The Spiritual State of
Mainland Pastoral Workers

We have paid much attention to reaping harvests, helping with new believers' spiritual growth and training workers, but how much do we know about the needs of pastoral workers serving the Lord the whole time? Apart from dealing with church affairs, these workers also have their families to take care of. What is their spiritual state like?

A Difficult Choice Between the Church and the Family

Faced with the vast number of non-believers, pastors are eager to spread the gospel. Everyday they are burdened with a strong desire to save souls. They also devote their time and energy serving their church, knowing that believers need much nurturing and support. In so doing, they have neglected their own and their family's needs. They think that the Lord will look after their family. For example, a worker in the Northeast has been mostly away from his family for the past 27 years, preaching in other places for up to several months a year, leaving his wife at home. He did not see anything wrong with his long absence from home, to
the point that he thought his wife was being non-supportive and not understanding. Over the past years, his wife had not entered the church once. Later, a co-worker reminded the pastor that it was wrong of him to have focused on his service at the expense of his family. He then apologized to his wife. The next day, his wife went into church for the first time.

Quite a number of pastoral workers had the same experience in the past, but by now more have realized the importance of witnessing to their family, which is also a ministry. They also know they should stay alert to avoid creating any room for Satan.

Is Sharing One's Needs a Sign of Small Faith?

Some pastors think that they should not share their or their families' needs because that do not bring glory to God and might weaken the faith of some believers. They turn to the Heavenly Father alone for help. One co-worker said that some mainland pastoral staff always bring a linen cloth with them. Whenever they come across a difficult problem which they cannot share, they will carry the cloth to the backyard and pray for God's mercy. They developed their spirituality through shedding tears privately.

During our sharing with a co-worker in Eastern China, he refrained from making a direct response when we asked him about his health (he got a liver disease). He also consulted others if he should pray for his children's tuitions. Fact is that he implies that his thinking is not spiritual. Such attitude means small faith to seek God's kingdom and righteousness first.

"Spiritual Giants"? Mainland believers are particularly respectful towards pastoral staff, expecting them to be exceptionally "spiritual". Some regard pastors as "spiritual giants" capable of everything, from giving sermons to looking after church affairs like renovation. They would not take it seriously if a pastor talks about his own weaknesses, but would only think that he is being humble. This puts pastors in a difficult situation and has caused them to hide and keep their problems to themselves. Over time, they have become "dried" internally though appearing strong on the surface. A pastor in Eastern China who sleeps little because of busy work tends to hide his tiredness in front of fellow believers. He would only reveal his own weaknesses to co-workers outside his own church. But in
fact, church workers need others' support and care. Mainland believers need to adjust their concept about their pastors, while pastors should also have realistic expectations for themselves.

Struggles and Conflicts in Hectic Ministry
A pastor in Eastern China shared: "I used to be flooded with messages from God when I was preparing for sermons. But as I became more occupied with various ministries and spent less time with God, preparing a sermon was as difficult as getting water from between stone cracks. I wish I
could find more time to get close to God."

Such is also the feeling of many pastors - striking a balance between getting close to God in quietness and getting busy with ministries. On the other hand, some pastors who do not have the concept of "retreat" have not been on holiday for years, having served their church non-stop. Another pastor shared that it is a luxury to have holiday! That is because they are unwilling to leave their hungry sheep alone. Because of them, they put their own needs at the bottom of their priorities.

Frustrations and Hope
Many pastors are troubled by their inability to afford their children's tuitions, especially those going to upper middle school or universities. They feel they owe a debt to their family. Some receive little
support from their church (especially in the case of rural churches where believers can only donate agricultural produce rather than cash). Some have to borrow money to pay for their children's tuitions due to their limit salaries for only basic expenses. While looking to God for supplies, they often feel frustrated about bringing no glory to God by incurring debts.

Thanksgiving and Prayer Items:

1. Pray that mainland pastoral workers can balance their family commitment and church work. May God's grace be upon them so they can look after their family while serving the congregation, and have a good testimony from their family.
2. Pray that the believers understand that pastoral workers are vulnerable and not giants. May the Lord help both sides understand each other, sparing the pastoral staff from invisible pressure and
   misunderstanding.
3. May the Lord help mainland workers spend more time with Him so they can receive strength from the heavenly father, including faith, tolerance, love and the power to serve.
4. May God provide for the tuition fees for pastoral workers' children. May they be proud of their parents and the God served by their parents.
5. May the Lord's blessings be upon the pastoral workers, and their prayers be answered promptly. May the workers grow spiritually as a result of the trials they have gone through and be able to help other believers.

Other Prayer Items:

A Book that Has Helped My Church Ministry

"We are living in a rural area where residents knew only idols but not Jesus. I have spread the gospel to them since 1992. Now more than 30 churches have been set up in the whole county; the number of believers has risen from dozens to almost 2,000. The biggest difficulty we face is the lack of pastors. All our co-workers are volunteers without any specialized training. A great burden is upon us also because of the infiltration of cults such as the Eastern Lightning, the "Narrow Gate in Desert", Seventh-day Church etc. I became a Christian at quite an old age. To concentrate on spreading the gospel and running the church, I withdrew from the party and resigned from the government. Thank God, The Applied New Testament Commentary sent from you has helped me greatly in serving the church." (Letter from a co-worker in the South-central region)

This brother was converted at an old age and yet God has used him heavily to build more than 30 churches. We see God's power on him. Please pray for him and his church, may the Lord greatly equip him so he can nurture his sheep according to the Bible. The Applied New Testament
Commentary is a book in much demand from mainland workers. May the Lord continue to have this book distributed to various parts of China, to provide great assistance for co-workers' nurturing and teaching ministries.

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