Editor’s note: This month we are praying for Beijing. As we pray for Beijing, we are publishing several interviews with Beijing believers. We also wanted to re-publish a few previous interviews, from the first time we intentionally prayed for Beijing. In today’s post, a Beijing pastor shares about how he trains disciples.

This post has been slightly edited and condensed since the first time it appeared in 2018.

Challenges in Disciple Training

CP: What is Beijing like as a city?

Pastor: Beijing is a multicultural city with many young people moving in. The population fluctuates greatly. 

CP: With so many people from all over China moving in, Beijing must be representative of a lot of cultures. What are the biggest challenges to discipleship training?

Pastor: One of the biggest challenges is being too formulaic. We could easily assume we are done with discipleship training once we’ve completed some classes. But discipleship is far from done.

The second challenge is that, out of all the people from all over the country, those who stay in Beijing are so well-educated they might be resistant to more formal education at the church.

The third challenge is the large amount of time needed for training disciples. It’s extremely strenuous for the pastor to devote so much energy to it. But it is a very important matter that cannot be neglected, so sometimes it is very tiresome.

The third challenge is the large amount of time needed for training disciples… It is a very important matter that cannot be neglected.

Real Life Examples

CP: Training disciples is not formulaic. In your opinion, what should it look like?

Pastor: I have made many adjustments. The first was in format. I still use teaching materials; but in adult education, we should not stop with information transfer. Mentoring is most needed.

I was influenced by [a large discipleship ministry]. I personally grew with them for about ten years. I am deeply convinced that mentoring is very important. Almost every month for the past three years, I’ve spent time with our ministry workers. Many of our full-time workers spend a lot of time together, sometimes the entire day. Other than having a meal and sharing, I talk about a discipleship topic and its application for real life. I listen to their feedback, and present them with biblical views on these topics.

We do not just stop at information transfer. When we can integrate information with real life application, it can be a great benefit to them. I’ve noticed their growth. Whether in theology, in applying truth, or in their commitment to the church, they have grown tremendously.

Every disciple is an individual case with individual, real life stories.

On the other hand, I’m also making breakthroughs in traditional ways of shepherding. I spend two lunches at workplaces every week, visiting disciples to have lunch. I hear about their challenges and respond to their questions. Oftentimes, their questions include their family and heart-felt personal matters. Gradually, this has developed into a routine and a great resource for real life application that can be integrated into my preaching. These are first-hand experiences that can help them solve problems of immediate concern.

Every disciple is an individual case with individual, real life stories. I do not present them with quick answers, but bring them into real experiences in order to search for the answer.

For example, a brother owns a business focused on finding talent in other companies with the intention of bringing them into his own. Discipleship transformed not only his beliefs, but also his business practices. Once he found an excellent candidate and wanted to bring him into his own company. The candidate passed all evaluations and met all qualifications. Then our brother found out this candidate had been working in Beijing for 11 years, leaving his wife and child in his hometown. For this reason our brother rejected the candidate, who was shocked by this decision and asked for a reason. Our brother said: “You do not genuinely love your family. If you do not love your family, I don’t believe you will do well in my business.”

The candidate was surprised and asked: “How do you come up with such an idea? I’ve never heard of this.” Our brother told him it came from church teaching. To everyone’s surprise, this candidate came to church that Sunday, came to faith in Christ, claimed Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and returned to his hometown to be with his wife and child. He settled down with a smaller paycheck for a less significant position, but he was willing to live together with his family again. When I read testimonies like this, I know genuine discipleship brings people into life full of Christ and gospel mission.

Gospel Power in Discipleship

CP: The gospel is entering the discipleship process and the values and worldviews of the brothers and sisters in your church. How does the core of the gospel influence you?

Pastor: First, we must recognize the gospel is not a doctrinal concept. It’s also not a systematic information transfer. It’s the living witness of Christ’s life in the heart of each believer. This allows me to focus not on the number of people I’m discipling, nor how many people attend certain courses. Instead, my focus is to bring a person from a vague understanding of faith into a relationship with God, and build a life with a community of believers. Another focus is how they are living out their mission in their everyday lives as Christians. The power of the gospel is beyond our imagination.

The gospel is not a doctrinal concept. It’s also not a systematic information transfer. It’s the living witness of Christ’s life in the heart of each believer.

For example, we have a couple, they had great jobs and awesome careers. When pregnant with their second child, they discovered their child had many health issues. Several times, they wanted to get an abortion. But we continued to walk with them, encourage them, and pray for them. Through the process, they decided to obey the teaching of the Bible, and were willing to experience God’s wonderful works. In the end, when the child was born, except for the stomach, every organ had problems, including the brain. In two short years, we walked with this family through very hard times. Our deepest impression was their continual obedience to God’s will through faith in the gospel. Because of the gospel, they were willing to accept two years of suffering.

We didn’t think we must beg God to heal them; our focus was on how the gospel blesses us and how we can be thankful for it if we receive and accept it. We saw the love and care of the brothers and sisters in our church for this family. Miraculously, after two years, on the child’s second birthday, they brought him for a check-up and discovered he no longer had any problems.

It’s a miracle. We never thought it would happen; we saw the gospel’s mighty work.  Not only did their faith grow, we also witnessed the testimonies of their lives.

Wang Jianguo is the collective pseudonym for a group of Chinese house church pastors thinking about 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 discipleship training in Beijing churches.