East City Youth Fellowship in Shangrao, Jiangxi, stands out from other youth fellowships due to its unique structure. Unlike most fellowships affiliated with a single church, it is a collaborative effort among multiple churches to nurture young people together. This innovative and localized approach is specifically designed to meet the realities of the local community.
Brother Wu serves as the leader and co-founder of the fellowship. Ya and De, two millennials, are responsible for preaching and pastoral care within the fellowship. They graduated, respectively, from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and East China Theological Seminary. Maomao leads the worship team, overseeing practical aspects of their operations, while two Gen Z members serve as the drummer and guitarist.
Located at intersections of town and country, these churches boast modest memberships, with some having only two or three dozen and the largest a hundred. Coupled with a significant aging population, it is challenging for a single church to establish a youth fellowship. Hence, Brother Wu and Brother Zheng conceived the idea of forming a joint youth fellowship among these churches to nurture them.
“We have found our development path amidst challenges,” said Brother Zheng, one of the founders. Although he later left Shangrao due to circumstances, he remains invested in the fellowship and has introduced this approach to other places. “The approach is more grounded and suitable for the current development model of churches in villages, towns, and urban-rural fringes.” He hopes this model can serve as a reference for rural churches seeking to develop youth ministry, highlighting its importance and showing how to “utilize limited resources to find one’s way forward.”
On January 25, 2019, with the support of neighboring churches, the East City Youth Fellowship was officially established. Its fellowship workers primarily come from the surrounding churches and are also key workers within their respective churches. Most serve in the fellowship and their home churches, sharing a common burden to preach to and nurture young people in the hope of seeing their churches rejuvenated with a rising generation of young believers. The worship team is a cornerstone of the youth fellowship and a primary format for youth activities. Most team members are second-generation believers or even second-generation pastors, with many of their parents also serving as workers or leaders in their respective churches.
While they grew up immersed in faith, they initially shied away from churches. Ning, a Gen Z member, commented that churches did not feel like a place for them. “As soon as you enter there, you can smell the scent of old people,” so she would head straight to the second floor when she had to visit there. Ling shared that her mother encouraged her to attend church, but the sermons were in dialects, making it difficult for her to follow. It felt like doing mental translation rather than genuinely and directly absorbing the message of teaching.
However, when the East City Youth Fellowship was established, providing a space and platform tailored to young people’s needs, they eagerly joined and said, “I developed an interest in musical instruments at a church camp and later learned from teachers there. So when the church needed help, serving became naturally a part of me.” Others shared, “I attended gatherings at other churches before, but something seemed to be missing. Later, I realized it was the lack of relationships. Here, I can build connections with others.”
As young people continued to join, the fellowship grew from an initial dozen members to over seventy, with around fifty regularly attending gatherings.
The fellowship’s core workers consist of two generations: generation X and millennials, who initially formed the first-tier team. However, as the millennial and Gen Z members matured, the older generations gracefully stepped back to the second tier, entrusting the frontlines to the younger generation to better serve the youth, working alongside each other to minister to contemporary young people.
Adhering to local church traditions, the youth fellowship primarily meets on Saturday evenings. Gatherings typically commence with worship led by the worship team, followed by a sermon.
Ya is a primary force in nurturing the youth fellowship. She preaches at another church. After graduating from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary a year and a half ago, she could not shake off her burden for her hometown church and returned to the relatively “less developed” church, despite high offers from coastal churches. Upon joining the youth fellowship, she initiated Bible study groups for fellowship members.
As the leader of the worship team, Maomao also faces significant pressure. Through various formats, they lead young people in music theory, worship, movie nights, and other activities.
Worship serves as a crucial means for their activities to touch and serve local believers. On June 12, leveraging the venue of another church, the fellowship independently hosted its first concert, attracting a large crowd. Despite forecasts of heavy rain for several days leading up to the event, the workers prayed together, hoping for clear skies. Miraculously, the rain stopped that afternoon, and a double rainbow appeared in the sky, which everyone deemed a special grace and gift from God. The concert was a testimony to the living and true presence of Jesus Christ.
Brother Wu, the fellowship’s leader, is also a key worker at a nearby church. During the last leadership election in his church, he was considered for a leadership position but declined, citing his primary focus on the youth fellowship and insufficient time for additional responsibilities. Instead, he recommended that another brother take on the role. He also runs an auto repair shop, which offers him relatively flexible hours to participate in ministry work. He is grateful for this arrangement and the Lord’s protection over his business, enabling it to remain profitable even during the pandemic when many shops struggled.
