Newly Established Churches Formed by Urban Migrant Workers Face Pressure - China Christian Daily

It's not easy to do anything in this world and we shouldn't expect it to be smooth if one wants to do things for the church. Sometimes there will be'storms', but we believe that God has never left the church 

 because God is the God at the helm, and he is the God who leads us to sail continuously to our destination.

The need for pastors is high.

The first impression we have of urban migrant workers may be that they are looking for jobs, their elderly family members stay behind to attend the children (or perhaps mainly women who stay behind) as well as the young working class who participate in different jobs. It is not easy to set up a church for urban migrant workers to begin with because it takes a lot of resources, which require not only the commitment of pastors but also suitable venues and a proper gathering time. Considering that most groups working in cities have very strict requirements on time, some have time in the morning and evening, and some have time at noon. Therefore, the scheduling of city churches requires that clergy and pastors must painstakingly arrange them one by one.

Newly established churches of urban migrant workers need not only the time that pastors can give but also a lot of their energy, and pastors have more to let go than believers. A newly established church puts many demands on pastors. There are courses and lectures that need to be prepared. They must also be distributed and delivered in different stages. Because there are old and new believers in the new urban church for working class one pastor is far from enough. Many pastors are needed to coordinate with each other, including those responsible for training, those responsible for prayers, those responsible for group Bible study, those responsible for visiting and caring for the training of new believers, and those who preach the gospel to save people.

The demand for economic resources is high.

In fact, for a new church, one of the major problems is finances. Renting places requires funds, the daily expenses of the church need economic support, and the everyday life of a pastor also needs funds. On the other hand, the church needs to buy tables and chairs, communion sets, kitchen utensils, and so on. I visited a newly established urban working-class church and found that the church was facing more economic pressure. Although believers would give, there were shortages sometimes because the expenses in different areas were different. If the church needed to support its staff, it needed to meet their basic living needs and additional family subsidies so that people could be attracted and pastors could work exclusively.

When I went to northern Henan, I saw that some pastors were laid off. The reason was that the churches of the urban working class lack young people, all of whom were old people. Because the elderly believers did not have a fixed job and could not afford to support their pastors they finally chose to leave the city church and chose to serve another church while also working to earn money. Later, the pastors rarely went to the church where he served.

Preaching the gospel is difficult.

When a church is founded, we often focus on "how many people there are in the church". In fact, this focus is only about the number, but a revived church is concerned not only with the number of people but also with the improvement in quality and spiritual growth.

Evangelism is the way out for the church. Newly established city churches are full of challenges in preaching because there are people with different backgrounds and beliefs in the city and even atheists. When faced with people of different groups and identities, the ways and methods of preaching the gospel will also be different. In addition, there are many crises and obstacles in the external environment and the gospel ministry is full of difficulties.

In some areas I visited, the local gospel choir and dance teams were stopped. It seemed that many people thought that singing must be done in a church and not in other places.

Although there are many working groups in cities whose churches have just been established, I believe that God will keep providing guidance because the church is not our own, and God is responsible for the stability of the church. I firmly believe that God will open a way for the present church to preach the gospel.

-Translated by Charlie Li

Introduction:

It’s not easy to do anything in this world. We don’t want to do the church’s work and it will be smooth sailing; sometimes there will be ups and downs and strong winds, but we must believe that God has never left the church ship, because God is the God at the helm. , It is the god who leads us to sail to the destination.

1. The need for preachers

The first impression given to us by urban migrant workers may be that the main groups are workers, elderly people who stay behind to take care of their children, or women. Of course, they also include young office workers who participate in different jobs. The initial establishment of urban migrant churches is not easy because it requires a lot of resources. It requires not only the commitment of the preacher, but also a suitable venue and proper meeting time. Considering that most groups working in the city have very strict requirements on time, some have time in the morning and evening, and some have time at noon. Therefore, the city church's scheduling also requires co-workers and preachers to take pains to arrange them in an orderly manner.

The new establishment of urban migrant churches requires not only preachers to spend time, but also a lot of energy, and more people have to let go than believers. The newly established churches have many requirements for preachers. The courses and topics that need to be prepared are also divided into different stages, with different levels of cultivation and learning. Because of the newly established urban part-time working group church, there are old believers and new believers. One preacher is far from enough. It requires multiple preachers to coordinate and cooperate. Some are responsible for shepherding and some are responsible for praying. Some are responsible for group Bible study, some are responsible for visiting and caring for new believers, and some are responsible for evangelizing and absorbing the crowd.

2. Demand for economic resources

In fact, for the newly established churches, one of the major problems faced is funding. Because renting a place requires funds, the daily expenses of the church need financial support, and the preacher’s dietary life also needs funds. Another aspect is that the church needs to purchase tables, chairs, stools, communion tools, kitchen utensils, etc. The author once visited the newly established urban migrant churches and found that the churches in the cities are facing more economic pressure. Although believers will give, they sometimes lack, because the cost of churches varies from place to place. If you need to support the workers, you need to meet the basic living needs of the workers, and additional family subsidies are needed so that people can be retained and the preacher can work exclusively.

When the author went to northern Henan, I saw some preachers laid off. The reason was that the urban migrant churches lacked young people, and they were all elderly. Because the elderly did not have regular jobs and could not afford to provide them, the preacher finally chose to leave the city church and chose to serve the local church while participating in the work. Later, he rarely went to the church where he served.

3. Difficulties in expanding the gospel

When a church is first established, we often care about "how many people there are in the church". In fact, this sentence is only concerned with the number of people, but a restored church is not only concerned with the number of people, but more than this. The important thing is the improvement of quality and the growth of life.

Evangelism is the way out for the church. Urban churches that have just been established are full of challenges in evangelism, because there are different groups, people of different backgrounds, and different beliefs in the city, and there are even problems with atheism. When facing people of different groups and identities, the ways and methods of evangelism are also different. Coupled with many crises and obstacles in the external environment, the work of the gospel is also full of difficulties.

When the author visited some areas, the local gospel hymns and dances were stopped. It seems that many people think that singing should be done in the church, not in other places.

Although many urban migrant churches have just been established, they believe that God will keep them all the way forward, because the church is not our own, and God is responsible for the stability of the church. He firmly believes that God will spread the gospel for the current church Way out.

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