From April 23 to 25, more than 20 members of Binhai County CC&TSPM in Yancheng, Jiangsu, participated in an exchange visit relating to the sinicization of Christianity held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. They listened to staff workers from Sicheng Church, Pan Shi Church, Chongyi Church, and Gulou Church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang to share their experiences in church development and administration. It had been seven years since church workers in Binhai conducted an out-of-town study tour last time.
As a former exemplary church, Binhai County Church gets out to exchange, stemming from a growth mindset.
A church with advanced management skills
On May 16, 2011, Binhai County Church held its inauguration ceremony, being the largest church in the county town. More admirable than the grand architecture was its management system.
Rev. Lv Feng, vice chairman of Binhai County TSPM, explained that they conduct a unified financial management system for 125 meeting points in the county; each church submits monthly financial reports, and any expenditure exceeding 3,000 yuan is required to be applied for in advance. Since 1983, all personnel files and all financial statements across the county have been recorded; about 50 seminary students from the county are all locally trained. Around 2015, more than 8,000 believers attended services at Binhai County Church, with public welfare activities launched.
From 2015 to 2023, during the Religious Charity Week which is designated in the middle of every September since 2012, believers across the county raised over two million yuan for poverty alleviation.
On July 8 in 2015, at the church experience exchange meeting held in Jiangsu Province, Rev. Wang Linzhuan, chairman of Binhai County TSPM, was invited to share on the topic "How to Manage a Large Number of Believers Orderly—Exploration and Practice of Binhai County Church." Highlights included talent cultivation, job recommendation and selection, the retirement system, regular organizational re-election, supervision and evaluation systems, archive management, financial management systems, and religious charities.
Difficulties of the present
During the 10th Jiangsu Christianity Conference in May 2019, attendees proposed that the construction of Christianity shift from "quantity growth" to "quality improvement," calling for the development of quality-type churches across the province. Having not seen substantial progress, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out seven months after the conference. The nation was forced into lockdown, and the church's weekly gatherings and Sunday services were suspended.
The most obvious problem was the loss of believers. Rev. Lv Feng explained that the Sunday service attendance reached 8,000 to 9,000 before the pandemic, with only 6,000 churchgoers left now. In the 2015 report, there were 100,000 Christians in the county; recent statistics show less than half remain. The pastor said that one reason for this significant loss was the lack of pastoral care exposed during the pandemic.
Looking at the 2024 worship and meeting schedule of Binhai County Church, six full-time pastors conduct eight services every week, except during the Spring Festival and National Day holidays. In international churches, the normal ratio of pastors to believers should be maintained at one to one hundred and fifty; Binhai Church falls far short of this requirement.
In the 21st century, urbanization in China and the rise of urban churches have led to the loss of believers, especially young adults, causing rural churches to age and become hollow. During the pandemic, the consecutive deaths of elderly believers accelerated the decline of rural churches. To improve the effectiveness of pastoral care and increase the vitality, Binhai County Church chose to go out and take a look.
New paths bringing hope
Pastor Lv summarized the experience of the visitation activity in one sentence: "We visit with questions, purposefully."
He said the pre-departure mobilization meeting was crucial. After the itinerary was confirmed with the Hangzhou CC&TSPM, the Binhai Church held a meeting for staff workers, where they wrote down the difficulties faced in their ministries; if there were none, they noted down their strengths. The attendees were also meeting participants during the visit in April this year. Churches from different regions have their own characteristics; Jiangsu excels in organizational management, while Zhejiang focuses more on pastoral care within the church. Pastor Lv expressed that after presenting issues to churches in Hangzhou, the Binhai delegation maintained a humble attitude of learning, no longer being tourists. Consequently, the work atmosphere underwent a significant change. During the post-visit summary meeting, they acknowledged the disparities, saying they "learned a lot."
Listening to the advanced practices of the visited churches, Binhai Church decided to start training over 700 core volunteers in batches. Besides assessing the faith, service mindset, physical condition, and family situation of the staff workers during recruitment, continuous training, and counseling sessions will be conducted, led by pastors, for practical training and doctrinal nurturing.
The second step is to launch youth pastoral ministry and seminars on workplace, relationships, and mental health. They are focusing on nurturing local talents while inviting professionals to conduct seminars.
The on-site visits helped the two sides establish genuine friendships, laying the foundation for further mutual learning and cooperation. It is expected that the initiation of new ministries at Binhai Church will receive detailed guidance from churches in Hangzhou.
