Aunt Zhang is almost 60 but does not have a "permanent home." Over a distance of more than 20 kilometers, she rides her motorbike to and fro between the city and the villages. Very often, she stays in her native village for two days and in the city for the next two days. Naturally, her children are quite upset about this, often urging her to settle down in the city. She, however, always declares, "I have a mission given by God."
Aunt Zhang's village is located on a foothill, and the residents—almost all of them are old folks—number less than 100. The young people have relocated to the city, which is more than 20 kilometers away. In fact, Zhang's children have bought a flat for her in the city. For more than a decade, Zhang has been a volunteer worker at the village church, preaching and leading the worship at Sunday services. Besides, as another village nearby does not have any ministers, she and another church sister go there to lead the worship service every Saturday. Although the congregation at each village consists of about 15 elderly people, Aunt Zhang regards the ministry as a God-given task and never contemplates giving up.
Owing to urban planning, some villages in the region have relocated en bloc to the city, and the believers there have begun to worship at new premises. Since she has her own home in the city, Aunt Zhang can contact the believers there easily. She also feels led by the Holy Spirit to minister to the rising generation, and so she began to serve at the youth fellowship of the city church. On the other hand, Zhang has not given up her original ministries in the villages. Therefore, she travels between the city and the villages very frequently. But even Zhang’s daughter, who, thanks to her mother, has been a believer since her tender age, cannot understand why her mother persists in ministering at the village churches.
This is the reality of the church in rural China: most of the ministers have their hands full with their pastoral duties. Just as one radish is for one hole, there is no spare co-worker. When delivering her sermon, the pastor of a church in a certain county town in northern Jiangsu lamented about the situation of the rural church. She related what a co-worker told her: "I am at my wits’ ends. No one can travel around with me.“ The local CC&TSPM jointly allocate the Sunday worship duties for the churches within the county. Pastors often go to the villages, preaching, teaching congregnants how to sing hymns, playing the piano, and leading the cell groups. Even though the city congregation consists of more than 100 members, none participate in the village ministries. There used to be more co-workers. But owing to the necessity of bringing up their grandchildren or earning extra income, they have relocated to the cities and are thus reluctant to return to the villages.
Undeniably, these co-workers are entangled in family matters and the multiple needs of their children. But is the entanglement so suffocating that it is physically impossible to help in the ministry? The reality is not so helpless and hopeless. When delivering her sermon, an old sister re-examined her own "deceit and lethargy". As a church co-worker, she participated in various ministries at the pulpit. After her daughter gave birth to a baby, she assumed the task of bringing up her grandchild. So her participation in ministries dwindled daily. When the church was arranging for co-workers to go out for training, she intended to decline, using the "grandchild burden" as a pretext. But her daughter was not against her taking a leave for training at all. After much soul-searching, the old sister shared her struggles frankly and honestly, and this should evoke a similar re-examination on the part of all co-workers.
In a city church, if the congregation suffers a loss of one or two members, the ministry can still survive and thrive. At a village church, such departure can, however, jeopardize the whole ministry. “Ministers must have a burden and a sense of mission for the local churches to which they dedicate themselves. There must be a sense of mission for one’s ministry. Isn’t it most appropriate to go wherever the need is greatest? As servants of God, shall we sew fancy flowers on colorful silk or deliver comforting coal in the midst of shivering snow?” asked a certain pastor.
Amid the ever-rising tide of urbanization, the older generation is swept into oblivion by the super-fast wheels of time, or transformation, languishing behind in the static and silent villages. However, isn’t the Lord’s heart with the weak, the despised, and the oppressed? Aunt Zhang has refused to terminate her rural ministries and choosen to shift and serve between city and village, serving and sacrificing with all her heart and with God-given strength so as to "give account" before the Lord.
