Editor’s note: Fuzhou pastors say they face many difficulties: financial pressure in society at large, depression and anxiety in children and young people, spiritual disinterest, and a lack of time and trust among people.
China Partnership: What are some common challenges, fears, and struggles that you and your church encounter as you minister to people in your city? How can we pray about this?
Pressure to Survive
Shi Heping: The first thing is the pressure to survive. If we take a taxi, there isn’t one single cab driver who doesn’t complain. Their complaints reflect the current economy – no one’s income is secure.
It’s the same for the church. We are frugal with offerings, and don’t spend money on things we shouldn’t. The economy at large and church offerings both face great challenges. In daily life, we don’t spend any money if we don’t have to. The other day, when we were moving, my wife and I decided we won’t buy any new clothes for the next few years, because our old ones are enough unless they wear out. The pressure to survive is very, very great.
The second challenge is that all of Fuzhou is caught up in a “rat race.” It’s very intense, and people are frantically trying to make money. It’s the same in schools – just a few days ago, my fourth grader stayed up until midnight because the teacher assigned so much homework. I can’t even imagine how much the children are suffering – the teachers give out so many exams and have so many requirements. There is only so much money, so the “rat race” becomes even more intense. Those who compete the hardest get the most benefits.
My wife and I decided we won’t buy any new clothes for the next few years, because our old ones are enough. The pressure to survive is very, very great.
When this happens, the parents also have it very tough. Because our child is in public school, they are very tired. I often lament – ever since my child started school, they have almost always been sad. They used to be innocent and cute, but now they have changed completely. So many children and adults are under immense pressure. Some of our friends work in tutoring. They told us their salaries were cut to only about 20 or 30 percent of their old wages. There is pressure just to survive!
Because of the problems with the economy, there are many financial scams – a lot of elderly people invested millions of their pension in schemes and then couldn’t get it back.
There is a general lack of trust between people. When we talk to seekers, we explain the truth very clearly, but they are unwilling to believe because there is such a lack of trust. Their trust in language itself is also low! So, it’s really difficult.
As pastors, we face a very chaotic situation. Once, we got in touch with some pastors from another city. They reminded us that the current environment is full of huge and unprecedented challenges: the emergence of AI, career struggles, dealing with the pandemic and its aftermath… we have many pastoral problems that people didn’t face so clearly before. It is very difficult.
As Tim Keller said, we need to more firmly grasp the principles of the gospel and contextualize. For us, this might mean we need to contextualize the gospel, or contextualize pastoral ministry. It is becoming more and more important that we are able to be flexible and adapt. We can’t just follow old routines anymore. We need to constantly adapt to new crises and new situations, and adjust things like how and when we hold meet.
Never miss a story
One challenge is I find I can hardly see brothers and sisters during the week. So, maybe we will focus on refining the Sunday service. Preaching and the arrangement of the Sunday service need to be clearer so we can provide better pastoral care.
The current environment is full of huge and unprecedented challenges: the emergence of AI, career struggles, dealing with the pandemic and its aftermath… we have many pastoral problems that people didn’t face so clearly before.
Sometimes, we need to meet online. Because of this, we have added several online prayer and study sessions. We turn to online methods to make up for the lack of in-person meetings – everyone is busy, no one has time to talk. This can make community life very cold. Church members complain that the pastors don’t care about or understand them – but when we try to care for them, no one has time. There is a lack of in-person, face-to-face, in-depth communication and fellowship.
Not Interested in Spiritual Things
Gao Yile: Unbelievers are not interested in the gospel – they aren’t interested in spiritual things, eternal life, or the soul. Because of this, it’s not easy to share the gospel, and it’s difficult for new people to come to faith. Non-Christians are not interested, but are more concerned with how they can make money.
In our church, sometimes people are referred to us and come to Fuzhou from other cities or other parts of Fujian Province. Many of these new referrals have some mistaken beliefs, a tendency to turn Christianity into a superstition like other Chinese folk religions. They ask for prayer when something happens or someone is sick, and many are not clear on the core truth of salvation. This makes ministry more difficult.
Another issue is the psychological challenges – it seems there are more and more people with mental illness and depression. Anxiety, worry, uncertainty about life and the future is getting more serious. So, we face many challenges in ministry.
Pastoral Struggles
Preacher Yu: Many people have a lot of internal problems, and more and more people – both children and adults – are depressed. For kids, often it is because they play so many games on their phones. I know children around me who have stopped going to school, even in the families of pastors and fellow church members. This is quite heartbreaking.
Many people have a lot of internal problems, and more and more people – both children and adults – are depressed.
Pastoral care in the church is very difficult. Many believers have never had the experience of being shepherded, so when we want to pastor them, they are quite resistant. This makes the ministry of shepherding very challenging.
As for other fears and struggles, the biggest worry is internal conflict in the church. Although this is our biggest fear, it seems hard to avoid. It always happens, to some extent. This is probably the most difficult thing. I do believe that if the core co-workers in a church are of one mind, that is good – but often, the problems are with the core. This is a real headache.
Shi Heping, Gao Yile, and Preacher Yu are pseudonyms for house church pastors in Fuzhou.
Pray for Fuzhou churches to know how to foster real gospel community among their congregations, even in a time of increasing pressure and societal fragmentation.
