I was born to be used by the Lord

The Reviving Berlin Chinese Christian Church (BCCC)

Photo courtesy/Xu Li

▲The Chinese Christian Church in Berlin adopts Gothic architecture.

"Compared with you, the church in Berlin may not have a high level of education, financial resources, poor German, English, insufficient ability, or lack of experience... but there are many stories of our life testimony and joyful service, even for three days and three nights. I can’t finish it!” Xu Li, the resident pastor of the Chinese Christian Church in Berlin, Germany, said to thousands of congregants at Ruoge Church in New Jersey.

berlin church

Berlin, the capital of Germany, is located in the center of Europe and has always played an important role in missionary work. According to statistics, there are currently about 200,000 Chinese in Germany, including about 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese in Berlin. BCCC–Berlin Chinese Christian Church (hereinafter referred to as the Berlin Church) is currently the church with the largest number of Chinese Christians in Germany, with approximately 200 members. The Berlin Church, a Gothic-style building with a majestic appearance, is located in the center of Berlin and serves residents from Berlin and Brandenburg. The church originated from a small Bible study group in the 1980s. At that time, several Chinese Christians from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and other places gathered together to study the Bible.

In 2006, Xu Li, who was recommended by Elder Yu Mujie of Rutgers Community Christian Church in New Jersey, USA, was sent to the Chinese Church in Berlin, Germany. In October 2016, he returned to his beloved mother church with Mrs. Zhuang Weiling and shared the past ten years. My thoughts and reflections on pastoring a church in Berlin. The topics of his lectures include: "I am born with talents and use them for the Lord", "Appreciation of different cultural environments" and "The past and current situation of the Berlin Church". On the one hand, Xu Li encouraged and challenged North American Christians, and on the other hand, he also gave North American Christians the opportunity to further understand this Berlin church that is willing to be used by God and is undergoing revival.

Before Xu Li came, the church in Berlin once had no senior pastor, and its weekly Sunday sermons mainly relied on the support of churches from all over. In addition, God often sends senior spiritual elders from all over the world to Berlin to shepherd the Chinese compatriots here, including the long-term support and help of Ruoge Church. In the past ten years, the Berlin church has grown from about 30 members to more than 200 members today. In addition to God’s grace and power, Xu Li and his wife promote a healthy atmosphere of discipleship training, a true example of living life, and being like a family. His dedicated care is also one of the keys to promoting the revival and growth of the Berlin church.

June 19, 2010, was an important day for the Berlin Church and Xu Li and his wife. After long-term observation and testing, the Berlin Church officially accepted Xu Li, held an ordination ceremony, and ordained Xu Li to the Berlin Church. The resident pastor ended the dilemma of not having an official resident pastor for many years.

During his speech, Xu Li repeatedly mentioned the differences between Chinese churches in Germany and Chinese churches in North America. In the early days, the Chinese churches in North America mainly started with Bible study classes for international students, who generally had higher education levels. The members of the Chinese churches in Germany were mainly working and doing business, and there were also some foreign students and various groups from all over the world. “We may not be highly educated, have limited financial resources, don’t speak German, don’t speak English, have insufficient abilities, and lack experience...but we have so many stories of life testimony and joyful service that we couldn’t finish them in three days and three nights!”

▲The Berlin Chinese Christian Church originated from a small Bible study class in the 1980s and currently has about 200 members.

for the Lord's use

"Do you see the glory of God in you? Even a homeless person knows that his life is valuable." "Are you willing to live a life-threatening spiritual state?" "Do you hope that it is just a day-to-day life?" Are you the Christ who worships on Sundays day after week? "Are you satisfied with the Christian life of only being in a small space in the church and only saying "Hello! I'm good!" when meeting each other?" "Going out for missionary work?" Let your life be used by God!" Xu Li challenged every Christian present with his usual "deep love and deep responsibility" tone.

Xu Li, who is good at giving examples, used "wood and the piano maker" to explain "I am born with talents for the Lord's use". He said that the key to whether a piece of wood is suitable for making a cello or a violin is not the material of the piece of wood itself, but the skill and vision of the violin maker. When God chooses a person to serve, the chosen person should obey God's will, just like the piece of wood. The craftsman will definitely help the wood to maximize the function and value of the piece of wood.

