Along with the development of urbanization in China, many people from the countryside flood into cities, which worsens the situation in the countryside. As the number of young people in rural churches decreases, only senior missionaries remain to shepherd the senior believers.
While Jesus went Jerusalem and Paul went to Rome to evangelize; missionaries today need to go to cities now to evangelize. Senior Brother Li from Henan's rural churches remarked: "Missionaries must go to crowded places, that is, the cities and towns, to evangelize people. Without people, to whom can they bring the Gospel?"
Brother Li believed that it was inevitable for the rural church to turn its focus to the cities to do mission. In the face of urbanization, missionaries need to focus on pioneering city churches while maintaining the rural churches to accompany the senior believers walking the remaining road to heaven. As a start of the rural church turning its mission focus on cities, a church was built a year ago in the town where Brother Li's church was located. The process of transformation was difficult because rural missionaries faced many challenges in shepherding urban residents.
In an interview with CCD, Brother Li talked about the current situation of Henan's rural churches, as well as the exploration of the mission and the challenges it is currently facing.
The following is the summary of the interview with CCD.
CCD: From your perspective, what is the current situation of the rural church? What are the challenges it is currently facing? What kind of trials are feasible?
Brother Li: Personally, I believe that it will take a long time for the rural church to settle down in cities, though it is an inevitable trend. It is not planned by men; but, by the Holy Spirit. It is His work that called to missionaries go to crowded places or cities to evangelize. Without people, who do you evangelize? Sooner or later, the rural church must change itself to turn its focus of mission to cities.
CCD: If the rural church turns to cities to do mission now, how should the remaining senior believers and left-behind children in rural churches be taken care of?
Brother Li: It takes time for the rural church to settle down in the cities. After a discussion, we agreed that while the rural church should not be abandoned, urban churches should be built because we cannot move the rural church to cities as a whole.
CCD: How should the church balance the maintenance of the rural church and the pioneering of the urban one?
Brother Li: We need to divide jobs. Our church leader wanted to pioneer a new church in town while he was taking charge of the rural church. The current trend of the Holy Spirit's work forces us to take double duties. We need to keep building the rural church and start to pioneer an urban church. We hope that the church in our town could serve as a good example for the transformation of the rural church into an urban church.
CCD: Cities and the countryside are different. The urban church needs young people; but, the rural church needs seniors to shepherd believers. Will elderly missionaries like you have difficulties in shepherding in the urban church?
Brother Li: A gap truly exists. If we seniors go to lead urban fellowships, there is an age gap. However, we should not give up on shepherding in the urban church because of it. We need to diminish our differences. We also need to change ourselves by improving our proficiency and using different pastoral approaches. For instance, using the internet, computers and cell phones are challenging for me at age 60; but, we need to learn how to use them for the sake of our work and the next generation of believers. Besides, we also need to change the way we dress, talk and live. For instance, we have gotten used to speaking dialects in rural churches; but, we need to change it in cities.
CCD: Concerning the rural church, what do you think is a good way to better serve the believers?
Brother Li: Almost all of them are seniors. The church should not abandon them; but, to serve them in patience because they have also contributed to the advancing of heaven on earth. Since they have trusted the Lord Jesus for a lifetime, they are about to meet the Lord in person. The church should walk the path with them to the end.
CCD: If shepherding both rural church and the church in town brings great pressure on co-workers, why don't you take care of the rural church only and leave the church in town with their own people in charge?
Brother Li: Before we pioneered our urban church, the existing urban churches were public churches. We have different concepts. They laid on us pressure because they thought we were taking over their lands and lambs. It was not true. We built the church in town to evangelize non-believers.
CCD: The churches newly planted in town will benefit to the registered churches since more people will believe in Jesus.It will also help the rural church in the process of transformation (to city churches). Does it help your rural church that you pioneer a new church in town?
Brother Li: Yes. The message preached in both rural and urban churches is the same, so it can flow between us apart from the flow of people and materials. As a result, nobody can take charge of a church as the church belongs to Him. We are like an alliance of friends.
CCD: Concerning preaching, differences exists in the way preachers deliver sermons in rural and urban churches while the fundamental teachings are the same. How do you handle it?
Brother Li: Yes, we have different preaching styles. The message is the same about salvation, repentance and mission, etc. However, we vary in how we express the message.
CCD: Where do the differences lie? What are the outstanding characteristics of rural churches and urban churches?
Brother Li: The main body of rural church's believers are farmers who live on the land and who are busy in certain seasons. As a result, the church takes time when they are not busy in farming to shepherd them by holding more gatherings. In their busy farming season, the church only holds Sunday service and other major gatherings. They are busy working for the rest of the time.
One common way of shepherding exists in Henan and Anhui's rural churches. Missionaries lead believers to study the same scriptures in different gathering spots in one district. In contrast, there are designated coworkers leading a gathering spot in urban churches and the good side is that the message is not mixed.
The way of shepherding urban church is different for they do not do farming. Some of them are businessmen and others have a fixed time schedule of work so different people come to the church at different times. As a result, the urban church could offer several classes in different times in one day. For example, it can offer two classes in the morning, afternoon and evening respectively so that the missionaries can serve believers whenever they come.
CCD: What are the challenges facing the rural church's shepherding and transformation?
Brother Li: Personally, I need to make many changes when facing urban believers. For example, standing before different people, we need to take care about how we dress. The way we teach young students in the seminary is different from the way we teach seniors. To the young people, we need to talk about dreams, while to the seniors we need to give them courage and comfort so that they may walk the remaining road well. There is a difference in message, way of expression and dress because the audience is different.
In addition, we have great pressure supporting missionaries. Co-workers, such as us, are like volunteers from the beginning until now. However, those serving the urban church are doing full-time service so they need to have salary.
CCD: Can you give salaries to coworkers in rural churches, such as those churches you are shepherding?
Brother Li: We cannot do it now in the rural church. According to the rules and development of churches, the church should support missionaries. But we lack the money because the old parishioners are poor. On top of it, the church needs money for its own events such as gatherings, missions and charity. The main source of the church's income is believer's donation and tithe.
It is truly difficult for the rural church to adopt salary system now. Missionaries still need to take care of their own expenses, such as their transportation costs. On the other hand, the Lord has provided for us so far. Thanks to the Lord!
CCD: Since the rural church has financial difficulty while believers are mainly seniors, does it mean that the church has a great challenge to transform itself or the church will eventually fade away over time? What do you think about the future of the rural church?
Brother Li: Concerning the end of the rural church in this stage, we need to wait to see the Holy Spirit's work and the church's development. It is impossible for the rural church to complete its transformation in a few years because the conditions do not allow it. As a result, we need to take care of both, focusing on pioneering urban churches while continously serving rural churches. The oldest among the seniors in rural churches are over 80, so if we only have urban churches, it will be very difficult for them to attend the church even when it is very close to them. The seniors have to walk at least several miles to reach the church, which is unbearable for them.
Consequently, in the process of the rural church's transformation into urban churches, we need to pay attention to both the rural and urban church.
- Translated by Alvin Zhou
