Editor’s note: This April we are praying for Shenzhen. In today’s post, several house church leaders share about common struggles they face in ministering to their city. People come and go in Shenzhen, staying for a few years before moving on or returning to their hometown. The pastors agreed that this makes it difficult to build deep relationships and to shepherd people into maturity. Like many other Chinese cities, Shenzhen is a pressure cooker, and the young people living and working there are under a great deal of stress as they try to support themselves plus their families at home. Pastors don’t have enough support, and many struggle with isolation. Most also are not paid very well, and face great pressure in providing financially for their families.
China Partnership: What are some common challenges, fears, and struggles that you (your church) encounter as you minister to people in your city? How can we pray about this?
A Consumer Mentality
Pan Raiqi: One challenge for pastoral care is high mobility and low commitment. Because Shenzhen has a large migrant population, people’s commitment to the city is low. They become “Shenzhen people” when they arrive, but they leave just as easily. Their commitment to the church is equally low. Deep, sustained pastoral care and discipleship is difficult. Pray the church will have a broader kingdom perspective to equip the saints, so no matter how long they stay, when they leave Shenzhen, they will still commit to worship, build up, and bless a local church.
Recently, I’ve felt that a consumerist mentality is prevalent in the church. The church is like a religious free market, with believers moving between churches, consuming pastors. Some pastors are happy to be consumed! This is unhealthy. Pray that the Lord’s sheep will hear his voice, have discernment and a submissive heart. May those who lead faithfully bring the sheep to God, learning and teaching the full gospel.
As the church has been built up in the past years, pastors gradually became professionalized. It’s not easy to find pastors who are truly faithful to the Bible and willing to commit to serving the church, not just seeking a job in the city. Having church structures and professional pastors has advantages, but this also affects how the flock views the importance of the Lord’s church. So, trust in church itself is declining.
The church is like a religious free market, with believers moving between churches, consuming pastors. Some pastors are happy to be consumed!
Pray that the Lord will thwart the enemy’s work. May gospel power be evident in those who serve. May believers see God’s power in their pastors, not human wisdom, ability, or gifts. As the status of Shenzhen rises, may the Lord will guard his church and his pastors against pride. May pastors serve with humility, on their knees. May they proclaim Christ with teachable tongues.
Young people spend their youth in Shenzhen, but many return to their hometown in old age. Pray the Lord will illuminate their souls amidst their busyness. May they consider their eternal destination, open their hearts to the gospel, enter the church, be captured by the love of the cross, and follow the Lord of eternal life. May the Holy Spirit revive the church to labor in evangelism.
Busyness and Pressure
Shu Jing: Everyone is constantly busy: with work, even without work. The pace of life is fast. If you want to gather people for Bible study or visit them, it’s difficult. Church workers are busy; believers are busy. Shenzhen has a lot of entertainment, and the Internet and phones are very attractive. Because there is so much pressure, people use entertainment to relieve stress.
Housing prices and rent are high, but wages haven’t kept up. The severity of the wealth gap exceeds imagination. People are restless – especially the working class, who see no hope.
Some have children, and are pressured to find schools for them. Schools also put a lot of pressure on children. When the children are young, parents must study with them, and face the pressure the school puts on children. Parents also go crazy. There are not many public schools in Shenzhen, and most people don’t own property or have household registration in Shenzhen. Because of this, sometimes the child has to go back to their parents’ hometown for school. Only about 30 percent of Shenzhen locals are registered here.
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My wife is local, and we try to share the gospel with locals. Although the gospel was first preached here a hundred years ago, there are not many local believers. This is because they are generally better off economically, and don’t have financial difficulties. Their education level is generally lower. Locals stick together and don’t interact much with outsiders.
It’s not easy to be a pastor in Shenzhen… church offerings can’t keep up. Many pastors’ incomes are completely insufficient.
Churches have to rent places from locals, though. So, we are trying to share the gospel with locals. We hope more locals can become Christians, understand the gospel, and rent their houses to house churches. Then the environment would improve greatly.
We need to pray for church unity. Without unity, there is no witness, and each church fights alone. Many mistakes are repeated.
Pray for the spiritual health of pastors, because it’s not easy to be a pastor in Shenzhen. Even if the church has 40 people, the pastor’s living expenses are probably very tight. Some pastors are working class. Although some people earn hundreds of thousands a month, the working class earns three or four or five thousand a month. They spend a few thousand on food, and two or three thousand on rent. Their income doesn’t cover expenses. If the congregation is mostly working class, church offerings can’t keep up. Many pastors’ incomes are completely insufficient.