"God's choice is because God has plans and purposes. God is like the craftsman who has a discerning eye to recognize heroes." Xu Li often encourages the brothers and sisters in the Berlin church that it is no accident that God brings them to Berlin. The entire church was gradually infected by Xu Li and was willing to be sculpted by God and become "a piece of wood for God's masterpiece." Even those who had just believed in the Lord could immediately participate in service and be used by God.

various ministries

The Berlin church, which attaches great importance to service, has a variety of ministries, including: airport ministry, refugee ministry, homeless ministry, small group leader ministry, discipleship training, and one of them, "trench discipleship" specifically for brothers. One secret that all successful leaders know is to “lead people with your heart first.” Xu Li, who was once a veteran in the workplace, advocated that "brothers must first understand each other before they can work together." Over the years, he has led a group of brothers to join forces, camping, fishing, and riding bicycles together... Xu Li said that the last time he rode a bicycle was thirty years ago. This time he rode a bicycle in Berlin for six hours and almost died. In the first few months when the brothers got together, they did not talk about ministry, but only about personal feelings, slowly developing a "trenched friendship."

The homeless ministry originated in 2015. A sister told Xu Li that church life seemed boring and she did not want to become a marginalized person or parasite in Germany. She should do something for the city of Berlin, contribute her own strength and integrate into society. As a result, the Berlin church developed this homeless ministry.

What moved Xu Li most was that the homeless ministry was formed spontaneously by church members and was not assigned from the top down. Every Wednesday at three o'clock in the afternoon, more than a dozen members of all sizes, men and women, gather automatically to prepare packed sandwiches, provide warm clothes, and even cut hair for the homeless... They work with local organizations to provide various services to the homeless. Such help and care.

Once, the testimony of homeless work reached the ears of a German railway director. The director met Xu Li on an occasion and asked: "Why are you willing to serve the Germans?" Xu Li replied succinctly: "We live in In Berlin, Berlin is our hometown and we love our hometown!”

"Faith is not about sitting in a chapel, but about letting people see that God is real. The mission field is around your life." Xu Li, who has a doctorate in missiology, has many missionary experiences. His view on missions is, Mission should start from the local area, the home family, and the hometown. However, home can also be the most difficult mission field. We must use the real life given by God to bear witness to the gospel.

Another unexpected effect of developing homeless ministry is that some German Christians who serve together proactively asked, "Can I pray with you?"

The issue of refugee flows has been an extremely difficult international social issue in recent years. In recent years, Germany has hosted nearly one million Middle Eastern refugees. Of course, Xu Li often met some Middle Eastern refugees in Berlin, and even had the experience of learning German with the refugees. "They know that I am a pastor, but we can still be friends. For friends with Muslim backgrounds, we must first get to know them, understand them, and have a sense of trust in each other. Only then can we have dialogue and further exchanges."

▲ "After more than ten years of ups and downs, the Berlin church has now seen a glimmer of revival." The picture shows Pastor Xu Li, Mrs. Weiling and his wife.

Live for you to see

"People's things and people's needs can never be finished, but you can't stop doing it just because you can't finish it." In the first year that they came to the Berlin church, Xu Li and his wife visited the brothers and sisters every week. The early promotion of church ministry also encountered many obstacles and difficulties.

In the first year after arriving at the Berlin church, the congregation still viewed Xu Li and his wife with a "wait-and-see" attitude. "We are like little goldfish living in a goldfish bowl. We are always noticed and checked by others." Later, Xu Li figured it out, "Turn the table around. Turn the goldfish bowl around!" "How do we live? How do you live? Let me show you how to live!” It turns out that the congregation is observing the pastor and understanding what it is like to be a child of God through the pastor’s words and deeds.

I was asked what are the special factors for the Berlin church’s rapid growth in recent years? Xu Li said that the mobility of Chinese churches in Europe is high, which is normal. But as groups of people leave, groups of people come in. They are like dandelion seeds, flying in the wind and spreading the gospel. seed. The Berlin church has a wide range of congregations, including restaurant workers, cleaners, students, children, refugees, young people, middle-aged people, the elderly... and there are especially many single-parent families. In the early days, there were only a handful of full-time office workers in the church, and there were not many healthy families. Now, there are more than fifty full-time office workers, and the number of healthy families is gradually increasing.

"In the early days, the population of full-time office workers here was small, and most of them were part-time workers and student congregations, so their donations were naturally small. But these donations were all saved by them, and they were willing to give and give everything they had to God. "This is particularly touching." Xu Li mentioned a petite old mother who, for decades, would hand Xu Li some snacks after he finished his sermon to comfort God. servant.

In the past ten years, Xu Li and his wife have been pastoring a church in Berlin. In addition to preparing a sermon every week, writing two or three blogs, and leading group Bible studies and discipleship training, they also help the congregation with various types of counseling and crisis management, couple and family issues, and child education. problems, young people's emotional problems, financial problems or life-related problems, etc. Xu Li, who has many years of experience as a high-level executive in the United States, sometimes helps students find jobs before graduation by revising their resumes and applying for English-language job letters. He teaches them how to sell themselves correctly in interviews and helps young people find their direction in life. He has also helped brothers and sisters who started their own businesses to see whether their business plans are reasonable, chosen names for companies and restaurants, and even helped brothers revise love letters they wrote to their girlfriends.