"Leaders need to have a vision." Pastor Lv believed that for church-to-church visits and exchanges to bear fruit, leaders need to open their hearts first, either by stepping out of past glory or changing a conservative mindset of clinging to traditions. It is important to identify and solve the problem, which can be settled by many solutions and relying on faith, which is beyond circumstances.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
4月23日到25日，江苏盐城滨海县三自会及县基督教堂一行20多人参加浙江杭州举行的基督教中国化参访交流活动。
他们聆听思澄堂、磐石堂、崇一堂、鼓楼堂教牧同工分享教堂建设与教务经验。上次该堂同工赴市外考察学习到现在已经七年了。
作为曾经的模范教堂，滨海县打开交流之路的第一步在于转变心态。
教会管理上的“先进生”
2011年5月16日，滨海县教堂举行落成典礼，是县城唯一一所大教堂。对滨海教会来说，比气派的建筑更让人佩服的是它的管理体制。
吕锋牧师介绍，全县125个堂点，财务统一管理；各堂每月报账，超出三千元支出需提前申请。自83年以来全县所有人事档案与95年以来财务明细都记录在册；全县五十位左右神学生皆出自本地。2015年前后，委身滨海县教堂礼拜的信徒达八千余人。
公益慈善事业随之发展。2015年至2023期间宗教慈善周内，全县信徒共募集善款200多万元用于扶贫助困。
当年7月8日，在江苏省举办的教会加强自身建设经验交流会上，滨海县三自主席王林专牧师受邀以“如何做到信众多而管理有序——滨海县基督教会探索与实践”为题做分享。其亮点是人才培养、公推公选、退休制、堂所组织定期换届、监督考评制、档案管理、财物管理制度，开展宗教公益慈善。
不得不面对的困顿现状
2019年5月23到24日，江苏省基督教第十次会议召开，提出基督教建设要从“量的增长”向“质的提升”转变，号召全省建设质量型教会。效果还未显现之际，七个月之后，疫情爆发。全国被迫进入封控状态，教会最基本的周间聚会和主日礼拜一度难以开展。
最明显也最严重的问题是信徒流失。吕锋牧师介绍，疫情前八九千会众的主日礼拜，现在只剩六千人。2015年的报道中全县有10万基督徒，最近统计只余下不到一半。牧者感受到，疫情中暴露出的牧养乏力，是造成此巨大损失的原因之一。
翻看滨海县教堂2024崇拜和聚会安排表，堂内六位全职传道人，春节和国庆假期之外，全年52周内，每周完成八场崇拜。国际教会中，正常牧者与信徒比例应维持在一比一百五十以内，滨海堂远远达不到这个要求。
21世纪中国城市化和城市教会兴起，信众尤其青壮年信徒的流失令农村教会呈老龄化和空心化态势。疫情中，老年信徒接连离世，又加速了农村教会的凋零。如何在现有教牧条件下提高牧养信徒的能力，增强教会活力，滨海县教堂的是选择走出去看看。
新方法、新道路带来新盼望
“带着问题、有目的地去参访。”吕锋牧师以一句话总结活动经验。
行前动员会是关键。与杭州基督教两会确定行程之后，滨海教会举行同工会议，写出自己所在事工的困难；若没有，则写下长处。参会人员同时也是此次走访的实际参与人员。各地教会有其特色，江苏长于体制管理，浙江则在堂内牧养上稍有精专。吕牧师表示，在将收集来的问题向杭州教会提出后，滨海一行保持谦卑学习的态度，不再是走马观花的旅行众。行后总结会上，大家看到了差距，“学到很多”。
面对受拜访教会的诸多先进之处，滨海教堂决定开始培训现有参加教会侍奉的七百多名义工骨干人员，分批次进行轮训。除了在招募环节，对同工的信仰、服侍心志、身体、家庭情况做考核；还要接续培训辅导，由牧者主持实践培训和真理栽培。
年轻人牧养，职场、婚恋、心理健康讲座是滨海此次学习后准备开展的第二类新工作。抓紧培养本地相关人才，同时邀请专业人才进行讲座。
实地走访的有力之处还在于，面对面交流中双方教会间建立起真实情谊，为进一步学习合作打下基础，滨海堂以上新事工的开展，都有望得到杭州教会的细节指导。
“领袖要有看见。”吕牧师认为，教会间的走访交流若想成行，又有落地果效，领袖要先敞开心；或从过去的辉煌中走出，或改变固守成规的保守心态。需发现问题，解决问题；而比困难更大的是方法，比环境更坚强的是信心。(比困难多的是方法，靠着信心胜过环境）
参访后，曾经的“模范教堂”开始自救
From April 23 to 25, more than 20 members of Binhai County CC&TSPM in Yancheng, Jiangsu, participated in an exchange visit relating to the sinicization of Christianity held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. They listened to staff workers from Sicheng Church, Pan Shi Church, Chongyi Church, and Gulou Church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang to share their experiences in church development and administration. It had been seven years since church workers in Binhai conducted an out-of-town study tour last time.
