has led many families to overcome idols and turn towards Christ.
In today's era, regardless of diverse ideologies and traditional beliefs, Chinese people identify with family values. If one were to inquire where in China people place the greatest importance on family inheritance, Southern Fujian would be the answer. In these regions, the concept of family and clan has become the lifeblood of social development. The emphasis on family building is also a feature of local churches.
C Church, located in a coastal city on the Taiwan Strait, is such a church with an architectural style of south Fujian. In this suburban church with a congregation of over two thousand people, the percentage of believers whose entire families are Christians even reaches over eighty percent of the total believers.
"In southern Fujian villages, especially here, the foundation of folk beliefs is very deep. No matter which local deity one person believes, it's a matter of the whole family worshipping together," explained Pastor S and his wife, both of whom have served in the church for over 40 years, when discussing the local religious belief traditions. "In our church here, we also follow this pattern. In most cases, households rather than individuals count as believers.
Since the resumption of gatherings in the 1980s, the older generation of pastors at C Church has made "All Family Return to the Lord" the focal point of the church's vision. They initiated diverse localized preaching explorations based on this vision. At the beginning of its reopening, the church started urging believers to establish "family altars." In the 1990s, the church carried out personal evangelism activities, dispatching pastoral workers to rural areas to spread the gospel and destroy idols. In the 2000s, the church shifted its focus to the younger demographic, organizing varied camp activities during holidays to nurture this group and let them influence the entire family. "In these decades, the number of believers has increased significantly. Many families turned to the Lord, removing idols during this period," said the pastor.
In recent years, the church has shifted towards a refined pastoral ministry that focuses on the life-building of believers' family members. "The 'All Family Return to the Lord' has been the annual pastoral theme of C Church for the past two years. All pastoral ministries are centered around building faith families."
Pastor S explained that throughout the 52 Sunday services in a year, the church sets forth the Bible teachings on the family, including cases like Ruth and Boaz, as well as Cain and Abel. "In the last two years, we expected our believers to identify with a Christ-centered family and strive to build one. On this basis, our pastoral theme for the next year is 'The Church is My Home', leading each Christian to be committed to the church.”
Since the resumption of service in the 1980s, the "Family Altar" ministry has been another attempt.
Pastor S stated that every Thursday evening, more than ten pastors from the church enter believers' homes, providing targeted and in-depth teachings to each family. "Following the principle of voluntary registration, as long as there is a spiritual calling and a desire for the pastor to host a family worship service, we will make unified arrangements. However, the condition is that the entire family must participate in worship, not leaving anyone behind," the pastor added. "However, in the past two years, the number of families willing to sign up has been increasing, and sometimes we pastors can't get through."
As of the end of 2023, the number of Christianized families in Church C had exceeded 600. Calculated based on the average of four members per household in the local areas, the number of believers had surpassed two thousand. With the influx of migrant believers due to local industrialization in recent years, this church, jokingly referred to by Pastor S as the "village church in the city," is gradually transforming. However, the pastor's expectations go beyond this, "Not only do we want our local Christians to establish faith-based families, but we also want believers from other places to be able to return to the Lord together with their entire families in our church."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
编者按：“家是最小国，国是千万家。”与根植于广大中国人心中的传统家国观念不谋而合。在天国的建造中，家庭也是每个基督徒信仰传承与信仰生活化的最基础单元。本文记录了一所闽南基层城镇教会是如何在民间信仰盛行及家庭观念浓重的乡土中借助坚定的异象引领帮助许多家庭破除偶像，归向基督的实践历程。
在当今时代，不论多元思潮与传统观念如何碰撞，对于家庭的认同感仍旧是根植于千万中国人血脉之中的本能情结。然而，若要问在中国哪里的人对于家庭传承最为看重，那么闽南一定是无出其右的答案。在闽南地区，家庭宗族观念俨然成为社会发展的血脉。而在教会之中，家庭建造的重视程度也则同样是一张显著的名片。
位于台海之滨某市的C教堂就是这样一座闽南风格十足的教堂。在这座信徒人数超两千余人的城郊教会中，家中成员全部都是基督徒的信徒占比甚至达到了总信徒数量的八成以上。
“在闽南乡村，尤其是我们这里，民间信仰的根基是非常深厚的。不管信仰什么本土神，基本都是一家人一家人地信。”聊起当地宗教信仰传统，在堂里服侍了40余年的老牧者S牧师和师母如此介绍道。“我们这里的教会也是这样，统计信徒一般不按照个人计算，都是按户计算的。”
自20世纪80年代恢复聚会起，C教堂的老一辈传道人就将“全家归主”作为教会的重点异象，并以此为出发点进行了各种本土化传道的探索。复堂之初，教会就开始号召信徒建造“家庭祭坛”；20世纪90年代，教会开展了个人布道活动，派遣同工到乡下广传福音，破除偶像；2000年代，教会又从年轻群体着手，利用假期开展各种营会活动，让青少年走进教会，让下一代去影响整个家庭。“这几十年我们信徒数量增长了很多。很多家庭都是在这个时间段破除偶像，全家归主的。”牧师说。
近年来，教会转向了以信徒的家人的生命建造为核心的深化牧养事工。“‘全家归主年’是C教堂这两年在做的年度牧养主题，所有牧养事工都会围绕家庭建造展开。”
S牧师说道，在全年共52个主日礼拜中，教会会把新旧约中所有与家庭相关的话语教导进行逐一查考，诸如路得与波阿斯、该隐与亚伯这样的案例。“全家归主年就是期待我们的信徒能够对于基督化的家庭有真实的认同与委身。而在这基础上，我们下一年的牧养主题就是‘教会是我家’，带领大家建立对教会的委身感。”
自八十年代教堂恢复聚会以来，“家庭祭坛”事工也是另一项尝试。
