In domestic churches, the majority of full-time workers or volunteers are Christian women; in some churches, female pastors serve as church leaders. While many churches and pastors hope to nurture more Christian men and see them take on leadership roles, male ones often make up a minority of congregants, and even fewer are willing to pursue full-time ministry.
Pastors have explored the general reasons why it is more challenging for male believers to enter full-time ministry. For example, men tend to be more rational, while women are often more emotional; women are more likely to embrace faith and respond to God's calling ascribed to being moved by the Lord’s love. Additionally, practical challenges play a role. In contemporary Chinese society, a preacher or pastor is often misunderstood or even disrespected in some places. Moreover, men face greater pressures related to marriage, work, and support for their families. The financial support churches can offer to male workers is usually limited, making the decision to pursue full-time ministry daunting for them.
Recently, a Christian woman named Meng’en, born in the 1980s, shared the efforts of her church in addressing this issue with the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian Newspaper.
She explained that her church places great emphasis on training male believers. Although the church still has more female members than male ones, and the older generation of church staff is predominantly female, years of effort have led to a significant shift. Among the millennial pastors and staff workers, men now outnumber women.
This achievement is the result of a decade of dedication from the church’s pastors.
To nurture male believers, pastors in her church first sought to break the church tradition of avoiding discussing money.
In the past, many senior pastors served solely by faith, without relying on material support from the church. As a result, they often instilled in the next generation the idea that ministry must be pursued by faith alone, with no dependence on financial resources. This left many ministers in extreme hardship. Consequently, many Christians, even those moved by a calling, didn’t dare to dedicate themselves to God. Some who entered ministry were forced to take up secular jobs to support themselves and their families.
Meng’en noted that while many churches are willing to invest in large-scale projects, such as building constructions, and ministries, they hesitate to invest in workers. This reluctance, she believes, hinders the involvement of both Christian men and women in ministry, particularly male ones, who bear greater financial burdens in supporting their families.
Her church’s pastors broke away from this traditional mindset. They not only dedicated time and energy to developing young believers but also invested significant financial resources.
“To train excellent ministers and pastors,” Meng’en shared, “the church established a seminary with diverse training and educational programs. The church encourages its members to study theology, giving them salaries as soon as they enter seminary. Even though their initial salaries might be modest after graduation, they gradually improve with time and experience, being paid about the same as those who work in the secular world. This ensures that male Christians can serve without financial concerns.”
The second key effort in her church is placing men in leadership roles during church activities. “Through practical work, male ones can gain experience, take on accountability, and develop leadership skills,” Meng’en explained.
While it may seem unfair to gifted and capable female members, Meng’en believes this intentional effort benefits the church and families in the long run. The church does not neglect female believers; instead, it focuses on preparing them for supportive roles. Meng’en is being trained as a future pastor or leader, though the church prioritizes training women for auxiliary roles.
Additionally, her church places significant importance on male members within their families. Through pastoral care, female members have cultivated humility and willingly taken on supportive roles, with more male ones being nurtured to be leaders in the church.
As a result of these efforts, Meng’en’s church has successfully fostered a growing number of male leaders.
- Edited by Katherine Guo & translated by Abigail Wu
国内教会，参与全职服事或做义工的肢体，以女基督徒居多；有些教会更是以女牧者为教会领袖。虽然，不少教会和牧者都希望多多培养男信徒，并且期待他们站在前面。可是很多教会里男基督徒占少数，愿意全职服事的男信徒更少。
牧者们分析男信徒更难参与全职传道的原因。比如，男信徒比较理性，女信徒更加感性；女的更容易接受信仰，更容易被主的爱打动，也更容易接受呼召。还有一方面是现实情况，比如在当下的中国社会，传道人和牧者的职业仍然是被大多数人所不能理解；甚至在有些地方是不受尊重的。而且，弟兄结婚、工作和养家的压力更大。教会能为弟兄提供的生活补助也比较有限。种种现实情况让弟兄在选择全职事奉上往往望而却步。
近日，笔者与一位80后姊妹同工蒙恩交流，她介绍了她所在教会针对此现象而做出的努力。
蒙恩表示，他们教会是非常看重弟兄，重视对他们的培养。虽然教会中，弟兄的比例仍然是少，姊妹多；老一辈同工中也以姊妹居多。但是经过多年的努力，在80后或90后牧者和同工中，弟兄已经多于姐妹。
今天能有这样的局面，是因为牧者付出了十年的努力。
为了培养弟兄，她所在教会的牧者首先试图改变中国教会普遍地不谈钱，到开始谈钱。
过去，很多前辈几乎是完全凭信心在服侍。所以很多前辈牧者在培养下一代的时候，觉得走服事的路必须要凭信心，不靠物质。这导致很多传道人生活非常艰难；而很多基督徒看到这个现实，即便心里有感动，也不能不考虑现实。还有很多人服事途中，不得不为了生存而临时选择打工养家。
