Editor’s note: Taiyuan pastors say things are hard in their city for the local church. People are short on time and energy, and don’t have time to prioritize their church family. That makes discipleship and spiritual growth difficult for pastors and their congregations. Although these pastors believe the local church should be the home and center of Christian life, in Taiyuan, they feel that is often not the case.
China Partnership: What are some common challenges, fears, and struggles that you and your church encounter as you minister to people in Taiyuan? How can we pray about this?
Forming Covenant Community Is Tough
Tan Jian: The economic downturn and overtime hours have affected discipleship. Although we hope to raise up elders, it’s hard to find qualified elders and deacons in Taiyuan – partly because brothers work such long hours that they cannot serve well.
There are also internal reasons. A lot of brothers and sisters are not prepared to grow. Some don’t even believe growth is possible. Many have settled into a “religious” pattern: go to church, go home, come back next time. But continuous worship brings growth to ourselves, our families, and our children.
We need to form a covenant community, God’s kingdom among us. We try to preach about this pattern, but many people don’t believe it or don’t care. They just think about their regularity in attending worship. They don’t plan to change themselves, their families, or their community culture.
A lot of brothers and sisters are not prepared to grow. Some don’t even believe growth is possible.
Another issue is that, in this inland area with a closed-off spirit, unbelief is the default position for both believers and unbelievers.
Church Life Is Hard
Huang Mujiang: The doctrine of the church is weak in Taiyuan and Shanxi Province. I think this is partly because of charismatic influence. Historically, some charismatic groups in our region have been connected with Watchman Nee’s “Little Flock.”[1] People in Shanxi are usually opposed to building church structures and denominations. It’s hard for Reformed churches to survive in Shanxi.
Other challenges are low wages and high expenses in light of the bad economy. A lot of young people – including university grads and people with post-grad degrees – just do gig work: delivering food, driving ride-shares. People don’t have time to get together with one another. They work until 11 or midnight every day and are exhausted.
I feel that our Reformed church does not have strong connections to other churches in Taiyuan. Even when churches are raided, very few other churches speak up or reach out. Lots of churches have split up into very small groups. Serving in Taiyuan has many challenges, and there is a degree of coldness here.
The traditional mindset is very strong, and a lot of worldviews are shaped by secular culture.
Our church is pretty good about meeting on the Lord’s Day and tithing. Beyond that, most church life needs the Lord’s help.
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Struggle to Center the Church
Wang Zhudong: People here don’t move around a lot, and cultural renewal is slow. The traditional mindset is very strong, and a lot of worldviews are shaped by secular culture. One example is the strong pressure for a large “betrothal gift” or “bride price” – people, even believers, think you can’t get married unless the man has bought a house. The roots of secularization are deep. Other cities are more open, but it’s hard to bring gospel renewal to a closed-off place like this.
Another challenge is that, in their hearts, most people don’t put strongly prioritize church. Church life and service are not the main thing for most. Instead, people treat church as just one part of life: after work, they go to church and listen to a sermon before going back to real life.
If someone does pay a cost for their faith and treats the church as their home, people are shocked. Why would someone make church the most important thing in their life? The government doesn’t recognize the church; no church will ever grow into anything impressive; the numbers are small and aging, and nothing much will come of it. Why would someone invest themselves in the church?
We say that believers should prioritize church life. But people don’t commit. We stress that the Sabbath is a holy and set apart day. But a lot of people think gathering once a week, on a Saturday or Friday, that is enough. If keeping the Sabbath requires a cost, that’s a huge challenge.
People also “church hop,” going from one church to another. They are resistant to serving and growing in one church. Few people invest themselves to grow in their church home. Secularization and a weak understanding of the church are major pastoral needs.
We Need the Spirit to Work
Bo Kang: It’s hard to share the gospel in public. You can’t hand out tracts in public – it’s not allowed, and even ordinary citizens might be motivated by their “patriotic” feelings to stop you.
Evangelism is basically kept to the workplace. In their jobs, believers bear witness to who they are and live out the gospel. They also invite family, friends, and co-workers to come to Sunday worship. Sunday worship and the workplace are the main two ways our church shares. We can’t share in public, because we would be quickly stopped.
We need more than just theology, we need the work of the Spirit. Not in a charismatic sense, but in lives renewed with joy.
Newcomers who want to come into and grow in the church need to be discipled. But in Taiyuan, most people don’t have time to commit. Without time, they will only grow slowly. People usually view worship as just something to consume: “Did I enjoy the sermon this week?” They don’t usually go deeper. There are only a few who are eager to be discipled and willing to pay the price, to carve out time in the evenings. Even they might get tired. Most members don’t give much time to the church, and there’s not much time for fellowship. Often we only meet on Sundays. If we don’t gather, it’s hard to grow and have deep conversations.
We need more than just theology, we need the work of the Spirit. Not in a charismatic sense, but in lives renewed with joy. If people taste joy in the Lord every Lord’s Day, then they’ll be more ready to bear witness at work and at home, and will respond to the call to serve. Sundays aren’t just meetings – they are crucial. Each week, I pray that God’s Word will shepherd people into repentance and renewal.
It’s hard. All pastors can do is be faithful. The results are in God’s hands. It is the Spirit’s work to renew lives, give strength, and bring people to respond. We long for everyone in the church to flourish, but the results are not ours to control.
[1] Watchman Nee’s “Little Flock” was an indigenous Chinese Christian movement influential across China.
Brother Wu, Tan Jian, Huang Mujiang, Wang Zhudong, and Bo Kang are pseudonyms for house church pastors in Taiyuan.
Pray for Taiyuan Christians to prioritize church life and to make time for discipleship, even amidst all the pressures they face.
