Editor’s note: This August, we will be praying for the southwest China mega-city of Chongqing. Chongqing is a municipality the size of Austria, by some accounts the largest city in the world. It is a hot and humid mountain city, and is known for spicy “ma la” food and its famous hot pot. To introduce us to Chongqing, we begin the month by re-publishing an old interview with a Chongqing pastor. He talks about his community, his church, and some of the ways he has experienced God’s work in his life and his city.

Church in a Mountain City

China Partnership: Tell us about your church.

Jiang Qing: I live in Chongqing, a large area that covers 82,000 square kilometers, equal to the size of a state in America. We have a population of 36 million, as many as some European countries. Our city is mountainous and surrounded by two rivers, the Yangtze and the Jialing. I think my city is very beautiful. There are a lot of ethnic minorities.

There has been a lot of improvement to public transportation systems. It is quite easy to travel, whether by high-speed rail, car, ferry, or plane. If you see the Chongqing municipality as one single city (Chongqing comprises a central urban area and an outer region made up of former counties), it is huge compared to other cities. Remote, hilly areas are less accessible.

CP: Where is your church located and who are the communities you serve? 

Jiang: We began as a church made up of university graduates. Early on, we decided to be in the city center. Most people in our neighborhood are professionals working in the city. We chose to be in the city center because we wanted to relate more closely to how the people of this city live. We also wanted to be easily accessible by public transportation.

In the beginning, our church was made up of people ages 25 to 40. But once ministry took off, elderly started coming. Once parents were more involved, we started having teenagers, and our church became more diverse. Now the majority are between 30 and 45.

We were attacked by the government in 2004, when we were only a fellowship group. The incident helped us realize what we were doing and the purpose of our existence… God’s heart is in building the church.

CP: How long has your church been established in the city? 

Jiang: Our history is a bit complicated. We were attacked by the government in 2004, when we were only a fellowship group. The incident helped us realize what we were doing and the purpose of our existence. We started seeking the Lord’s will, and found it in Matthew 28. God’s heart is in building the church.

We began having Holy Communion in 2004; it was a milestone. I think we can say we became a church then. There is still a lot to be done in establishing a more mature institutional infrastructure, but we are getting there.

CP: What would your church like to do next?

Jiang: These days we are learning we have not done enough in missions and evangelism, particularly evangelism through church planting. We have been inward-focused, caring mostly about the church’s own needs. Our next step would be exploring how we can engage in systematic evangelism through planting churches.

Due to our size and the direction of how we wish to develop, we may take the “division” approach, sending out some members to start a new church at a new location. Another important thing is to nurture members to receive theological training or study at the seminary in the future.

We All Need God’s Grace

CP: Chongqing seems to have a laid-back culture. People there love a good, easy life. Has the gospel influenced how believers in Chongqing think about local culture? Has the gospel caused any lifestyle changes or reshaped any cultural habits? 

Jiang: You just pointed out [something important], although a lot of people might not agree. The people of Chongqing do not think life there is all that pleasant or easy. To many missionaries, Chongqing is hard ground. People [care] very much about what they eat and wear and the lust of the eyes – this is Chongqing culture. It is very worldly, placing great value on the pleasures of this life. It has also been said that Chongqing is one of the cities in China with a high percentage of homosexuality.

There are many things that need to be changed and that we hope will be changed by the gospel. We have witnessed with our own eyes how certain things which are regarded as normal in Chongqing, yet displease God, are being changed through the gospel.

For example, we have seen some on the brink of divorce and with broken families who were able to recognize their sin and come to repentance as God’s light shone into [their lives]. They reconciled with one another and are learning anew what marriage means.

The people of Chongqing do not think life there is all that pleasant or easy… People [care] very much about what they eat and wear and the lust of the eyes – this is Chongqing culture. It is very worldly, placing great value on the pleasures of this life.

We saw another brother with strong homosexual tendencies due to his upbringing and other reasons, healed. Having been truly accepted in the gospel and by the church and not treated as an outcast, he was able to come out of it. He changed not only his outward behavior, but he also led his whole family to know him differently.

The gospel effects enormous change on people. Any other philosophy would not have had been able to bring about [such changes], especially in a megacity like Chongqing.

CP: How does the church support brothers and sisters in their struggles? How has the church come alongside the brother struggling with homosexuality, for example? 

Jiang: What’s most important is to recognize, through the gospel, that we are all of the same nature and we all need God’s grace. We need to see that a force of darkness underlies our brokenness. It is not simply a matter of behavior modification or acquiring a different set of moral principles. Rather, one needs the gospel to be planted and grow deep into one’s life.

It is important that brothers and sisters operate from a completely different value system. They do not see that brother as odd, as if he were inferior in some way. Rather, they see him as someone who needs the gospel just like we do. This is essential.

Another point is not to regard this as simple, with an easy solution. It is a complex matter and he is still a sinner. This means we not only teach him truth, but we also genuinely accept and walk with him in gospel love. On practical matters – when he goes on a business trip, for example – we make an effort to hold him accountable, offer support, and give him frequent reminders, encouraging him with God’s word. This way he can slowly mature in his faith in a gospel-saturated environment, coming to better understand his sinfulness. He can develop a godly hatred toward sinful behaviors and desire Christ’s goodness and beauty.

God Is Always Working

CP: What has contributed most significantly to your spiritual growth as you seek to become more Christ-like? 

Jiang: The continued pursuit of God’s word and experiencing the power of the gospel. As our family grows with the church, we have seen that it is God’s grand purpose for his church to continue to mature. We desire to be built up by refreshing and deepening our knowledge of God’s word as we seek our church’s growth, as well as our own. As I recognize my own brokenness and the brokenness of brothers and sisters, I see how true the words of the Bible are. This establishes the heart of my spiritual life.

Prayer is key. Individual prayer and united prayer with brothers and sisters helps us experience how God is with us and the Holy Spirit is working at the same time in each of our lives.

I know God is always working and his hand is in our country’s policy changes, but to me this was personal. We thought there was no hope, and then a little child came with a simple thought to pray, and God made it happen.

I have had many [experiences of seeing God through prayer]. Until till a few years ago, our country’s policy was that we could only have one child. As Christians we wish to be law-abiding citizens, yet we also know God’s desire is for us to multiply and be fruitful. At that time, we were saying we could not have a second child in our country. Our daughter (then our only child) said, “We should pray.” She was more determined than we were. After we started praying, our country’s policy began to change.

I know God is always working and his hand is in our country’s policy changes, but to me this was personal. We thought there was no hope, and then a little child came with a simple thought to pray, and God made it happen.

There are many more instances like this. When I look at the lives of brothers and sisters, I sometimes feel that neither my companionship nor the counseling support I offer yields any fruit. But when [I] pray, they begin to change. It is almost like change happens overnight. They begin to understand. This is why I believe God is faithful.

Jiang Qing is a pseudonym for a house church pastor in Chongqing.

Pray for God to soften the hard soil of Chongqing, so people will seek life in things that last instead of worldly pleasures.