Editor’s note: This is our last post in our series on Xiamen this December, and also our last post on Chinese cities for 2024. As we have prayed for cities across China this year, we have traveled across China’s vast geographical regions, visiting in prayer cities from Beijing to Chengdu, from Lanzhou to Guangzhou. We’ve come to understand more about the current spiritual, economic, and societal landscape in China, and have seen more about how we can pray for Chinese Christians: for pastors and spiritual leaders, for ordinary brothers and sisters in the congregation, and for society at large.

A lot has changed since 2018, when we first visited Chinese cities in prayer, but much has also remained the same. We wanted to close out this year of prayer by re-visiting a 2018 interview with a Xiamen pastor. This year, many pastors specifically told us that things in Xiamen grew more difficult after 2019 (a year after this interview), but there are still commonalities from 2018, specifically that Xiamen believers are focused on making money, and it’s hard for them to find time to think about deeper things. 

Distracted Attention

Pastor: I come from Xiamen. Xiamen used to be an island city, but now it’s connected to the mainland. It is now a second-tier city.

I am now planting a new church, but my mother church has a long history. Our [mother] church started Sunday worship in 1977, and its history can be traced back to my great-grandfather.

Ever since I came to understand myself as a Chinese person born in Xiamen, the city has undergone great changes. From the time when my aunt came back from the labor camp in the 70s – roughly between the 70s to the middle of the 80s – the church was persecuted, isolated, and conservative.

Now it’s not easy to share the gospel, because people are in contact with so many things; a lot of things draw their attention and make it hard for them think about faith or the purpose of life. People are focusing more on making money.

Now it is fast-changing, with so many new things for us to know. We had no such thing as cell phones before, but now everyone has a cell phone. Before 2004, very few people in Xiamen owned a car, but now most people have a car.

China Partnership: In such a fast-changing culture, what are some of the challenges to sharing the gospel?

Pastor: It was easier for us to share the gospel ten years ago. People’s thinking was still very simple. But now it’s not easy to share the gospel, because people are in contact with so many things; a lot of things draw their attention and make it hard for them think about faith or the purpose of life. People are focusing more on making money.

This culture is a challenge for us as evangelists. We have to know what they are thinking and pay attention to what they are following.

CP: This ideology may present a big conflict with our gospel. When you face such conflict, yet still love those who are suffering in it, what is your experience?

Pastor: I came back to China in 2006. I studied in Singapore from 2002 to 2006. During my services, I focused more on what was happening inside the church – ministry, preaching, Bible studies, etc. But after studying gospel theology, I started paying attention to the fact that gospel truth is closely connected to society and the people around me.

I used to pay more attention to my own church, focusing on attendance growth. But I thought little about what others think, how their thoughts relate to our society, or how they relate to our gospel. The gospel does have the capacity to solve their problems.

Everyone Has Idols

CP:  Could you share a story about the challenges you have personally encountered as you pastor?

Pastor: My challenge lies in how to turn our brothers and sisters away from the secular culture. They live in a secular environment and love so many things in it. My challenge is turning them from the things they love to Jesus Christ.

Once I chose some brothers and sisters for discipleship. During training, I found it was hard for them to commit themselves to the ministry or their whole lives to Jesus Christ. This is my challenge. Maybe their faith was stagnant; pursuing Christ requires continuous effort.

We all have idols deep inside ourselves; everyone has his idols. But it is so hard to remove the idols from our lives because these idols are deeply entrenched and have become part of our lifestyles. My challenge is to turn their focus to Jesus.

Brothers and sisters… live in a secular environment and love so many things in it. My challenge is turning them from the things they love to Jesus Christ.

CP: What are these idols? Time, money, or something else?

Pastor: Most people I pastor are very successful in society. Their quality of life is good. They have a lot of things they like to do – hanging out with friends, leisure, etc.

CP: These limit their time to come to the church.

Pastor: Right. They commit to Sunday worship and small groups. But if we ask for more, they will not do it.

A Female Pastor Among Brothers

CP: Thank you. One more question. Among all the male pastors, you are one of the few female pastors. What challenges does that bring?

Pastor: My involvement in this ministry was a calling from God. More than ten years ago, maybe in 2001, I shared with my church sisters that we had to pray overnight. While we were praying overnight, we heard God saying, “God will do great things in China.” This was from the Bible: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” After that, I searched ten years for the things God was going to do.

I kept going back to God’s calling; I had little power, but was willing to be involved. Whomever I meet, I am rooted in this calling, and I will persevere to the end.

God did not respond until 2010 as I was getting involved in the initiation of [a church-planting] movement. God responded that this is the great thing God was going to do. So, I got involved. The majority of people involved were brothers, and I did have some pressure. But I kept going back to God’s calling; I had little power, but was willing to be involved. Whomever I meet, I am rooted in this calling, and I will persevere to the end. Almost all the pastors are brothers; but I think God did call me to build up the church and to plant churches, and this did put some pressure on me.

Of course, my co-workers are all brothers because I have not found any sisters who share the same calling. Therefore, the co-workers at my church are all brothers. They help me build up the church. There is always pressure, but I keep going back to God’s calling for me.

CP: How do you divide up the work? Do you divide it according to people’s gender?

Pastor: I allocate ministries according to God’s gifts to each. I prefer teaching and preaching. In areas I am not good at, I invite other gifted co-workers to take the lead.

I could plant and lead the church, partly because from the time I came back to China in 2006 to the time I started planting the church, I had been pastoring for a long time and accumulated some influence. So when I started planting the church, it was not hard.

Wang Jianguo is the collective pseudonym for a group of Chinese house church pastors thinking and writing about issues related to the spread of Christianity in their nation. They are committed to preaching a grace-centered gospel, developing resources for the church, and loving China’s urban centers.

Pray for Xiamen believers to turn away from their idols (money, success) and to Jesus Christ.