The Harvest is Abundant and the Workers are Few
Release No: 09-28
By Noel Hwande
Apr. 21— CHINA: As the Christian church in China gains in strength and number, there is one problem that church leaders are having a great deal of trouble solving. That is, a growing number of congregations with significantly few pastors to shepherd them.
According to China Christian Council (CCC), there are at least 50,000 registered churches in China but fewer than 5,000 ordained pastors. As a result, many churches in small cities and rural areas do not have pastors. In fact, in many cases one pastor or volunteer minister has to preach in several churches on a single Sunday.
In the Chaonan district of Guangdong Province, there are 18 churches with about 10,000 Christians, but there are only two pastors, two elders, and 12 lay ministers. Yet, there is not a single ordained pastor in that whole county. Many Christians fear that in the absence of Christ-centered and Biblically-sound teachings, cults and heresies could spread in many places, especially rural areas.
To help alleviate these concerns, Lutheran Hour Ministries organizes Equipping the Saints (ETS) evangelism training workshops to help train lay ministers and equips them with Gospel tools like books and magazines to reach out to other believers, as well as to the unchurched.
Sister Wang, a volunteer in Xuchang, Henan Province says that she had a strong motivation to attend such workshops and get equipped. Many believers in her hometown gather in the churches on Sundays and wait for lay ministers to come and share the message from God. Oftentimes they sing hymns while waiting, but no one shows up. Many times, Sister Wang is the one asked to stand up to read the Bible to the congregation, before they dispersed.
Many families sacrificed to gather enough money to allow Sister Wang travel to the ETS center in her province for training. Now she, and many others like her, serves as an unpaid volunteer minister.
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