Editor’s note: How can we pray for Yantai churches? Pray for encouragement and vitality among church leaders; for a new generation of Christians to be raised; for believers struggling with persecution; and for solid teaching that roots Christians in the faith.
China Partnership: How can we pray for your churches and your families?
Raising the Next Generation
Zhang Anwei: Our church has gone through several crackdowns over the last several years. Early this year, the landlord and neighborhood committee called and said our family was being investigated, and refused to rent us a place to meet. So, our church had to relocate.
We don’t know how serious it will be this time, or how far it will go, but so far the better part of this year has passed peacefully. Still, we know they are investigating. A sister rented the new church location, and the authorities also called her. So, it seems our church is followed wherever we go.
Also pray for us as we try to raise up the next generation of church leaders and hand things on well. We hope we are not simply planting churches, but completing a whole cycle [of raising up ministry leaders and planting and establishing churches]. We hope to form our own local, internal cycle, which can help all the churches of Yantai and the city itself.
Pray for us as we try to raise up the next generation of church leaders and hand things on well. We hope we are not simply planting churches, but completing a whole cycle.
This year, our church theme is “Fall in Love with Yantai.” We hope to live out the real gospel and be a help to this city.
Personally, last year my wife and I, especially me, went through a fairly serious spiritual low. I had depression, and felt like everything – the pressure of ministry, tension in our marriage – was pressing down on me at once. At one point, I broke down emotionally. I knew how to seek the gospel and understood the process of being renewed, but I found I no longer had the strength. It seemed the gospel had stopped working for me.
But God did not abandon me, and after Lunar New Year, I slowly came out of it. Even now I sometimes sink into that kind of low, but God has been especially merciful to us. Sometimes my wife and I still have tension and disagreements, so that is the main thing to pray for.
God’s Direction
Yu Kangxi: Our church serves students, so there is a great deal of turnover. It’s all for the sake of God’s kingdom, but it is genuinely hard to see people leave. Facing that, we are thinking about the next stage and where the church should go from here.
Since I have been studying theology and our church has a couple of brothers who can preach, we see some hope as far as church planting. We might see how God leads and go out a little. It is also good to stay, since our church is small and we can look after everyone. But we wonder: does God want us to prepare brothers who can rise up? Is he leading us to go out and help? Does he want us to expand and serve more people? We are praying and asking God for direction, because we do not dare act rashly. Should we church plant? Or keep consolidating?
Never miss a story
Also, our church is slowly going through a process of putting things in proper order. We want to bring the church more in line with God’s will and order, and we are in the middle of that. This is a slow process, but we believe a church after God’s own heart should have the order the Bible prescribes.
We are praying and asking God for direction, because we do not dare act rashly. Should we church plant? Or keep consolidating?
Third, we are still serving students. Every year, some students arrive, and others leave. It is God’s grace that we can help and cultivate students who go on to build up other churches. This is something we should keep doing, and we ask God to keep giving us strength to serve these students.
Finally, my wife and I have been married for four years now, and we still do not have children. We hope for a child, but God has not given us children. We can accept that, and see it is his mercy. And, not having children does mean we can give more time to the church.
Solid Shepherding
Sister Xuezhen: I hope more Yantai churches can be brought into the Reformed faith, so every believer in these local congregations can have their life of faith changed.
Pray also for my husband to learn to shepherd the church better, not merely preach. He needs to study, to know how to shepherd, and to be willing to go deeper in the faith.
As for our family, pray that we can be of one mind in bringing up our child. Pray for my husband to carry the responsibility of raising our child and being the spiritual leader of the home.
Sharing the Gospel
Sister Wen: Pray for co-laborers to be raised up in our church. Not just co-workers who focus on preaching or leadership, but co-workers of many kinds. We are especially hoping brothers will rise up, because our newly planted congregation is made of families, and we are thankful that God has given us many younger and middle-aged brothers. We are asking God to lead us and show us the direction for this new church. Although the congregation is small, the space we are in is a bit of a strain.
On top of that, there is tension in the environment. [She is referring to government pressure, which has grown markedly more stringent over recent years.] Church leaders are praying about whether we should disperse [break congregations up into multiple small groups ], or what we should do. If we do disperse, that means more people would have to rise to serve and carry responsibility. Please pray for us.
I want to be faithful to the end, yet I feel I’m starting to “”lie flat.” I’m starting to slack off a bit, and I do not like myself in this state. Please pray for me.
No matter whether we split into smaller groups or stay in one congregation, I think we need a greater drive to share the gospel, especially with our friends and family. The old way of handing out gospel tracts is hard, because there is no relational foundation. Soon our church will begin a dedicated training on evangelism, and I hope that will stir up the drive to share the gospel with others.
As for me, I feel a kind of weariness – similar to what Pastor Zhang mentioned. Sometimes it feels like I am just repeating the same things, and it feels very draining. The others have families and I do not, but I can feel like I go on doing the same thing, day after day and week after week. It feels very ordinary, like there is no glory in it. It’s a very weary feeling.
But I am not happy with myself for being weary like this. I want to be faithful to the end, yet I feel I’m starting to “lie flat.” I’m starting to slack off a bit, and I do not like myself in this state. Please pray for me. Pray that God will show me what to pray for.
Pastor Song, Preacher Yu, and Elder Huang are pseudonyms for house church leaders in Suzhou.
Pray for God’s encouragement and joy over Yantai church leaders.
