The church in my hometown is a rural church. Growing up in the church, I have particular deep feelings for it because it carries my past and shines into my future. No matter where I go, my heart will always be warm when I think about my church’s elderly friends and their care.
Nowadays, young people are rarely seen in rural areas and so it’s the same in rural churches. It’s not easy to meet just a few young Christians even during the Spring Festival not to mention the whole year round. Yet, even if there are worship services during the Spring Festival, most young people are reluctant to attend. They have long become used to a more vibrant life in urban areas. When they return to the countryside for the holiday, they are bored by the life there. They have also lost interest in rural worship services. Even when they attend a service they won’t sit in the pew long enough till it ends.
What’s more, young people have basically settled in the city for their jobs and their children's education. Most of them have bought houses there. When they arrive in the city, a few can find a church to attend but many of them can't. Over time, those who can’t find a church will stop meeting altogether.
When rural young people enter the city, the first thing that comes to their mind is how to settle down - find a job, build a social circle, and quickly integrate into the city life. Few people think of what to do if they can’t find a church.
The truth is that if they occasionally need to come back home they won’t like to attend church services. At present, the aging of rural churches is very serious even to the point where it is irreversible. There is a huge shortage of young people. Believers in their forties and fifties are young persons in rural churches. Beyond this age group, we can see rural churches have become older and older.
What comes with it is not only aging but also the number of people. The number of people will gradually decrease with the increase of age, which is also a big problem for the churches. It’s like a large family of old people who can't work anymore and there is no young workforce in this family. The problem that this large family of old people will face is the most difficult in rural churches today.
There are many rural churches where there is no one who can deliver sermons. At meetings, they sing hymns they learned a long time ago. Some people who are literate simply pray after reading the Bible. Several churches have only one pastor so pastors take turns in serving in these churches.
I remember it was a very cold winter day during my month-long field training. I and my colleague followed an elderly believer in the mountainous roads to reach a small village. When we arrived at the village church we found no one there. After several attempts by the elderly friend, we finally found a sister. So we asked her to contact everyone to come to the worship service. However, after a long time, she only found two sisters. So in that meeting, there were the three of us and three sisters, six people altogether.
After the meeting, the elder friend asked the sister why only three came to. The sister said that because there were no pastors and administration in the village church many people stopped meeting. They hadn’t had services for a long time.
The brothers and sisters in urban churches are really blessed. The meeting atmosphere is very good. They have all kinds of musical instruments. Because they are young people, they can understand each other well, but they can't understand the loneliness and downturn of the brothers and sisters in rural churches.
The present situation of rural churches is far direr than we know, especially for those in remote regions. However, even rural churches that are well connected with urban life can't change the trend of declining. Believers who originally served in rural churches moved to the city because their children went to the schools there. There was no suitable person to fill the vacancy so there was no way for the old people to fill the gap. Yet the aged believers were educated and trained so that the number of available persons has been greatly reduced.
In fact, if the young people who go to the city can often return to their rural churches to meet or serve, it is equivalent to a nestling coming back to return the help it received while it was growing up. From a spiritual point of view, our spiritual life developed with the care of our elderly friends in the church. Now since we have moved on in our lives and are doing well, we should actively care for their spiritual needs.
I moved from my rural church to a fellowship in the city. Initially, I didn't realize there was such a huge difference without me in the rural church. What I thought was that I was young and if I was always with the old people I’d feel old. I wanted to go to a place where there are many young people. I went out and joined the fellowship because of my job. I was very happy at first and thought that this was the right place for me. Then I heard that no one ministered in my hometown church, my brothers and sisters were weak and indifferent, and they wanted me to come back to the church every week.
Although now I have my current urban fellowship, my heart is always with my hometown church. On the one hand, I have seen the faithfulness of God and have a burden for the rural church; on the other hand, personally, as Christians who come from rural churches, young people should go back and strengthen rural churches as they face an aging population and decrease in numbers.
At present, in order to change the aging situation of rural churches, some young people should make sacrifices and should have a vision and understanding. Pray for more young brothers and sisters to bear the burden on the rural church just as the temple of God was destroyed and the people were taken into exile in the Old Testament. Although they lived in a foreign land, they didn’t forget their country and the temple of God. In order to revive the state of Israel, they returned to Jerusalem from generation to generation, rebuilding the city walls, rebuilding the temple, and re-enacting the Law. Although there were obstacles, they couldn’t stop their determination just as Jesus asked Peter three times: "Do you love me?" He entrusted his sheep to Peter three times. Each time represented the sheep of different ages. It can be proved that the Lord cares about the elderly people in the Church. His sheep are of all ages and none of them will be lost. Therefore, we have the responsibility and obligation to follow the Lord's instructions.
