Editor’s note: Chongqing is a mega-city in southwest China, known for its spicy weather, food, and people. As we pray for Chongqing this month, several house church pastors shared about their city. They said that Chongqing people struggle with the same issue other city people face, and that they see opportunities for sharing as they love others and meet those needs. They also specifically discussed the difficulties student ministry has faced in Chongqing over the years, and how they worry for the future of the church if they are not able to effectively reach young people.

Be sure to look up Parts One, Two, Three, and Four of our series on Chongqing. This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity and length.

Creatively Sharing the Gospel

China Partnership: As you minister to people in your city, what are the common challenges, fears, and struggles you encounter?

Ke Dong: I think parents with children are very concerned about their children’s education, especially now that education is becoming increasingly polarized. After middle school, the government now forcibly assigns half the students into a vocational path, to go to factories and become workers. The other half may continue on to high school, and then to college.

Many parents are anxious about this, because they still want their children to go to good universities and get good jobs. There doesn’t seem to be any good way to alleviate parental anxiety. We can only try to guide them, and tell them that a child’s education cannot ultimately determine everything about their life. Through the gospel, we are trying to change parents’ views on their children’s education.

There doesn’t seem to be any good way to alleviate parental anxiety. We can only try to guide them, and tell them that a child’s education cannot ultimately determine everything about their life.

We have two children, and are homeschooling them.

Xu Jingle: We mainly share the gospel through the elderly ladies in our church who go plaza dancing. I have handed out flyers and brought back many believers. Some people also took initiative to ask me about faith.

As for anxieties, people are really concerned about health. They spend all day on things like preservation of health. To attract the people to come, some of the people in our church give away small gifts like eggs and fruits or other “healthy” gifts.

Zhang Peihong: Our church currently has several people who are self-employed, maybe running small restaurants or catering businesses, or driving for something like Uber. We usually share the gospel with people brothers and sisters already know, their friends and colleagues and classmates.

If they have children, these people are usually really worried about their children’s education: they want to give their children a better education so they will have better job opportunities in the future. They are also fairly concerned about health.

Actually, I feel like if there is anything that a general urbanite would want, people in Chongqing want those things, too. They all hope for things like good health, enough money, a comfortable job, financial freedom, and so on.

Xu Jingle: Another evangelism opportunity our church has is, because we have many elderly members, we hold several funerals each year. They invite us to go and share God’s word with them. At a funeral, people are forced to sit down and listen to the gospel.

We mainly share the gospel through the elderly ladies in our church who go plaza dancing.

“Very Strict with Students Here”

Ning Lu: Most of the brothers and sisters in our church are pretty young, and we also have some college students. Their biggest worry is work. They constantly worry about changing jobs or finding a better-paying job. They often feel unsatisfied with their current job. There is a term, “juan,” which means being extremely hardworking and anxious about being replaced.[1]

Recent college graduates invest a lot of time and energy in their work, and also worry about their next job.

This is the source of a lot of anxiety for them, and we haven’t addressed these issues very well. We just follow the normal church routine of preaching, praying, and sharing the gospel with them. Ultimately, we rely on God.

The student ministry in Chongqing is not like other cities. Up to now, there is still not a good student ministry here. I’ve heard that other cities – like Shandong Province, or Xi’an – have large ministries, with many students who graduate from them. In Chongqing, many student ministries have faced difficulties and even eventually left the city. All the churches in Chongqing who do student ministry are being persecuted. They are very strict with students here.

They are very strict with students here… If we can’t retain young people or effectively carry out ministry for young adults and the next generation, then I feel the church is in danger.

It’s a bit easier now to enter universities compared to before, such as during the pandemic, when it was impossible. Now, you can swipe your ID card or make an appointment to enter. But once you are inside, you can’t do much. If you tried to share the gospel, you would be taken away in less than half an hour.

If we can’t retain young people or effectively carry out ministry for young adults and the next generation, then I feel the church is in danger. It would be quite easy for things to develop to a point where there are no more young people left.

[1] “Neijuan” or “内卷” is a common phrase in modern China, and refers to being caught in society’s rat race with no way out.

Ning Lu, Ke Dong, Xu Jingle, and Zhang Peihong are pseudonyms for house church pastors in Chongqing.

Pray for students and young people in Chongqing to hear and believe the gospel.