Editor’s note: Is it possible to focus too much on saving souls? David, a house church pastor in eastern China, says Christians need to love the hurting and vulnerable, to show people what it looks like to live out Christ’s death and resurrection. To David, preaching the gospel with words alone is not truly living like Jesus. China is full of people and groups of people left behind as society rushes ahead, and there is a huge need for Christians to step in and show mercy to the vulnerable. When believers do that, they are showing all those around them what it looks like to know and follow Jesus.
To find out more about how Chinese Christians are sacrificially serving their cities, please check out our new podcast, available at https://housechurchinchinapodcast.com, or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.
Immense Societal Pressure
One bottleneck I see in the Chinese house church today is the overwhelming focus on saving souls. While that’s certainly important, we tend to over-spiritualize things. We think that, if we just preach the gospel, then it’s God’s work and people will get saved.
Our current social environment is incredibly difficult. Many people need help.
Or, we do pastoral care – but we don’t spend time caring for the many marginalized and vulnerable groups in society facing injustice and inequality. In this state, it’s easy to lose sight of what it means to live like Christ and to truly love our neighbors.
Our current social environment is incredibly difficult. Many people need help. Just today, I talked with a brother who shared the gospel with a cell phone vendor in her 40s. The woman was severely depressed, and she had attempted suicide several times. This brother was heartbroken hearing her story of multiple stays in psychiatric hospitals. The brother said that years ago, when he visited psychiatric hospitals, it was easy to get an appointment. But hospitals like this are now packed with adults bringing in their teenage children. There are long lines and mandatory appointments just to see a psychiatrist.
All this shows the immense level of pressure in society, and how so many people are struggling with no way out. If we don’t have mercy ministries to care for them, people in those groups have no hope in their circumstances.
Serving Those Society Abandoned
In China, you don’t see people with disabilities on the streets. You don’t see the blind, the lame, or even many people in wheelchairs. But China actually has many disabled people. This should concern us. If the church doesn’t serve those people, they have no chance, because society abandons them.
We need to approach these issues more systematically, with deeper self-sacrifice. We need churches and Christian organizations that are willing to daily enter into Christ’s death and experience his resurrection. Otherwise, we’ll become complacent – like the church in Laodicea – and many will fall away. It’s essential to have this perspective, to see the groups that need serving.
So many people are struggling with no way out. If we don’t have mercy ministries to care for them, people in those groups have no hope
I think of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City, when Tim Keller was the pastor. Ministry in New York was difficult, because many focused on serving the middle class, who were leaving the city. But Keller saw the Black and Asian communities, the marginalized masses, and focused Redeemer’s ministry on serving them. That was an act of mercy. We can do this, too.
The environment is challenging, there’s no doubt. When you say you’re a Christian, many doors close. But we can still organize and help people. We can ask God to open a way – maybe not just one, but two, three, four, or five doors. If we are willing to take up our cross and impact our cities, there are many paths forward.
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The Gospel Affects Everything
Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Theologically, there’s a need for gospel renewal, for attitudes towards Christ to be transformed by the gospel. The gospel impacts everything – how we face every aspect of life, how we live in Christ. When a church has sound theology, that church naturally motivates its members to live out their faith and cultivate gospel-centered spirituality.
Many people – including people in the church – misunderstand what the church is. People gather, but once they leave church, they become scattered, and instead focus on preserving themselves.
When you say you’re a Christian, many doors close. But we can still organize and help people… If we are willing to take up our cross and impact our cities, there are many paths forward.
In our network, we emphasize the importance of church planting. When leaders emerge and unite, they are able to work together on significant initiatives. As they understand the gospel more deeply, they’ll think more about how they can impact their cities.
The next level after that is the gospel community. You need a community so people can support one another as they do mercy. Often, people think of mercy ministry as a huge undertaking. If they don’t have experience, a lot of people feel like mercy is a big, difficult thing and no one dares to touch it.
Mercy can also become a “ministry thing,” not something integrated into life and done spontaneously. Many churches don’t dare touch mercy ministry, because it’s so big and difficult. You need gospel community to be able to promote these mercy ministries in different cities.
I also consider our vision for and our relationship with the city. If our attitude towards the city is just one of using it, then it’s hard for us to selflessly serve the city and put more energy into this type of mercy. It’s just not worth it.
David is a pseudonym for a house church pastor in eastern China.
Pray for Chinese believers to be emboldened to step out and pursue sacrificially showing mercy to their neighbors.