- Translated by Charlie Li
农村教会也是我家乡的教会。从小在农村教会长大的我，对农村教会有着很深厚的情感，因为那里承载着我的过往，也照耀着我的前方。无论我在哪里或走多远，心里想着农村教会的长辈们，想着他们的看顾与关怀，心里总是暖暖的。
如今在农村很少看见年轻人，教会中也是这样，几乎看不见年轻信徒的身影。一年之中，只有春节时能见上几个年轻的弟兄姐妹，还都是很不容易的那种。因为即便是春节有福音聚会，但大多年轻人还是不愿意到教会中聚会。长期以来大家已经习惯了城市热闹喧嚷的生活，回到农村所看见的景象都是枯燥、没有激情、没有生命力，所以他们对聚会也失去了兴趣，来了也坐不住。
再加上年轻人基本上都搬去了城里，为了自己的工作，为了孩子的求学，他们大都在城里买了房定居下来，到了城里只有极少数的人能找到聚会的地方，还有很多的人找不到聚会的地方，久而久之他们就不聚会了。
年轻人从农村走进城里，首先想到的是安顿自己工作谋生，建立社交圈，快速的融入城市生活，很少有人想到自己来了城里聚会怎么办？
而且有一种现象就是年轻人进了城市，偶尔再回到农村时会不愿意参加聚会。眼下我们不难看出，教会的老龄化很严重，甚至到了无法挽回的地步，年轻人缺口很大，四五十岁的弟兄姐妹在教会里算是年轻人了。这个年龄的背后，让我们看见农村教会正在一步步的走向深秋。
随之而来的问题不只是年龄，还有人数。人数会随着年龄的增加逐渐减少，在属灵的供应上也是一个很大的问题，就像一大家子的老人不能劳动，而这个家庭中又没有年轻的生产力，这一大家子的老人将面临的难题就是现今农村教会最棘手的问题。
有好多农村的教会没有人讲道，聚会的时候他们就唱唱很久以前学的灵歌，有识字的，就读段圣经之后就简单的祷告散会。有的甚至是好几个教会只有一个讲道人，所以讲道人要在这几个教会中轮流讲道。记得我在短宣（一个月操练讲道）的时候，那是很寒冷的冬天，我和我的同工在长辈的带领下，翻山越岭来到了一个小村子。想去教会聚会却找不到，经过长辈的几番打听，终于找到一个姐妹，于是请她联系一下大家来聚会。可是过了很久，她只找到了两个姐妹，因此这场聚会加上我合同工及长辈还有三个姐妹，共六个人聚了一次会。
会后长辈问那个姐妹，为什么只有她们三个人来聚会，姐妹说，因为这个地方没有讲道人，也没有人治理，所以很多人都不来了，已经很久没有聚过会了。
在城市教会的弟兄姐妹真的是太有福了，聚会的气氛非常好，有着各种各样的乐器，因为都是年轻人，很容易产生共鸣，但却无法体会农村教会的弟兄姐妹们的孤独与落寞。
农村教会的现状远比我们所知道的要荒凉，特别是偏远的教会。可即便是与城乡连接的农村教会也改变不了缺乏牧养的遭遇。原本在农村教会服服事的肢体因为孩子上学就搬去了城里，这个服事的空缺没有合适的人补足，没有办法的办法就是老人们起来补缺口。可教会中年老的长辈几乎是没有学习过与培训过的，所以在供应上也会大打折扣。
其实对于进城的年轻人，若能常回到农村教会聚会或服事，等同于乌鸦反哺的道理。从属灵的角度来讲，我们属灵的生命从小在教会中有长辈们喂养呵护着长大，如今我们生命坚固，应当反过来主动的在属灵上供应他们的需求。
笔者正是从农村教会走向城里的团契，起初我还没有意识到农村教会多我一个或少我一个有什么关系，而且我认为我是年轻人，总跟年老的人在一起，感觉自己都老了。我要去年轻人多的地方聚会，因为生活的原因走出来了，也进了团契，刚开始心里开心极了，认为这才是适合我的地方。听到家乡的教会没有人讲道，弟兄姐妹也很软弱冷淡，他们想让我每周回教会聚会。
现在我也会在团契聚会，但心始终都在家乡的教会。一方面我看清了神的托付，对农村教会有负担；另一方面，个人认为，做为从农村教会走出来的基督徒，在农村教会面临荒凉与老化的时期，年轻人当回头坚固农村教会。
眼下，想改变农村教会荒凉与老龄化的现状，就要有一部分年轻人先付出，有这样的看见和认识。求神兴起更多的年轻弟兄姐妹对农村教会有负担，如同旧约时代圣殿被毁，百姓被掳到异国，他们虽在异国生活，却不忘记自己的国家、圣殿。为了复兴以色列国，他们一代又一代地踏上了回归之路，回到耶路撒冷，重修城墙、重建圣殿、重颁律法。虽然有阻碍，但也挡不住他们的坚决，如同耶稣三次问彼得：“你爱我吗？”三次将他的羊托付给彼得，每一次都代表这不同阶段的羊。可以证明主很在意教会中的老年人，主的羊不分年纪，他一个都不失落，所以我们有责任与义务遵行主的嘱托。
一位农村基层传道人的担忧：缺少年轻人的农村教会，前景在哪？
The church in my hometown is a rural church. Growing up in the church, I have particular deep feelings for it because it carries my past and shines into my future. No matter where I go, my heart will always be warm when I think about my church’s elderly friends and their care.
