Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Prayer Request 3/5 - 3/11


Tuesday
Churches in Beijing have enjoyed growth in numbers recently with nearly 3000 house churches now reported. Many have Sunday schools for their children but fewer than ten churches have programs for their youth. Only two or three churches have full-time youth workers. Vast majority of churches in China have barely any formal programs for their children and youth. Let us pray for a vision and burden among church leaders and pastors to start caring for the spiritual needs of their young people quickly to prevent the loss of their children.
Wednesday
The vast majority of children from Christian homes in China stop attending church by the time they are in high school. One big reason for that is that their parents emphasize academics and neglect spiritual growth in their children. As a result there is a great loss of the second generation in all churches. Christian parents feel that attending church takes away precious time their children need to study so we pray for all believers to have faith that God will bless their children if they will honor Him as their first commitment. May all Christian parents have the faith to realize that it is more important for their children to love God than all else.
Thursday
The churches in China must take the blame for the loss of their youth because of their lack of vision and planning for them. The spiritual growth of youth and children are generally neglected in China and there is a lack of proper training for those who do serve the youth. Many pastors feel that working with children and young people does not generate an immediate return for the church so it is not important. We pray for a drastic change in this attitude and that each of us may see through Jesus’ eyes the value of the little ones and work bring them Him”. We also ask the Lord to give a burden for children’s ministry to many more leaders.
Friday
In China, the youth programs in the churches are run exactly like the programs for adults using is a quite boring format which is unable to attract young people. Many pastors have recognized this problem but they feel helpless in knowing how to start a youth program and keep it going by being interesting and attractive. Let us pray for Christian parents of teenagers as they worry about the education of their children, that they will see the importance of spiritual growth and will not forget to teach and influence their children with the Word of God.
Saturday
A recent survey of youth in China revealed that 73% of them are in favor of divorce if marriage does not work out, that 53% of them do not believe in the existence of God and 63% do not have a good idea of a goal for their lives. We need to pray for churches as they teach spiritual lessons to their second generation , that they will use not only memorization but will teach them how to apply God’s truth in an educational system that is atheistic and a society that is money-crazy.
Sunday
In the same survey cited yesterday they found that nearly half of the youth in China have considered suicide and that 37% have attempted it. Unfortunately, youth from Christian homes probably share the same statistics and this poses a serious challenge for the future of churches in China and the new generation of church workers. Let us pray for the spiritual health of all of the children and young people in the churches in China. May the Word of God take roots early in their lives and may they experience the love of Jesus early in life. May they learn from the faith of their parents and others in the church as well as from a personal relationship with Jesus.
Monday
Traditional Chinese culture demands respect for the elderly and consider the youth basically as immature and unreliable. Similarly, Chinese churches downplay the importance of the youth and children and even see the youth culture as despicable. Unfortunately, Chinese churches have not done a good job in preparing their youth in a highly secular world. Some churches do teach the Bible but with little application. We pray that many more churches will make teaching the second generation the top priority in their ministry.
星期二
北京教會成長快, 發展規模成熟,現己有約3000多個教會。有兒童主日學的家庭教會也越來越多,但有全職同工服事青少年的郤不到10家。現今有不少教會是有兒童主日學, 但是有青少年的事工的卻寥寥無幾。 我們來為眾教會有青少年事工的異象和負擔的同工禱告,讓教會能關心幼童和青少年靈命成長的需要,免得教會流失了第二代。
星期三
從小跟父母去教會的孩子到了初高中,絕大多數會離開教會。教會青少年的流失率極高。是因為父母過度關注孩子的學校成績,而忽略了孩子的靈命成長的重要性,父母認為孩子花時間參加聚會, 就少了時間讀書。我們要為家長有信心,相信神賜福給他們的孩子禱告。願信徒父母都有能信靠神,在教養孩子時,當要求孩子要愛主過於一切。
星期四
中國教會缺乏對青少年事工的異像和計劃,沒有對孩子的靈命成長進行跟進或栽培。青少年事工的同工普遍得不到合適的培訓和應有的重視。這些現象值得我們正視! 許多牧者覺得對兒童與青年人事工的投入,沒有即時的成效, 因此總是忽略這方面的需求。求主改變我們這樣的觀念。我們應該如耶穌所說,「讓小孩子到我這裏來,不要禁止他們」。願教會領袖們都能有第二代事工的負擔。
星期五
青少年團契仿照成年人的團契的模式進行, 對青少年來說, 形式單調,不能引起他們的興趣。因而不願參與教會活動. 教會牧師明白青少年事工的不足之處, 郤也因不知如何改善而感到無助。我們為有青少年的信徒家長們禱告,希望他們關心孩子課業時,也不忽略孩子屬靈生命的重要,求主讓家長們不忘記教導子女神話語的責任,也給予孩子屬靈的教導。
星期六
最近的調查,發現中國的青少年在生活、學習、家庭、信仰等方面存在嚴重問題。例如: 73%的青少年贊成離婚,53%認為沒有上帝,63% 並沒有清楚的人生目標 ,我們要為教會如何有效地規劃第二代靈命的教導來禱告,讓我們的青少年不單單是強記神的話,而是在無神論的教育體系下,在向錢看齊的世風中,將神的真理與誡命在生命中活出來。
星期日
中國的青少年47%有過自殺的念頭,37%真的嘗試過自殺。青少年事工在中國教會的發展方向和未來工人的建造,正在面臨著前所未有的挑戰和危機。我們為教會中兒童和青少年的靈命向神祈求。願神的話語在他們幼小的生命裏深深地紮根,讓他們在幼年經歷主的愛,從他們的父母親學習對神的信心,並能與主有親密的關係。
星期一
中國傳統文化重視敬老尊賢,年輕一代常常讓人覺得不放心。這樣的觀念也是華人教會一般的看法,教會容易看輕年輕一代, 反應在不注重兒童及青少年事工,對青少年的流行文化容易產生先入為主的反感。很可惜教會沒有裝備教會的年輕人去面對世俗化的社會。有些教會雖然教導聖經,但卻沒有教導孩子們如何應用神的話。我們求主幫助教會看見裝備第二代信徒的迫切及重要性。

No comments: