Editor’s note: Join us this March as we pray for Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Local pastors say the southern China city can feel like a “big village.” But they also say Nanning faces the same struggles other Chinese cities have dealt with in recent years: a bad economy, less interest in Christianity, and a struggle to reach the next generation with the gospel. Despite these struggles, church leaders say God is using this season of difficulty to refine and resurrect the church.
“People Don’t Trust Easily”
China Partnership: How has Nanning changed in the last five years? What changes have occurred in your church?
Pastor Zeng: Over the past five years, the city has felt somewhat stagnant because of real estate. About five years ago, with the pandemic, things pretty much ground to a halt. Then, housing prices started to fall – in some areas by as much as 30 or 40 percent. Unemployment is more visible than before.
That is also true for brothers and sisters in the church, people working in real estate or service industries. The economy has gone down, and jobs are harder to find. A lot of young people can’t find work after they graduate, so they do things like food delivery or courier work. The church is a bit like the city – more brothers, sisters, and families are under economic pressure. Some people have lost their jobs or have unstable work.
People on the street are still friendly – they’re not unwelcoming – but they don’t trust easily… Because of that, traditional evangelism has felt harder in recent years.
Another thing is that, during the pandemic, places like universities had very strict controls. After Covid, things have stayed that way. Many universities are still very closed and hard to enter. Even now, to get into the local university you need to register or make an appointment.
People on the street are still friendly – they’re not unwelcoming – but they don’t trust easily. If we want to share the gospel on the street or hand out tracts, people don’t really trust. Because of that, traditional evangelism has felt harder in recent years. Evangelism is a fairly big challenge.
CP: You mentioned that many people have had to do things like delivery work because of the economy. Do you know what Nanning’s main industries are?
Pastor Zeng: Nothing stands out as a clear pillar. Nanning has a bit of everything – there’s tourism, but not as much as in Guilin. It’s mostly service industries.
In the past, real estate was very important, and the local government got most of its revenue from land sales. Now, things aren’t selling. Mortgage defaults have been increasing, and when people default on their mortgages, the pressure on the family is enormous. People lose their house, and then they might still owe money to the bank.
“Evangelism Has Gotten Harder”
Brother Jiang: It doesn’t really seem like, economically, any one area is obviously most important – it’s mainly service industries. Nanning doesn’t have anything especially outstanding – just government and schools, which every city has. Over the last five years, it’s just what Pastor Zeng described: economic decline, incomes going down, more economic pressure. It’s probably not too different from other cities.
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As for the church, not long after the pandemic, I stepped back from ministry. I used to be very busy, with a lot of ministry that felt big and heavy, and it seemed the church was growing quickly. So about three or four years ago, I stepped back. I’ve been back in ministry a few months.
God is both tearing down and rebuilding the church in Nanning.
What I’ve seen and felt is that, in recent years, there have been fewer new faces in the church, fewer seekers. Evangelism has gotten harder. Compared with the past, that’s a very clear difference. Fifteen or 16 years ago, if we had 40 people in a meeting and asked all the “new friends” to stand, more than a quarter of the people would rise. Now, when we invite new friends to stand at the end of Sunday worship, there are almost none. Once in a while there will be one, and we’re all surprised.
It seems that now it is very rare for new seekers to come and hear the gospel. The church may have baptisms once a year or less – in the past, it was once or twice a year. From what I can see, when churches do grow, it’s mostly from believers moving from one church to another. The growth is that kind of growth.
Nanning did have a season of faster church growth, but in recent years, it’s more like other places. It’s mostly existing believers, old believers, keeping on. That’s the situation.
“Tearing Down and Rebuilding”
Brother An: I feel God is both tearing down and rebuilding the church in Nanning.
In the past, some churches looked like they were growing fast. But because of foundational issues or lack of theology, you could sense a lot of instability. Now, those churches have been declining.
Most of us are first-generation believers who started leading churches out of natural zeal, without really knowing what a church is or how to lead one. Nanning was pretty isolated, and didn’t have much contact with outsiders or outside resources. But as people have grown in their understanding of faith, you can clearly see God tearing down the things in the churches that don’t match Scripture.
Contact with the outside has gradually increased, including people who came here from other places to plant churches. There’s more exchange, more exposure, and a bit more theological awareness. So on one side, churches are being torn down; on the other, they’re being rebuilt. I think that’s a good thing. Gradually, we’re going back to Scripture to see what the church should be, and how to rebuild.
The difficulty and the biggest challenge is how to connect deeply with the city. How can we enter into the city and serve it? It doesn’t feel easy; it’s hard. Knowing how to reach young people – how to connect with them, build relationships, share the gospel, and bring them to church – that’s a very big problem.
On one side, churches are being torn down; on the other, they’re being rebuilt. I think that’s a good thing. Gradually, we’re going back to Scripture to see what the church should be, and how to rebuild.
As for my own church, in the last five years, with some recent reforms, the changes have been really significant. We have a different way of preaching the Word, shepherding, discipleship, and evangelism. Overall, the church has gone through something like a death and resurrection. The difficulty is still how to reach young people and share the gospel with them. It feels very hard to open up that front.
Pastor Zeng, Brother Jiang, and Brother An are pseudonyms for house church leaders in Nanning.
Pray for Nanning churches to embrace this season of refining and allow God to make something beautiful of his church.