Nowadays, young people are rarely seen in rural areas and so it’s the same in rural churches. It’s not easy to meet just a few young Christians even during the Spring Festival not to mention the whole year round. Yet, even if there are worship services during the Spring Festival, most young people are reluctant to attend. They have long become used to a more vibrant life in urban areas. When they return to the countryside for the holiday, they are bored by the life there. They have also lost interest in rural worship services. Even when they attend a service they won’t sit in the pew long enough till it ends.
What’s more, young people have basically settled in the city for their jobs and their children's education. Most of them have bought houses there. When they arrive in the city, a few can find a church to attend but many of them can't. Over time, those who can’t find a church will stop meeting altogether.
When rural young people enter the city, the first thing that comes to their mind is how to settle down - find a job, build a social circle, and quickly integrate into the city life. Few people think of what to do if they can’t find a church.
The truth is that if they occasionally need to come back home they won’t like to attend church services. At present, the aging of rural churches is very serious even to the point where it is irreversible. There is a huge shortage of young people. Believers in their forties and fifties are young persons in rural churches. Beyond this age group, we can see rural churches have become older and older.
What comes with it is not only aging but also the number of people. The number of people will gradually decrease with the increase of age, which is also a big problem for the churches. It’s like a large family of old people who can't work anymore and there is no young workforce in this family. The problem that this large family of old people will face is the most difficult in rural churches today.
There are many rural churches where there is no one who can deliver sermons. At meetings, they sing hymns they learned a long time ago. Some people who are literate simply pray after reading the Bible. Several churches have only one pastor so pastors take turns in serving in these churches.
I remember it was a very cold winter day during my month-long field training. I and my colleague followed an elderly believer in the mountainous roads to reach a small village. When we arrived at the village church we found no one there. After several attempts by the elderly friend, we finally found a sister. So we asked her to contact everyone to come to the worship service. However, after a long time, she only found two sisters. So in that meeting, there were the three of us and three sisters, six people altogether.
After the meeting, the elder friend asked the sister why only three came to. The sister said that because there were no pastors and administration in the village church many people stopped meeting. They hadn’t had services for a long time.
The brothers and sisters in urban churches are really blessed. The meeting atmosphere is very good. They have all kinds of musical instruments. Because they are young people, they can understand each other well, but they can't understand the loneliness and downturn of the brothers and sisters in rural churches.
The present situation of rural churches is far direr than we know, especially for those in remote regions. However, even rural churches that are well connected with urban life can't change the trend of declining. Believers who originally served in rural churches moved to the city because their children went to the schools there. There was no suitable person to fill the vacancy so there was no way for the old people to fill the gap. Yet the aged believers were educated and trained so that the number of available persons has been greatly reduced.
In fact, if the young people who go to the city can often return to their rural churches to meet or serve, it is equivalent to a nestling coming back to return the help it received while it was growing up. From a spiritual point of view, our spiritual life developed with the care of our elderly friends in the church. Now since we have moved on in our lives and are doing well, we should actively care for their spiritual needs.
I moved from my rural church to a fellowship in the city. Initially, I didn't realize there was such a huge difference without me in the rural church. What I thought was that I was young and if I was always with the old people I’d feel old. I wanted to go to a place where there are many young people. I went out and joined the fellowship because of my job. I was very happy at first and thought that this was the right place for me. Then I heard that no one ministered in my hometown church, my brothers and sisters were weak and indifferent, and they wanted me to come back to the church every week.
Although now I have my current urban fellowship, my heart is always with my hometown church. On the one hand, I have seen the faithfulness of God and have a burden for the rural church; on the other hand, personally, as Christians who come from rural churches, young people should go back and strengthen rural churches as they face an aging population and decrease in numbers.
At present, in order to change the aging situation of rural churches, some young people should make sacrifices and should have a vision and understanding. Pray for more young brothers and sisters to bear the burden on the rural church just as the temple of God was destroyed and the people were taken into exile in the Old Testament. Although they lived in a foreign land, they didn’t forget their country and the temple of God. In order to revive the state of Israel, they returned to Jerusalem from generation to generation, rebuilding the city walls, rebuilding the temple, and re-enacting the Law. Although there were obstacles, they couldn’t stop their determination just as Jesus asked Peter three times: "Do you love me?" He entrusted his sheep to Peter three times. Each time represented the sheep of different ages. It can be proved that the Lord cares about the elderly people in the Church. His sheep are of all ages and none of them will be lost. Therefore, we have the responsibility and obligation to follow the Lord's instructions.
- Translated by Charlie Li
A Rural Pastor’s Worries about No Prospects for Rural Churches without Young Believers