"Wherever there are people, there will naturally be problems and needs. We cannot solve all problems, but we must recognize their needs and pains!" Xu Li and his wife often accompany members in need to cry and pray together. "Ministry is not the ultimate goal, but to introduce them to the power of God and let them experience God personally."

In the past ten years, Xu Li and his wife have devoted themselves wholeheartedly and given their all. The "pastor's God" eventually became the God of the church members in Berlin. Once, a church member wrote a vivid description in a letter of thanks to Xu Li: "You are a dignified pastor on the podium, a kind elder when visiting, and a stern exhortation." Teacher, you are a kind and good friend when you wear jeans."

Succession

"In the past ten years, although our bodies have been exhausted, our hearts have been full. Together with the church in Berlin, we have gone from not having a resident pastor to now the entire church is prosperous and revived. The "ten years of life" in Germany cannot be replaced by a thousand dollars!"

This time, they were invited by the Ruo Ge Mu Association. They spent two and a half days in a hurry. As soon as the lecture was over, Xu Li and his wife immediately took a flight back to Germany overnight. Many old members of the Ruoge church saw Xu Li and his wife, whom they had not seen for many years, and were surprised that their faces were almost the same as ten years ago, or even younger. Xu Li smiled and replied: "When you are with young people, there are too many things to do, and there is no time to grow old!"

Xu Li said that it is estimated that there are about a thousand Chinese Christians in Germany today, and there is almost a student Bible study class in more than 50 cities in Germany. However, there are less than ten ordained Chinese pastors in the whole of Germany, which shows how much there is a need for long-term pastors in Germany to feed this group of hungry sheep.

"Since God has placed us in Berlin, he must have His will. Everyone in the Berlin church is willing to believe that "I am born with talents that will be useful." Whether they are old, young, young, brothers or sisters "What I am most proud of about the Berlin church is that everyone is willing to be a disciple of Jesus and not just a believer."

On the Berlin church’s website or weekly newspaper, the name of the senior pastor or any of his co-workers cannot be seen. “Our senior pastor is Jesus Christ, and like everyone else, I am just a disciple who follows Jesus.”

After more than ten years of ups and downs, the Berlin church has now seen a glimmer of revival. Xu Li used the phrase "In sweet spot for molding!" (melted by God's love and in the best state) to describe the current situation of the Berlin church.

When many foreign speakers come to the Berlin church, they will ask Xu Li what topics they want the speaker to talk about. Xu Li's answer is always: "Try to speak harsh words! Don't be afraid. The lives of these people have been changed by revival, and they are people who are willing to be used by the Lord. They can listen to it, as long as it is about service and life. Useful topics are welcome.”

Xu Li, who has turned 64 this year, said in a serious tone at the end that he is already seriously thinking about the issue of succession. "In order to ensure that the Berlin church will grow healthily and robustly, and in order for the revival of the Berlin church to continue, we must now begin to urgently cultivate a succession team." He openly invited anyone with a pastoral heart, a commitment to pastoral care and discipleship, age Preachers who are under the age of 45, have pastoral experience, have been trained in basic truth theology, and are willing to be used by God are welcome to recommend themselves to the Berlin church.

▲Pastor Xu Li (middle of the front row) advocates that "brothers must first understand each other before they can work together." Many years ago, he specially called brothers from the Berlin church to set up "Trench Discipleship." The picture shows them camping together.

Interviewee profile
Xu Li was born in Taiwan and was baptized in Taipei Huai'en Church in 1978. In the same year, he went to the United States to study for a degree in computer informatics and industrial engineering. In 1980, he married Mrs. Zhuang Weiling. After graduation, he held management positions in many large companies in the United States. Starting in 2003 Dedicated full-time, he pastored the Zexi Church in New Jersey with Mrs. Wei Ling and studied for a Master of Divinity in "Pastoral and Church Leadership Management." In August 2006, he was recommended by Ruoge Church to serve at the Berlin Chinese Christian Church and led the summer gospel life camp that year. On June 19, 2010, he was ordained as the resident pastor of the Chinese Christian Church in Berlin and has been there ever since.

Journalist profile
Liao Meihui, from Taiwan, has a son and a daughter with her husband Wang Zhiyuan. Certified Montessori teacher, children’s Sunday school teacher at Ruoge Church in New Jersey, part-time student at North American Chinese Evangelical Theological Seminary, and special correspondent for Kingdom of God magazine. Calling: Teacher and literary work.