August 3, 2004

China Notes #11

Tang Shan Church: The Growth of a Country Church

Tang Shan is an agricultural township in the countryside about 30 kilometers from the city of Nanjing. The church there began with four older women who had been going into town (Nanjing) for worship. In 1985 they decided to start their own meeting point in Tang Shan, and also shared their faith with relatives and neighbors. By 1988 there were over 50 people, mostly new Christians.

In the township there was a farmer named Mr. Qian. His father was a Christian, having even worked for the church for a time, and it was through his father that Qian also became a Christian. In 1985 Qian was able to procure his first Bible, and over the next two years he studied it diligently. However, despite the fact that he knew about the township meeting point, at first he did not attend. As Qian tells it, for a time he disobeyed the call of the Spirit and resisted the idea of becoming involved in church service because he needed to spend much time working on the farm to support his family. However, in 1988 he repented and began attending the meeting point. There he was always asked to read the Bible because nobody else at the meeting point could readily read the Bible.

Over time, Qian became more deeply involved in church leadership. While he longed for the opportunity to engage in full-time Christian study, he could never get away because there were too many things to do at church. But he was able to attend a variety of training classes offered during the slack agricultural season by the provincial China Christian Council, and later he continued his study through a correspondence course offered by Jinling Seminary in Nanjing. Eventually he was ordained as a pastor and took on church leadership full time.

By 1993 there were more than 800 Christians in the local community, and the church was built. Today there are more than 1,200 Christians in the community, including people who attend Tang Shan church and those who attend several local meeting points that are under Tang Shan church’s care. In addition to Sunday services, the church has a Bible study, prayer meeting, testimony meeting, and hymn practice meeting. There is also an active visitation program, particularly for families facing special difficulties.

Because farm work doesn’t allow for regular days off, not all local believers can attend church each week. However, Pastor Qian becomes concerned if believers miss too many church services and worries that they may backslide or even fall away from the church. He encourages members to be as regular as possible in attendance because he believes that those who attend regularly tend to grow in the faith. Evangelism is generally conducted person-to-person as believers share their faith with relatives and neighbors. Pastor Qian argues that one of the ways he can tell whether or not the church is healthy is the number of new baptisms each year. Last year, 50 new Christians were baptized, so, for example, if the numbers were to drop off this year Pastor Qian feels this would indicate a problem requiring church leaders to re-double their efforts not only in leading Sunday services but also in visitation.

In addition to Pastor Qian there are now also five evangelists (assistant pastors) serving the church. These people have other jobs outside the church to support themselves and work for the church as volunteers. In the surrounding district there are about 20,000 Christians and 44 churches but only two ordained pastors—Pastor Qian and one other pastor who is quite old. So Pastor Qian also preaches at other churches in the area.

The above information was gathered during a visit Wei Hong and I made to Tang Shan church last Sunday (August 1, 2004) with a visiting group of Presbyterians. While no single story can fully represent the growth of the church in China, we thought this one worth sharing both for the encouragement it can offer, and also because it provides a little window into some of what is happening in the church outside China’s major cities.

God’s peace,

Don and Wei Hong

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 86