In addition to these key workers, the fellowship has other co-workers who preach at their respective churches while contributing to the fellowship’s efforts. Sister Lan, for instance, enjoys transcribing sermon notes into written form and sharing them in the fellowship group for those unable to attend, while also keeping minutes of fellowship meetings.
Beyond regular worship gatherings and Bible study groups, the fellowship organizes an annual summer youth camp and frequently collaborates with nearby churches to host concerts, prayer meetings, and other events that breathe new life into the churches. The fellowship’s workers care not only for the youth but also for the church’s elders, supporting theological students and families of struggling believers. They also engage in social services, organizing volunteer services at local nursing homes before the pandemic.
“Our vision is to establish East City Youth Fellowship as a nurturing ground, training workers to serve and impact surrounding churches,” explained Brother Zheng.
Since its establishment, the fellowship has entered its sixth year. At the beginning of this year, they just held an election, and Brother Wu continued to serve as the leader.
Meanwhile, the fellowship is also facing many challenges. Firstly, there is no stable meeting place. Currently, they borrow from other churches, so after each gathering, they need to put away musical instruments. If there were a regular meeting place for the fellowship, people who are weak could go there to pray and receive more detailed pastoral care, which is currently impossible. In addition, the fellowship lacks regular full-time pastors. Currently, both pastors are part-time and belong to their respective churches, which diverts their attention from many other ministries.
Furthermore, the fellowship lacks co-workers. Compared to middle-aged and elderly people, young people are volatile. The nature of job opportunities for young people locally is very limited, so most of them are busy with their livelihoods and have many changes, making it difficult to find time to gather during the day. Therefore, the fellowship’s Bible study, band rehearsals, and other gatherings are all arranged in the evening. Co-workers also need to respond to various sudden changes at any time. For instance, on the day of the gathering, if a scheduled receptionist suddenly says they cannot come, adjustments need to be made temporarily.
In the process of pastoral care, they have also found that building relationships is important for young people. Some people participate in ministries because their friends are serving. They are also planning birthday parties to celebrate the birthdays of those born in the first half of the year, strengthening the bond within the fellowship. Many people forget their birthdays but are notified to come to the fellowship to celebrate. The moment they receive their birthday gifts, they feel valued.
“Without the existence of this fellowship, perhaps we young people would also be marginalized, and it would be even harder for the next generation of young people to be inspired.”
As a founder and witness of the fellowship, Brother Zheng reminds churches of this era, and more importantly, those in rural and urban-rural fringe areas, to seize the opportunity. “In the blink of an eye, you waste five or ten years, and the church misses out on the growth of a generation of believers and the succession of a generation of believers. However, if we seize this opportunity, we may not see results in one or two months, or one or two years, but we will reap the harvest in five or ten years, and if we look further ahead, it will have a deeper impact.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
