"God's mind and plan are not only about the salvation of an individual, but more importantly about the salvation of all nations, all peoples, and all states by every saved person. The pastors of the church need to know that there is not only a salvation plan for people in God's plan but also a plan for all nations."
Pastor Pan Huaqiang (pseudonym) is a pastor from southern China who has planted churches in different provinces. Starting in 2016, his church began a radical transformation, and the core of that transformation and change resulted from his realization that the church needs to reemphasize its mission and does its utmost to fulfill it.
Recently, Pastor Pan shared with the Christian Times, an online Christian newspaper in China, his thoughts on why the church in China needs to resume its mission.
Pastor Pan said, "The church in China has developed a lot in the past 20 years on the outside, but its development is characterized by a model dominated by the church's own internal needs." Most pastors emphasize "me, myself, and I" in the church revival rather than "all nations, all people, and all states" that the Great Commission requires.
"The church in China is now in a very dangerous situation. The whole church community in China has forgotten about its mission," Pan said. The churches in China are all confused, and the church groups use their greatest strength not to fight the enemy but to fight themselves. "This is internal friction, and this is a breach that will waste the strength of the church."
Pastor Pan spoke of the church's relationship to Christ's Great Commission using the metaphor of a groom and bride. "The church is the bride of Christ, and what the bride needs to do is respond to her husband. If your daughter wears a wedding dress one day, it means that she will do nothing else but greet and wait for her groom, and she will not do the usual worldly things. In the same way, the church will not waste its own strength to satisfy its own development needs but will know how to please Jesus' heart and fulfill the Great Commission. She is no longer with the whole world. The bride is different from the status it had before in the world. As a church, it needs to strive to spread the gospel to all peoples, all nations, and all states. More and more saved people are the bride's dowry. He (Christ) will come to us when all the peoples of the world come together to worship him.”
Pastor Pan again used the marriage relationship to explain this. "There is a girl who is often looked down upon because she looks ordinary, has no skill, can't make money, and is not good at speaking. But suddenly one day, I found that she was much nobler than me. Why? Because she married my brother. My brother has an expensive car, a beautiful house, and is quite influential. In the end, she has a higher social status than me, and I need to call her madam. Therefore, it is important for the church today to understand the fact that the bride of the church is to be married to the King of Kings and to participate in the noblest feast. If the greatest strength of the church is not used to fight back against the states, it is against God's will."
"There will be a lot of resistance and misunderstanding as we push the church back to the Great Commission," Pan said. “There are three main reasons for this: the temptation of vanity, the temptation of control, and the temptation of comfort."
"Personal salvation is not God's ultimate goal, but the salvation of all nations through each saved person. The church must not lose sight of this great mission. God blesses all nations and the whole earth through every saved person and every saved nation."
"When the church loses its mission, it will start to move toward decline. Now the church in China no longer has the support of the mission. The pastors should fight the national war for Christ, and the elite "soldiers" raised in the church should fight the war of saving their nations. The apostles struggle in the outside world, and the prophets should shout within the church."
"The Chinese church should stop using all its forces to fight its own people instead of the enemy, and this pattern should be changed," Pastor Pan added.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
“上帝的心意和计划不只是对一个人个体的救赎，更重要的是借着每一个得救的人来拯救万族、万民和万邦。教会的牧者需要知道，上帝的计划里不只是有救赎计划，还有国度计划。”
潘华强牧师（化名）是一位来自华南的牧者，他曾经在不同省份做过植堂与牧会工作。从2016年开始，他的教会开始彻底转型，而这个转折与变化的核心就是他开始意识到教会需要重新强调使命并需要竭力活出使命。
近日，他向中国一家网络基督教报纸基督时报分享了对于中国教会为何需要重新恢复使命。
潘牧师观察到：“中国教会在过去20年里，从外表上看，好像发展了很多，但其发展特点是一种对教会自身内部需要为主导的发展模式。大部分牧者强调的是个体教会复兴的“我、我、我”，而不是耶稣大使命需要的“万、万、万”。
潘牧师指出：“中国教会现在处在一个非常危险的处境，整个中国教会共同体都丢掉了使命。中国教会都在打转，教会群体中用最大的力量，不是用来打敌人，而是是打自己。这是一种内耗，这是会让教会失去力量的破口。”
潘牧师用新郎与新妇的比喻说教会与基督大使命的关系：“教会是基督的新妇，而新妇需要做的是回应丈夫。倘若你的女儿有一天穿上了婚纱，那意味着她要做的事情不是别的，而是迎接和等待她的新郎，她不会再做日常性的世俗的事情。同样教会不会为满足自己发展的需要，而内耗自己的力量，而是懂得取悦耶稣的心意，实践大使命。她与整个世界已经完全分别了。新娘跟世界身份地位不同了，作为教会，需要努力传福音给万民、万族和万邦，当越来越多的人得救，这就是新娘（教会）的嫁妆，当世界上各族各民各方都一起来敬拜丈夫（基督），祂就会来了。”