As a former exemplary church, Binhai County Church gets out to exchange, stemming from a growth mindset.
A church with advanced management skills
On May 16, 2011, Binhai County Church held its inauguration ceremony, being the largest church in the county town. More admirable than the grand architecture was its management system.
Rev. Lv Feng, vice chairman of Binhai County TSPM, explained that they conduct a unified financial management system for 125 meeting points in the county; each church submits monthly financial reports, and any expenditure exceeding 3,000 yuan is required to be applied for in advance. Since 1983, all personnel files and all financial statements across the county have been recorded; about 50 seminary students from the county are all locally trained. Around 2015, more than 8,000 believers attended services at Binhai County Church, with public welfare activities launched.
From 2015 to 2023, during the Religious Charity Week which is designated in the middle of every September since 2012, believers across the county raised over two million yuan for poverty alleviation.
On July 8 in 2015, at the church experience exchange meeting held in Jiangsu Province, Rev. Wang Linzhuan, chairman of Binhai County TSPM, was invited to share on the topic "How to Manage a Large Number of Believers Orderly—Exploration and Practice of Binhai County Church." Highlights included talent cultivation, job recommendation and selection, the retirement system, regular organizational re-election, supervision and evaluation systems, archive management, financial management systems, and religious charities.
Difficulties of the present
During the 10th Jiangsu Christianity Conference in May 2019, attendees proposed that the construction of Christianity shift from "quantity growth" to "quality improvement," calling for the development of quality-type churches across the province. Having not seen substantial progress, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out seven months after the conference. The nation was forced into lockdown, and the church's weekly gatherings and Sunday services were suspended.
The most obvious problem was the loss of believers. Rev. Lv Feng explained that the Sunday service attendance reached 8,000 to 9,000 before the pandemic, with only 6,000 churchgoers left now. In the 2015 report, there were 100,000 Christians in the county; recent statistics show less than half remain. The pastor said that one reason for this significant loss was the lack of pastoral care exposed during the pandemic.
Looking at the 2024 worship and meeting schedule of Binhai County Church, six full-time pastors conduct eight services every week, except during the Spring Festival and National Day holidays. In international churches, the normal ratio of pastors to believers should be maintained at one to one hundred and fifty; Binhai Church falls far short of this requirement.
In the 21st century, urbanization in China and the rise of urban churches have led to the loss of believers, especially young adults, causing rural churches to age and become hollow. During the pandemic, the consecutive deaths of elderly believers accelerated the decline of rural churches. To improve the effectiveness of pastoral care and increase the vitality, Binhai County Church chose to go out and take a look.
New paths bringing hope
Pastor Lv summarized the experience of the visitation activity in one sentence: "We visit with questions, purposefully."
He said the pre-departure mobilization meeting was crucial. After the itinerary was confirmed with the Hangzhou CC&TSPM, the Binhai Church held a meeting for staff workers, where they wrote down the difficulties faced in their ministries; if there were none, they noted down their strengths. The attendees were also meeting participants during the visit in April this year. Churches from different regions have their own characteristics; Jiangsu excels in organizational management, while Zhejiang focuses more on pastoral care within the church. Pastor Lv expressed that after presenting issues to churches in Hangzhou, the Binhai delegation maintained a humble attitude of learning, no longer being tourists. Consequently, the work atmosphere underwent a significant change. During the post-visit summary meeting, they acknowledged the disparities, saying they "learned a lot."
Listening to the advanced practices of the visited churches, Binhai Church decided to start training over 700 core volunteers in batches. Besides assessing the faith, service mindset, physical condition, and family situation of the staff workers during recruitment, continuous training, and counseling sessions will be conducted, led by pastors, for practical training and doctrinal nurturing.
The second step is to launch youth pastoral ministry and seminars on workplace, relationships, and mental health. They are focusing on nurturing local talents while inviting professionals to conduct seminars.
The on-site visits helped the two sides establish genuine friendships, laying the foundation for further mutual learning and cooperation. It is expected that the initiation of new ministries at Binhai Church will receive detailed guidance from churches in Hangzhou.
"Leaders need to have a vision." Pastor Lv believed that for church-to-church visits and exchanges to bear fruit, leaders need to open their hearts first, either by stepping out of past glory or changing a conservative mindset of clinging to traditions. It is important to identify and solve the problem, which can be settled by many solutions and relying on faith, which is beyond circumstances.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Once Excellent Church Conducts Self-Rescue Through Study Tours
