Editor’s note: Changchun is a city of about 9 million in northern China. Although Changchun faces the same economic struggles as the rest of China, local pastors say the Christian community is Changchun is vibrant and growing. Sometimes, that growth brings its own challenges, as needs outstrip the capacity of leaders. Believers also struggle to know how to reach out to unbelievers, and pastors are sometimes uncertain how to prepare their flock to face persecution.
China Partnership: What are some common challenges, fears, and struggles that you and your church encounter as you minister to people in your city?
Growing Churches Bring Their Own Challenges
Pastor Gao Yuan: What are people afraid of? Mostly economic issues. The poorest, those at the very bottom of society, often don’t think much about it. Those at the top also have their own concerns.
But the middle class worries about everything. They worry about the stock market and national affairs, but also about social security, health insurance, cash flow, and income. They worry about children’s education, marriages, and elderly parents. In recent years, anxiety and depression have become extremely common.
As for the church, in Changchun our context is a bit unique. In just one residential complex, we have dozens of Christian households. “Love your neighbor” is very literal. People really are neighbors, and see each other constantly! Sunday isn’t the only focal point. But with proximity come problems: when people live so close, conflicts easily arise – especially among children. Conflicts between kids can affect adult relationships. It isn’t a fatal problem, but it does present certain challenges.
In just one residential complex, we have dozens of Christian households. “Love your neighbor” is very literal. People really are neighbors, and see each other constantly!
As church ministries multiply, there can also be an imbalance in load-bearing – some volunteers feel overworked, or compare themselves to others. That can create relational tension.
These are the issues I think and worry about day-to-day. On the other hand, we haven’t faced big challenges over doctrine, over core theology or heresies. Instead, most challenges come up as we do specific ministry.
At the same time, we feel a sense of indebtedness towards evangelism. New people come in all the time – but we still feel we haven’t found a good way to reach non-Christians. We used to do campus ministry, but now we can’t even get onto university campuses.
Work and Financial Pressure
Pastor Wu Li: For adults, the central issue is work pressure. Many people say all the overtime affects their ability to attend church gatherings. It’s harder and harder to make a living.
This also affects the way sisters feel about marriage. Under all the pressure, some sisters are afraid to marry. A small number have very negative views of marriage, views shaped by the surrounding culture and which are difficult to change. It’s hard to shift their mindset, and their perspective influences and harms others.
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Pastor Du Longkai: Right now, cold and flu waves are affecting us. Many people are sick, and it’s hard to recover from lingering symptoms. Many people can’t come to church, and others are worried about catching something. Health issues are a real, practical challenge right now.
The main pressure on people in Changchun is the economy – it’s the same for those in the church.
Another issue is economic pressure, which everyone has mentioned. Making money is hard and the cost of living is high, so some people are pushed to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the district where our church meets, if an expensive car is parked roadside without security cameras nearby, it may get its windows smashed and valuables stolen. Because people find it so hard to make ends meet, some resort to crime.
In the church, some go months without receiving a salary. We often pray for them in our meetings.
Elder Hu Wei: The main pressure on people in Changchun is the economy – it’s the same for those in the church. Because of financial pressure, young people are tied down by work, and have little margin to devote to church service. Many young people in our congregation carry heavy burdens to support their families, so they are less able to participate in ministry.
Preparing People to Face Persecution
Pastor Zhu Jiale: Some are genuinely afraid that attending a house church could cost them their jobs in “the system” – positions in governments agencies, public schools, or hospitals. Even older believers close to retirement sometimes just want to retire “safely.” If they were more open about their Christian faith, they could face serious trouble.
So, some people feel very tense in church, especially when they hear reports of persecution. Any news of crackdowns frightens them. The authorities are not directly targeting them, but when people hear about arrests, they become afraid and stop attending gatherings. We can understand this.
All these economic, political, and religious pressures are testing our faith. Do we really believe God is sovereign? We pastors need to model trust and surrender in how we speak about persecution.
This story is especially true of those who left official, Three-Self churches and started attending house churches. Once they learn that house churches are often persecuted, they become afraid – especially if they haven’t yet learned what it means to suffer for Christ. Then, some of those people retreat to the relative safety of Three-Self churches.
In the end, all these economic, political, and religious pressures are testing our faith. Do we really believe God is sovereign? We pastors need to model trust and surrender in how we speak about persecution. If the way we talk about persecution mainly reveals our own fear, then of course the flock will be afraid. But, if we frame these things as God’s way of testing and refining his church, brothers and sisters might receive persecution in a more positive, faith-filled way.
We need wisdom, in the same way parents need wisdom as they figure out how to share about family crises with young children. Believers in the church might be older in age, but that doesn’t mean they are mature, or that their faith is strong. We need to be wise in how we share negative news with them – not hiding reality or overwhelming them with it – so that, in the Lord, they can rightly understand these things.
Gao Yuan, Wu Li, Du Longkai, Hu Wei, and Zhu Jiale are pseudonyms for house church pastors and elders in Changchun.
Pray for pastors in Changchun to have wisdom as they model and explain how to respond to persecution.