S牧师表示，每周四晚上，教会里十余位教牧长执同工分别进入到信徒家中，对每一个家庭进行有针对性且深入的教导。“本着自愿报名的原则，只要信仰有感动，希望牧者到家里带领聚会，我们就会统一安排。不过前提是必须全家人都参与礼拜，一个也不能少。”牧师补充道，“不过这两年愿意报名的家庭越来越多了，我们牧者有时候还跑不过来呢！”
截至2023年年底，C教堂的基督化家庭已经超过了600户。按照当地平均4口之家计算，信徒人数已经超过了两千余人。加上近年来随着当地工业化发展带来的外来务工信徒群体，这座被牧师打趣为“城市里的乡村教堂”也逐渐走向转型之路。不过，S牧师的期待却不仅仅止步于此，“不仅要让我们的本地弟兄姊妹建立信仰化的家庭，更要让我们在外地的信徒也能够在我们教堂全家归主。”
从“全家认主”到“全家归主”，看这间教会如何实现
Editor's note: As the saying goes, "The family is the smallest unit of a nation, and the nation is made up of millions of families." This sentiment aligns with the concept of family, country, and world, which is deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people. In the construction of the kingdom of heaven, the family is also the fundamental unit for faith inheritance and practice. This article documents how a grassroots town church in Southern Fujian, with a steadfast vision amidst prevalent folk beliefs and strong family values, has led many families to overcome idols and turn towards Christ.
In today's era, regardless of diverse ideologies and traditional beliefs, Chinese people identify with family values. If one were to inquire where in China people place the greatest importance on family inheritance, Southern Fujian would be the answer. In these regions, the concept of family and clan has become the lifeblood of social development. The emphasis on family building is also a feature of local churches.
C Church, located in a coastal city on the Taiwan Strait, is such a church with an architectural style of south Fujian. In this suburban church with a congregation of over two thousand people, the percentage of believers whose entire families are Christians even reaches over eighty percent of the total believers.
"In southern Fujian villages, especially here, the foundation of folk beliefs is very deep. No matter which local deity one person believes, it's a matter of the whole family worshipping together," explained Pastor S and his wife, both of whom have served in the church for over 40 years, when discussing the local religious belief traditions. "In our church here, we also follow this pattern. In most cases, households rather than individuals count as believers.
Since the resumption of gatherings in the 1980s, the older generation of pastors at C Church has made "All Family Return to the Lord" the focal point of the church's vision. They initiated diverse localized preaching explorations based on this vision. At the beginning of its reopening, the church started urging believers to establish "family altars." In the 1990s, the church carried out personal evangelism activities, dispatching pastoral workers to rural areas to spread the gospel and destroy idols. In the 2000s, the church shifted its focus to the younger demographic, organizing varied camp activities during holidays to nurture this group and let them influence the entire family. "In these decades, the number of believers has increased significantly. Many families turned to the Lord, removing idols during this period," said the pastor.
In recent years, the church has shifted towards a refined pastoral ministry that focuses on the life-building of believers' family members. "The 'All Family Return to the Lord' has been the annual pastoral theme of C Church for the past two years. All pastoral ministries are centered around building faith families."
Pastor S explained that throughout the 52 Sunday services in a year, the church sets forth the Bible teachings on the family, including cases like Ruth and Boaz, as well as Cain and Abel. "In the last two years, we expected our believers to identify with a Christ-centered family and strive to build one. On this basis, our pastoral theme for the next year is 'The Church is My Home', leading each Christian to be committed to the church.”
Since the resumption of service in the 1980s, the "Family Altar" ministry has been another attempt.
Pastor S stated that every Thursday evening, more than ten pastors from the church enter believers' homes, providing targeted and in-depth teachings to each family. "Following the principle of voluntary registration, as long as there is a spiritual calling and a desire for the pastor to host a family worship service, we will make unified arrangements. However, the condition is that the entire family must participate in worship, not leaving anyone behind," the pastor added. "However, in the past two years, the number of families willing to sign up has been increasing, and sometimes we pastors can't get through."
As of the end of 2023, the number of Christianized families in Church C had exceeded 600. Calculated based on the average of four members per household in the local areas, the number of believers had surpassed two thousand. With the influx of migrant believers due to local industrialization in recent years, this church, jokingly referred to by Pastor S as the "village church in the city," is gradually transforming. However, the pastor's expectations go beyond this, "Not only do we want our local Christians to establish faith-based families, but we also want believers from other places to be able to return to the Lord together with their entire families in our church."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Amid Prevalent Folk Beliefs, Fujian Church Leads Families to Christ