We think ministry is healthiest if husband and wife to serve together. But the wife often has to work, so only the husband serves. The pressure is great. We need to pray for the spiritual health of pastors, and the stability of their families.
China Partnership: What language do locals speak – Hakka or Cantonese?
Shu Jing: Locals speak Hakka and Cantonese. My wife speaks Hakka.
As far as I know, there are currently three house church pastors who are native to Shenzhen, one of whom is my wife. If anyone tells me there is a fourth, I’d like to meet them.
Shenzhen Speed
Elder Wu Yang: Let’s talk about “Shenzhen speed.” You can tell just from how people walk – it’s faster than any other city. When I go to other cities, I’m constantly stepping on people’s heels.
Brothers and sisters in Shenzhen are really tired, especially recently. It’s incredibly competitive: getting off work at 9 or 10 p.m. is very normal. People are under a lot of pressure, and incomes have decreased about 20 percent across the board. Many are young, and are only children. One family’s finances support both sets of parents and the entire extended family. With the economic downturn, the pressure is unprecedented. They often face unemployment and job searches.
When you share the gospel here, people talk about the universe. They accept Jesus as a teacher. Because of the struggles of the past few years, many people are searching for faith. They find other faiths, but are respectful when it comes to Jesus: “I believe in mine, you believe in yours.” There are a lot of Buddhist-style spiritual gatherings, which are all very crowded.
Brothers and sisters in Shenzhen are really tired.
In local churches, there are two extremes for pastors: one is incredible stinginess. They give them a few thousand [a very low salary], calculating that the pastor works only on Sundays. Then they say, “As a pastor, you should live by faith.” Quite a few pastors are treated this way. The other extreme is less common, when the pastor is very charismatic and the offering account is in his name, so all offerings go directly into his account. There are a few churches like this. Churches with sound financial systems are rare.
Isolated Shepherds
Pastor Huang: In recent years, we’ve found that sharing the gospel in parks or on the streets is very difficult. Nowadays, people have guarded relationships. If someone approaches and starts talking about the gospel, no matter how they do it, people are wary. Churches should change their evangelistic approach and rely on relationships. Each person can invite relatives and friends to their home, then we figure out how to carry out gospel work.
People have increasingly worse interpersonal relationships. They need an outlet for their emotions. Our church has encountered this. For example, say someone has trouble at home or work, or lots of conflicts with family. They want to control themselves and build good relationships, but they can’t. Then they come to church and find an outlet. But when they come to church, the church needs care for seekers, to better develop evangelistic work that can help them. This is a challenge, but also an opportunity. This is one area for prayer.
Another is church shepherding. As pressure increases, brothers and sisters become more focused on earthly matters. They think, “If you can help me solve this problem, maybe I can listen to what you’re saying.” They rarely look at problems from a heavenly perspective, and are unwilling to spend time reading the Bible and praying. Work is busy, and they are distracted by their devices, so they don’t have much time to be close to the Lord. Many just rush through morning prayers, reading the Bible and praying on their way to work. This effect is definitely going to be poor.
People leave early and come home late. Some leave in the morning before their wife and children are awake, then come back at night after they’ve gone to bed. It’s hard to build a good relationship with God. When they encounter problems, they become very distressed, and don’t know how to apply the gospel to overcome problems.
Pray for pastors’ relationship with God, and their physical and mental well-being. Many pastors are lonely and isolated. They have no outlet for the pressures they face, no one to share the burden with. Everything is bottled up inside. Pastors must deal with many problems, but they can’t digest everything themselves. Over time, they may burn out, feel tired, experience bitterness or resentment. This can build up. This especially needs prayer.
Pray for Rekindling
Li En: We lack internal gospel motivation and a kingdom perspective. We are more focused on ensuring the church’s safety and stability in this oppressive environment. In certain institutions, openly professing faith can be a huge challenge.
Many pastors are lonely and isolated. They have no outlet for the pressures they face, no one to share the burden with. Everything is bottled up inside.
On the surface, it seems busyness and the oppressive environment have external causes. But from the church’s perspective, we are losing the pure, inner urgency for God’s gospel mission. The love for the city and the burden for souls of the world is gradually disappearing. If we don’t have an internal drive, then even if the environment improves, secularization might bring even more severe consequences.
We need to pray for God to rekindle us pastors. May we not be lukewarm, maintaining church while neglecting the many unreached people and places.
Wang Yijian, Pan Raiqi, Shu Jing, Wu Yang, Pastor Huang, and Li En are pseudonyms for house church leaders in Shenzhen.
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