潘牧师再次用婚姻的关系说明：“一个常被轻看的女孩子，相貌平平，又没有本事，也不会赚钱，口才也不好等等。但是突然间一天，我发现她比我尊贵很多，为什么？因为她嫁给我家的二哥。我二哥是有车有房，有权力的人。最后，她的地位反而比我高，我还叫她嫂子。因此，今天教会最重要的明白一个事实，作为新娘的教会是要嫁到万王之王那里，参与到那最尊贵的筵席里。如果教会最大的力量不是打国度反击战，而是用在了内耗，这是不合神心意的。”
潘牧师感慨到：“在推进教会重新拾起大使命的过程中，会有很多阻力和误解。其主要的原因有三个，一个是虚荣的试探，一个是掌控欲的试探，第三个是舒适的试探。”
潘牧师再次强调说：“个人得救不是上帝的终极目的，而是透过每一个得救的人去拯救万族。教会不能忘记了这个大使命。上帝通过一个人，一个族群来祝福万族，来祝福全地。”
“教会何时丢掉使命，何时就会走向衰败。现在中国的教会已经没有使命这个根基了，牧会应该是为了主基督打国度反击战，在教会里养大的精兵是为了打国度的仗。使徒对外拓展，先知对内呐喊。”
“中国教会不能再用最大的力量，不去打敌人，而是打了自己的人了，这样的模式要改变。”潘牧师补充说。
一华南牧者分享反思：中国教会为何需要重新强调使命？
"God's mind and plan are not only about the salvation of an individual, but more importantly about the salvation of all nations, all peoples, and all states by every saved person. The pastors of the church need to know that there is not only a salvation plan for people in God's plan but also a plan for all nations."
Pastor Pan Huaqiang (pseudonym) is a pastor from southern China who has planted churches in different provinces. Starting in 2016, his church began a radical transformation, and the core of that transformation and change resulted from his realization that the church needs to reemphasize its mission and does its utmost to fulfill it.
Recently, Pastor Pan shared with the Christian Times, an online Christian newspaper in China, his thoughts on why the church in China needs to resume its mission.
Pastor Pan said, "The church in China has developed a lot in the past 20 years on the outside, but its development is characterized by a model dominated by the church's own internal needs." Most pastors emphasize "me, myself, and I" in the church revival rather than "all nations, all people, and all states" that the Great Commission requires.
"The church in China is now in a very dangerous situation. The whole church community in China has forgotten about its mission," Pan said. The churches in China are all confused, and the church groups use their greatest strength not to fight the enemy but to fight themselves. "This is internal friction, and this is a breach that will waste the strength of the church."
Pastor Pan spoke of the church's relationship to Christ's Great Commission using the metaphor of a groom and bride. "The church is the bride of Christ, and what the bride needs to do is respond to her husband. If your daughter wears a wedding dress one day, it means that she will do nothing else but greet and wait for her groom, and she will not do the usual worldly things. In the same way, the church will not waste its own strength to satisfy its own development needs but will know how to please Jesus' heart and fulfill the Great Commission. She is no longer with the whole world. The bride is different from the status it had before in the world. As a church, it needs to strive to spread the gospel to all peoples, all nations, and all states. More and more saved people are the bride's dowry. He (Christ) will come to us when all the peoples of the world come together to worship him.”
Pastor Pan again used the marriage relationship to explain this. "There is a girl who is often looked down upon because she looks ordinary, has no skill, can't make money, and is not good at speaking. But suddenly one day, I found that she was much nobler than me. Why? Because she married my brother. My brother has an expensive car, a beautiful house, and is quite influential. In the end, she has a higher social status than me, and I need to call her madam. Therefore, it is important for the church today to understand the fact that the bride of the church is to be married to the King of Kings and to participate in the noblest feast. If the greatest strength of the church is not used to fight back against the states, it is against God's will."
"There will be a lot of resistance and misunderstanding as we push the church back to the Great Commission," Pan said. “There are three main reasons for this: the temptation of vanity, the temptation of control, and the temptation of comfort."
"Personal salvation is not God's ultimate goal, but the salvation of all nations through each saved person. The church must not lose sight of this great mission. God blesses all nations and the whole earth through every saved person and every saved nation."
"When the church loses its mission, it will start to move toward decline. Now the church in China no longer has the support of the mission. The pastors should fight the national war for Christ, and the elite "soldiers" raised in the church should fight the war of saving their nations. The apostles struggle in the outside world, and the prophets should shout within the church."
"The Chinese church should stop using all its forces to fight its own people instead of the enemy, and this pattern should be changed," Pastor Pan added.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Pastor from South China: Chinese Churches Need to Reemphasize the Great Commission