看到很多教会在大型事工上舍得投入金钱，但就是不肯在工人身上投入。她认为这会阻碍弟兄姐妹，尤其是阻碍弟兄进入服事；因为姐妹在养家方面的压力相对小一点。
而蒙恩教会的牧者则打破了这一“传统”观念。在培养年轻人上，他们愿意投入时间和精力，还非常舍得投入金钱。
蒙恩姐妹分享说：“为了培养优秀的传道人和牧者，教会筹建神学院，组织各种培训和学习。教会鼓励弟兄姐妹读神学，而从读神学院开始就给神学生发工资。即便弟兄毕业参与服事后，刚开始工资可能不高。但是随着服事的时间以及服事经验的积累等，男基督徒在教会服事与在外面参加工作的待遇差不多。这样就使弟兄在服事的时候，没有后顾之忧。”
为了培养弟兄，她所在的教会做的第二个努力是，“教会牧者在组织各种活动的时候会刻意把弟兄放在前面，也就是让弟兄做负责人。让他们在实际工作中积累经验，承担责任，提升领导力。”
她表示，看起来，教会刻意地培训男成员，对有恩赐、有能力的女成员可能会不公平。但是这种刻意，从长远来说是祝福教会、家庭的。其实，教会并不是只培养弟兄。蒙恩作为姐妹也，是教会按照下一代牧者和接班人的目标来培养的，“只是教会培养女信徒，更多是让她在教会中做辅助工作。”蒙恩补充说。
另外，她的教会也非常重视家庭，重视弟兄在家庭里的角色。在牧者的教导下，她所在的教会里的姊妹们也非常谦卑；愿意做配搭和辅助的事奉。因此，蒙恩所在的教会里有越来越多的弟兄被培养和建立起来。
经验| 一北方教会在培养弟兄成为教会领袖中所做的两点努力
In domestic churches, the majority of full-time workers or volunteers are Christian women; in some churches, female pastors serve as church leaders. While many churches and pastors hope to nurture more Christian men and see them take on leadership roles, male ones often make up a minority of congregants, and even fewer are willing to pursue full-time ministry.
Pastors have explored the general reasons why it is more challenging for male believers to enter full-time ministry. For example, men tend to be more rational, while women are often more emotional; women are more likely to embrace faith and respond to God's calling ascribed to being moved by the Lord’s love. Additionally, practical challenges play a role. In contemporary Chinese society, a preacher or pastor is often misunderstood or even disrespected in some places. Moreover, men face greater pressures related to marriage, work, and support for their families. The financial support churches can offer to male workers is usually limited, making the decision to pursue full-time ministry daunting for them.
Recently, a Christian woman named Meng’en, born in the 1980s, shared the efforts of her church in addressing this issue with the Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian Newspaper.
She explained that her church places great emphasis on training male believers. Although the church still has more female members than male ones, and the older generation of church staff is predominantly female, years of effort have led to a significant shift. Among the millennial pastors and staff workers, men now outnumber women.
This achievement is the result of a decade of dedication from the church’s pastors.
To nurture male believers, pastors in her church first sought to break the church tradition of avoiding discussing money.
In the past, many senior pastors served solely by faith, without relying on material support from the church. As a result, they often instilled in the next generation the idea that ministry must be pursued by faith alone, with no dependence on financial resources. This left many ministers in extreme hardship. Consequently, many Christians, even those moved by a calling, didn’t dare to dedicate themselves to God. Some who entered ministry were forced to take up secular jobs to support themselves and their families.
Meng’en noted that while many churches are willing to invest in large-scale projects, such as building constructions, and ministries, they hesitate to invest in workers. This reluctance, she believes, hinders the involvement of both Christian men and women in ministry, particularly male ones, who bear greater financial burdens in supporting their families.
Her church’s pastors broke away from this traditional mindset. They not only dedicated time and energy to developing young believers but also invested significant financial resources.
“To train excellent ministers and pastors,” Meng’en shared, “the church established a seminary with diverse training and educational programs. The church encourages its members to study theology, giving them salaries as soon as they enter seminary. Even though their initial salaries might be modest after graduation, they gradually improve with time and experience, being paid about the same as those who work in the secular world. This ensures that male Christians can serve without financial concerns.”
The second key effort in her church is placing men in leadership roles during church activities. “Through practical work, male ones can gain experience, take on accountability, and develop leadership skills,” Meng’en explained.
While it may seem unfair to gifted and capable female members, Meng’en believes this intentional effort benefits the church and families in the long run. The church does not neglect female believers; instead, it focuses on preparing them for supportive roles. Meng’en is being trained as a future pastor or leader, though the church prioritizes training women for auxiliary roles.
Additionally, her church places significant importance on male members within their families. Through pastoral care, female members have cultivated humility and willingly taken on supportive roles, with more male ones being nurtured to be leaders in the church.
As a result of these efforts, Meng’en’s church has successfully fostered a growing number of male leaders.
- Edited by Katherine Guo & translated by Abigail Wu
Efforts by Northern Church to Raise Male Members as Leaders