- Translated by Luther Li
张阿姨年近六十，却“居无定所”，二十多公里的路程，她骑着电动车城市农村两头跑，常常是村里住两天，城里住两天。她的孩子颇为苦恼，希望她能在城里安定下来，她却总说“我有神托付的使命”。
张阿姨的村庄在一处山脚下，居住人数不足百人，且几乎都是老人。年轻人都住到了二十公里以外的市区，张阿姨的孩子也给她在城里买了房子。张是村里教会的义工，参与服侍十多年，负责主日讲道、带领赞美等工作。另外，因为附近的村庄没有服侍同工，她还和教会另一位姊妹在周六去那里帮助带领聚会。虽然两个村子都只有十几个人聚会，也都是老人，但张阿姨始终把这些服侍看为主的托付，不能说放下就放下。
由于城市规划，当地一些村庄集体搬迁入城市，这些村庄的信徒在城里有了新的聚会场所。张阿姨在城里买房后，和那里的基督徒距离相近，她有服侍年轻群体的感动，开始参与城里教会青年团契的侍奉。张并未放弃原本村子里的服侍，如此一来，她就只能城市农村两头跑。她女儿从小跟着妈妈信仰，但也很难理解为什么妈妈要坚持服侍村里的教会。
农村教会的情况还真是如此，服侍同工是一个萝卜一个坑。苏北某县城教会的一位牧者也曾在讲道时忧心地提起农村教会的情况。“真的没有办法，没有人和我一起来走，”一位农村教会的同工和她说。该县城的主日礼拜由全县基督教两会统一派工，牧者常去农村讲道，既教唱诗歌，也弹琴，同时是教会的组长。一间一百多人的教会没人参与服侍，其实，并不是没有服侍同工，但因着给子女带孩子或出去赚钱，他们都往城里去了，也就不想返乡了。
缠住教会同工的大多是家里的事、孩子的事，可确实已经到抽不开身的地步了吗？可能实际情况并非完全如此。一位老姊妹在讲道中反思了自己在这方面的“懒惰和狡猾”。她是教会同工，参与讲台服侍，女儿生孩子之后就在女儿家帮忙带孩子，参与的服侍日渐减少。一次教会安排服侍同工外出学习，她正想借着看孩子的名义搪塞过去，但女儿对她出去学习完全没意见。反思后，老姊妹在讲台上坦诚的分享，应该引发服侍同工的反思。
城市教会的聚会少一两个人无伤大雅，但农村教会少了一两个人就很难做工。“要对自己委身的教会有负担、有托付，对自己的服侍有使命感。是不是哪里最需要就应该去哪里？锦上添花好还是雪中送炭好？”有牧者问道。
在城市化的大潮中，老人们被极速前进的时代车轮甩在身后，留在沉默、静止的农村。可是，主的心不正是在那些软弱的、不起眼的、被人藐视的人身上吗？张阿姨放下不农村的灵魂，选择奔波于城市乡村之间，按着主加给的力量尽心摆上，向主交账。
牧者呼吁：农村教会的服侍同工要有使命感
Aunt Zhang is almost 60 but does not have a "permanent home." Over a distance of more than 20 kilometers, she rides her motorbike to and fro between the city and the villages. Very often, she stays in her native village for two days and in the city for the next two days. Naturally, her children are quite upset about this, often urging her to settle down in the city. She, however, always declares, "I have a mission given by God."
Aunt Zhang's village is located on a foothill, and the residents—almost all of them are old folks—number less than 100. The young people have relocated to the city, which is more than 20 kilometers away. In fact, Zhang's children have bought a flat for her in the city. For more than a decade, Zhang has been a volunteer worker at the village church, preaching and leading the worship at Sunday services. Besides, as another village nearby does not have any ministers, she and another church sister go there to lead the worship service every Saturday. Although the congregation at each village consists of about 15 elderly people, Aunt Zhang regards the ministry as a God-given task and never contemplates giving up.
Owing to urban planning, some villages in the region have relocated en bloc to the city, and the believers there have begun to worship at new premises. Since she has her own home in the city, Aunt Zhang can contact the believers there easily. She also feels led by the Holy Spirit to minister to the rising generation, and so she began to serve at the youth fellowship of the city church. On the other hand, Zhang has not given up her original ministries in the villages. Therefore, she travels between the city and the villages very frequently. But even Zhang’s daughter, who, thanks to her mother, has been a believer since her tender age, cannot understand why her mother persists in ministering at the village churches.
This is the reality of the church in rural China: most of the ministers have their hands full with their pastoral duties. Just as one radish is for one hole, there is no spare co-worker. When delivering her sermon, the pastor of a church in a certain county town in northern Jiangsu lamented about the situation of the rural church. She related what a co-worker told her: "I am at my wits’ ends. No one can travel around with me.“ The local CC&TSPM jointly allocate the Sunday worship duties for the churches within the county. Pastors often go to the villages, preaching, teaching congregnants how to sing hymns, playing the piano, and leading the cell groups. Even though the city congregation consists of more than 100 members, none participate in the village ministries. There used to be more co-workers. But owing to the necessity of bringing up their grandchildren or earning extra income, they have relocated to the cities and are thus reluctant to return to the villages.
Undeniably, these co-workers are entangled in family matters and the multiple needs of their children. But is the entanglement so suffocating that it is physically impossible to help in the ministry? The reality is not so helpless and hopeless. When delivering her sermon, an old sister re-examined her own "deceit and lethargy". As a church co-worker, she participated in various ministries at the pulpit. After her daughter gave birth to a baby, she assumed the task of bringing up her grandchild. So her participation in ministries dwindled daily. When the church was arranging for co-workers to go out for training, she intended to decline, using the "grandchild burden" as a pretext. But her daughter was not against her taking a leave for training at all. After much soul-searching, the old sister shared her struggles frankly and honestly, and this should evoke a similar re-examination on the part of all co-workers.
In a city church, if the congregation suffers a loss of one or two members, the ministry can still survive and thrive. At a village church, such departure can, however, jeopardize the whole ministry. “Ministers must have a burden and a sense of mission for the local churches to which they dedicate themselves. There must be a sense of mission for one’s ministry. Isn’t it most appropriate to go wherever the need is greatest? As servants of God, shall we sew fancy flowers on colorful silk or deliver comforting coal in the midst of shivering snow?” asked a certain pastor.
Amid the ever-rising tide of urbanization, the older generation is swept into oblivion by the super-fast wheels of time, or transformation, languishing behind in the static and silent villages. However, isn’t the Lord’s heart with the weak, the despised, and the oppressed? Aunt Zhang has refused to terminate her rural ministries and choosen to shift and serve between city and village, serving and sacrificing with all her heart and with God-given strength so as to "give account" before the Lord.
- Translated by Luther Li
Pastoral Appeal: Strong Sense of Mission for Co-workers at Rural Church