江西上饶城东青年团契与其他青年团契不同的是，团契不是隶属于某个教会，而是多个教会联合在一起开展青年牧养工作。这是他们结合当地现实情况的一种本地化创新实践。
吴弟兄是团长，是这个团契的创始人和负责人之一；95后的雅和德分别于金陵和华东神学毕业，负责团契的讲道和牧养工作；毛毛是敬拜团团长，负责带领敬拜团的一些实际工作；另两个00后则分别是敬拜团的鼓手和吉他手。
因为地处城乡交界处，这些教会的信徒人数都不算多，有的仅有二三十人，多的也不过百人，再加上大部分老龄化严重，单靠一个教会很难建立起青年团契，所以吴弟兄和另一位郑弟兄便想到，可以联合这些教会一起做一个青年团契，一起牧养年轻人。
“我们在夹缝中找到了自己的发展之道，”创办人之一的郑弟兄表示。后来因为一些情况，他离开了上饶，但他也常常关心团契的情况，同时也把这种方式带到了其他地方。“这种方式相对更接地气，是比较适合现在乡镇和城乡边缘教会的一种发展模式。”他希望这个团契的发展模式能给乡村教会如何发展青年事工提供一些借鉴，让更多教会知道青年事工的重要性，以及如何“利用有限的资源找到自己的出路”。
2019年1月25日，在附近各教会的支持帮助下，城东青年团契正式成立。团契的同工主要来自周围教会，同时也是各个教会的主要同工，所以大部分人一面在团契服侍，一面也担任各自教会的圣工。他们有一个共同的负担，就是传道和牧养年轻人，希望教会有年轻人兴起，把年轻人培养起来被主使用起来。敬拜团是青年团契的一个重点事工，同时也是其开展年轻人活动的主要形式。敬拜团的成员大部分是教会的信二代甚至牧二代，不少成员的父母也是各自教会的服侍同工甚至负责人。
他们从小对信仰耳濡目染，但却不愿意走进教会。00后（Gen Z）的宁说，教会不像是他们该来的地方，“一进去就能闻到一股老人味”，所以即便去，她也直接上二楼。灵则说，妈妈让她去教会，但讲道是方言，她听得很不方便，感觉只是在头脑中做了一场翻译，实际内容却没有更多精力听进去。
但是，当城东青年团契成立，给他们提供年轻人所需要的位置和窗口后，他们便立刻参与了进来，并说道：“我就是参加教会举办的营会时对乐器开始有兴趣的，后来也是在教会跟着老师学的，所以当教会需要时，对我来说，参与进来侍奉是自然而然的。” 其他人说：“之前在其他教会也参加聚会礼拜，但感觉总缺点什么，后来发现是因为没有关系的建立，在这里可以和其他人建立关系。”
就这样，随着年轻人的陆续加入，团契从刚开始的十几人，发展到目前七十几个，常聚会的能达到五十人左右。
目前团契的骨干同工有两批，70后和80后本来是团契的第一梯队同工，当90后和00后渐渐成长起来了，为了更好地服侍年轻人，70和80后主动退居第二梯队，禾场交给90后与00后做第一梯队，彼此配搭服侍当代年轻人。
按照当地教会的传统，青年团契主要在周六晚上聚会。开始主要是敬拜团带领赞美，然后是讲道。
作为青年团契牧养主力，雅实际上是另一间教会的传道人。金陵神学毕业一年半后，她放不下对家乡教会的负担，不顾沿海教会的挽留，回到了相对而言“有些落后”的家乡教会。加入青年团契后，她便着手开始带领团契成员开展小组查经。
而作为团契的敬拜团团长，毛毛的压力也不小。他们常常通过各种形式，带领年轻人进行乐理分享、敬拜、看电影等活动。
敬拜也是他们开展活动触及服侍当地信徒的重要方式。6月12日，团契借助另一间教会的场地，第一次独立做了首场音乐会，来了很多人。其实那几天天气预报都是暴雨，同工们就一起祷告，希望音乐会的时候天能放晴，结果那个下午雨果然停了，而且天上还出现了双彩虹，大家都觉得这是神特别的恩典和礼物。音乐会让大家经历到主耶稣真的是又真又活的神。
作为团长的吴弟兄，他也是附近一教会的主要同工，本来上次他所在的教会换届想让他当负责人，但他明确表示，自己主要精力青年团契这一块，根本没有精力担当负责人的职责，后来推荐了另一位有负担的弟兄担任负责人。他自己还经营着一家汽车修理店，比起其他工作来说，时间相对自由，方便参与服侍，对此他非常感恩，神也保守他的店，疫情期间很多店倒闭的情况下还能盈利。
除了他们几位重要同工之外，团契还有其他一些同工，都是一面在自己的教会讲道，一面参与这个团契的工作。其中兰姐妹喜欢把证道信息用文字整理下来，发到团契群里，给不能来的人看，平时也会把同工会议记录下来……
除了日常的敬拜聚会、小组查经，团契每年都会举办暑期青年营会。团契还经常联合附近教会举办音乐会、祷告会，给教会带去新的活力。团契同工在关心青年的同时，也关注教会的长者，并资助神学生和困难的信徒家属。团契也关注社会服务，疫情前组织大家走进社区敬老院开展义工服侍。
“我们的异象是想把城东青年团契打造成抚育基地，把工人培训起来去服侍影响周边的教会。”郑弟兄介绍说。
成立至今，团契已经进入第六年。今年年初，他们刚刚举行了换届选举，团长吴弟兄继续担任团长。
同时，团契也面临着很多挑战。首先没有稳定的聚会场所，目前是借用其他教会，所以每次聚会之后需要把乐器等都收起来，如果有一个稳定的团契的聚会场所，这样有人软弱了可以到那里去祷告，也可以做更加细致的牧养，现在这些都没办法做到。另外，团契缺乏稳定的的全职牧者，目前两个牧者都是兼职，有各自所属的教会，这样就会有很多其他事工分散精力。
此外，团契的服侍同工缺乏，相比中老年人，年轻人非常不稳定，当地提供的年轻人就业岗位的性质很有限，所以大部分年轻人为了生活很忙，变动也多，白天很难有时间聚会，为此，团契查经、乐队彩排以及其他聚会等都是安排在晚上。同工们也要随时应对各种突发变动，比如聚会当天，有已经安排的接待人员突然说自己不能来，就需要临时调整。
在牧养的过程中，他们也发现，对于年轻人来说，建立关系很重要，有些人参与服侍是因为一起的小伙伴在服侍。他们也在筹备生日会，给上半年的人过生日，增强团契连结。很多人自己都了忘记生日，却被通知来团契过生日，在拿到生日礼物的那一刻，他们都感受到了自己被人重视。
“如果没有这个团契的存在，可能我们这些年轻人也会边缘化，而下一代年轻人也更难被兴起。”
作为城东青年团契的一名创立者和见证者，郑弟兄提醒这个时代的教会，更多也是提醒这些乡村、城乡交界的教会，要抓紧机会。“你一转眼，浪费了五年十年的光阴，教会就错失了一代信徒的成长，失去了一代信徒的接替。但如果我们抓住这个机会，你可能一个月两个月，一年两年看不到成果，可是你五年十年以后你就会有收获，而如果更长远的去看，那就会带来更深的影响。”
上饶城东青年团契：探索城乡基层教会青年牧养新模式
East City Youth Fellowship in Shangrao, Jiangxi, stands out from other youth fellowships due to its unique structure. Unlike most fellowships affiliated with a single church, it is a collaborative effort among multiple churches to nurture young people together. This innovative and localized approach is specifically designed to meet the realities of the local community.
Brother Wu serves as the leader and co-founder of the fellowship. Ya and De, two millennials, are responsible for preaching and pastoral care within the fellowship. They graduated, respectively, from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and East China Theological Seminary. Maomao leads the worship team, overseeing practical aspects of their operations, while two Gen Z members serve as the drummer and guitarist.
