When discussing church development, grassroots churches might consider constructing church buildings and training staff, while urban churches tend to mention institutional development. While these aspects are indeed parts of church development, an equally crucial component is the spiritual growth of congregants, which should be regarded as the highest priority in church development.

In mid-December last year, a friend and I embarked on an early morning journey with anticipation for the Xiaoshuijing Farmers’ Choir in Yunnan Province, taking multiple modes of transportation to travel thousands of miles to this Miao village for their Christmas celebration.

During a conversation with my mother at home during Chinese New Year, she mentioned her experience serving with a fellow villager, Mrs. Luo. In rural churches, daily operations and worship services largely depend on the dedication of devout believers. From my memory, Mrs. Luo and my mother were among the key members, often serving together.

As one of the first batch of co-workers to believe and participate in church service after the reform and opening up, W shared his faith and service experience. In the nearly 40 years since W became a believer after being healed by the Lord, he has experienced many wonderful works of God in the local area.

Why do young people stop going to church? How do young people perceive the Christian faith? Brother W, an admirer of the Christian faith who was born in 1998, expressed his views.

In addition to its use in catechism classes, some churches are incorporating the Shorter Catechism into regular pastoral care.

In reality, when churches properly support their pastors, and pastors focus on nurturing believers as entrusted by God, the church can enter a virtuous cycle and receive God’s blessings.

Quite a few pastors shared a consensus that prayer is the driving force for the church’s growth; it also tells the prosperity of a church.

"Despite one’s striving, some of the things received from God can be difficult to convey to believers." Brother C, a grassroots preacher in northern Jiangsu, recently shared insights on his pastoral experience.

Having been serving in a grassroots church for ten years, Chen Xun shared his evolving views on supporting pastors and money.