Located at intersections of town and country, these churches boast modest memberships, with some having only two or three dozen and the largest a hundred. Coupled with a significant aging population, it is challenging for a single church to establish a youth fellowship. Hence, Brother Wu and Brother Zheng conceived the idea of forming a joint youth fellowship among these churches to nurture them.
“We have found our development path amidst challenges,” said Brother Zheng, one of the founders. Although he later left Shangrao due to circumstances, he remains invested in the fellowship and has introduced this approach to other places. “The approach is more grounded and suitable for the current development model of churches in villages, towns, and urban-rural fringes.” He hopes this model can serve as a reference for rural churches seeking to develop youth ministry, highlighting its importance and showing how to “utilize limited resources to find one’s way forward.”
On January 25, 2019, with the support of neighboring churches, the East City Youth Fellowship was officially established. Its fellowship workers primarily come from the surrounding churches and are also key workers within their respective churches. Most serve in the fellowship and their home churches, sharing a common burden to preach to and nurture young people in the hope of seeing their churches rejuvenated with a rising generation of young believers. The worship team is a cornerstone of the youth fellowship and a primary format for youth activities. Most team members are second-generation believers or even second-generation pastors, with many of their parents also serving as workers or leaders in their respective churches.
While they grew up immersed in faith, they initially shied away from churches. Ning, a Gen Z member, commented that churches did not feel like a place for them. “As soon as you enter there, you can smell the scent of old people,” so she would head straight to the second floor when she had to visit there. Ling shared that her mother encouraged her to attend church, but the sermons were in dialects, making it difficult for her to follow. It felt like doing mental translation rather than genuinely and directly absorbing the message of teaching.
However, when the East City Youth Fellowship was established, providing a space and platform tailored to young people’s needs, they eagerly joined and said, “I developed an interest in musical instruments at a church camp and later learned from teachers there. So when the church needed help, serving became naturally a part of me.” Others shared, “I attended gatherings at other churches before, but something seemed to be missing. Later, I realized it was the lack of relationships. Here, I can build connections with others.”
As young people continued to join, the fellowship grew from an initial dozen members to over seventy, with around fifty regularly attending gatherings.
The fellowship’s core workers consist of two generations: generation X and millennials, who initially formed the first-tier team. However, as the millennial and Gen Z members matured, the older generations gracefully stepped back to the second tier, entrusting the frontlines to the younger generation to better serve the youth, working alongside each other to minister to contemporary young people.
Adhering to local church traditions, the youth fellowship primarily meets on Saturday evenings. Gatherings typically commence with worship led by the worship team, followed by a sermon.
Ya is a primary force in nurturing the youth fellowship. She preaches at another church. After graduating from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary a year and a half ago, she could not shake off her burden for her hometown church and returned to the relatively “less developed” church, despite high offers from coastal churches. Upon joining the youth fellowship, she initiated Bible study groups for fellowship members.
As the leader of the worship team, Maomao also faces significant pressure. Through various formats, they lead young people in music theory, worship, movie nights, and other activities.
Worship serves as a crucial means for their activities to touch and serve local believers. On June 12, leveraging the venue of another church, the fellowship independently hosted its first concert, attracting a large crowd. Despite forecasts of heavy rain for several days leading up to the event, the workers prayed together, hoping for clear skies. Miraculously, the rain stopped that afternoon, and a double rainbow appeared in the sky, which everyone deemed a special grace and gift from God. The concert was a testimony to the living and true presence of Jesus Christ.
Brother Wu, the fellowship’s leader, is also a key worker at a nearby church. During the last leadership election in his church, he was considered for a leadership position but declined, citing his primary focus on the youth fellowship and insufficient time for additional responsibilities. Instead, he recommended that another brother take on the role. He also runs an auto repair shop, which offers him relatively flexible hours to participate in ministry work. He is grateful for this arrangement and the Lord’s protection over his business, enabling it to remain profitable even during the pandemic when many shops struggled.
In addition to these key workers, the fellowship has other co-workers who preach at their respective churches while contributing to the fellowship’s efforts. Sister Lan, for instance, enjoys transcribing sermon notes into written form and sharing them in the fellowship group for those unable to attend, while also keeping minutes of fellowship meetings.
Beyond regular worship gatherings and Bible study groups, the fellowship organizes an annual summer youth camp and frequently collaborates with nearby churches to host concerts, prayer meetings, and other events that breathe new life into the churches. The fellowship’s workers care not only for the youth but also for the church’s elders, supporting theological students and families of struggling believers. They also engage in social services, organizing volunteer services at local nursing homes before the pandemic.
“Our vision is to establish East City Youth Fellowship as a nurturing ground, training workers to serve and impact surrounding churches,” explained Brother Zheng.
Since its establishment, the fellowship has entered its sixth year. At the beginning of this year, they just held an election, and Brother Wu continued to serve as the leader.
Meanwhile, the fellowship is also facing many challenges. Firstly, there is no stable meeting place. Currently, they borrow from other churches, so after each gathering, they need to put away musical instruments. If there were a regular meeting place for the fellowship, people who are weak could go there to pray and receive more detailed pastoral care, which is currently impossible. In addition, the fellowship lacks regular full-time pastors. Currently, both pastors are part-time and belong to their respective churches, which diverts their attention from many other ministries.
Furthermore, the fellowship lacks co-workers. Compared to middle-aged and elderly people, young people are volatile. The nature of job opportunities for young people locally is very limited, so most of them are busy with their livelihoods and have many changes, making it difficult to find time to gather during the day. Therefore, the fellowship’s Bible study, band rehearsals, and other gatherings are all arranged in the evening. Co-workers also need to respond to various sudden changes at any time. For instance, on the day of the gathering, if a scheduled receptionist suddenly says they cannot come, adjustments need to be made temporarily.
In the process of pastoral care, they have also found that building relationships is important for young people. Some people participate in ministries because their friends are serving. They are also planning birthday parties to celebrate the birthdays of those born in the first half of the year, strengthening the bond within the fellowship. Many people forget their birthdays but are notified to come to the fellowship to celebrate. The moment they receive their birthday gifts, they feel valued.
“Without the existence of this fellowship, perhaps we young people would also be marginalized, and it would be even harder for the next generation of young people to be inspired.”
As a founder and witness of the fellowship, Brother Zheng reminds churches of this era, and more importantly, those in rural and urban-rural fringe areas, to seize the opportunity. “In the blink of an eye, you waste five or ten years, and the church misses out on the growth of a generation of believers and the succession of a generation of believers. However, if we seize this opportunity, we may not see results in one or two months, or one or two years, but we will reap the harvest in five or ten years, and if we look further ahead, it will have a deeper impact.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Youth Fellowship Unites Multiple Churches in Shangrao to Empower Young Believers
