How long will it take to move to Europe?
Exclusive interview with European Campus Ministry (ECM) missionary Fan Qianzhiyu
Interview team for this publication: Jiang Guanming, Wu Xinhui, Wang Jianhua, Weng Jingyu
Q Please describe the current situation of Chinese students in East Germany.
The number of students in East Germany is large, the difficulties are great, and they are hungry for the gospel. They are a whitening harvest field.In 2001, we were sent by the Oakland Chinese Church in Michigan to Germany for short-term missionary work. We were surprised to see hundreds of Chinese students on campus and in laboratories in big cities. Even when the train passed through a remote and quaint German town, I saw Chinese students with black hair and yellow skin, carrying heavy backpacks and walking alone with their heads down. It turns out that in recent years, due to the difficulty of obtaining visas in the United States, the wave of students studying abroad has poured into Europe with a force several times that of the United States. However, this city, which was once the center of Martin Luther's revival and reformation, is spiritually weak today, and the Chinese gospel resources are only one-third of those in the United States.
However, when God moves large numbers of people from one place to another, it is often when He wants to do great things. The work of studying abroad in Europe is driven by the hand of God.
The international students in Dedong range from those who are about to finish graduate school at the age of 26 or 7, to those who have just graduated from high school and are just coming to learn the language at the age of 17 or 18. Many of them can no longer hold on and will return home full of sorrow and frustration.
The vast majority of international students in East Germany are only children from mainland China, born in middle-income families, and many are first-generation college students. They came to Germany through many sacrifices and hard work by their parents. After arriving, they shouldered the high expectations of two generations and six elders. They are not the ones with the best grades. Those students have gone to the United States with full scholarships. They are not the richest either. Those students will choose to go to English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia. They choose to come to Germany because German universities basically do not charge tuition fees.
However, life in Germany, especially for students from East Germany, is particularly difficult. The first one is that the language barrier is difficult. After two years of classes, I still can’t understand or take notes. I study by relying on the Chinese textbooks I brought and guessing the answers to the test questions.
The specialty of Germany's academic system is that it generally does not grant a bachelor's degree. The first degree obtained after high school is a certificate, which is equivalent to a master's degree, but it requires at least seven or eight years of hard work.
The pressure on the economy has also increased, and the monthly expenses have been reduced to 300 euros, including rent, health insurance, and 30 euros of food, and they have to work in Germany to survive. An unfamiliar place, double rent, high competition, and physical exhaustion all bring about the sadness of being displaced.
But the biggest pressure comes from the cannibalistic loneliness. Due to cultural and language barriers, Chinese students have almost no contact with their German classmates. When I'm depressed, I chat, eat, drink and gamble with my Chinese classmates, or stay up all night watching DVDs. But all this often cannot relieve the pressure, and it can even drive away the loneliness of being an only child and wandering in a foreign land. They can’t cook and have no meal, they can’t talk in class and feel depressed, and they are afraid of dropping out if they can’t pass the exam. Such excessive pressure makes many students long for a place to rely on and talk to. Therefore, it is common for men and women to live together, and then What comes is deep harm to the body, mind and soul.
Their parents grew up in a vacuum of faith. By their generation, their self-worth has been even more lost. Students from Dedong described the journey of studying abroad as "walking in a dark tunnel, unable to see the light...". Lost, they long to see the light.
Q How did European Campus Ministry (ECM) begin?
After Desi led several students who believed in the Lord back to Dedong to study, they lost contact with them. Later, I heard that there was no fellowship or church in Dedong! How can someone not hear the gospel? I wanted to go there to preach the gospel, but the advice I received at the time was: "Impossible! How can you preach the gospel when your life is in trouble?" In the summer of 2002, Dasheng discovered that he had two different primary cancers, so the matter was naturally put on hold.
But this feeling never left me.
At Easter in 2003, the two of them were still in suspense, so they prayed together before the Lord... and called their overseas campus co-workers Yu Peixin and Chen Qingzhen. The other end of the phone jumped up in shock! It turns out that God moved us to be each other’s seals. Nowadays, ECM does pioneering and fellowship pastoral work, and invites overseas campuses for training. It has wonderful co-workers.
At Christmas in 2003, my husband, my wife, Brother Lu Xiaopei from the same church, and three old men rented a car and visited nine campuses in East Germany in the snow, looking for the lost children in order to bring the love and light of Christ to them. . The students welcomed us as family members and responded enthusiastically to the gospel, so fellowships were established one after another.
Then we found some like-minded Christians in the United States and established East Germany Campus Ministry (EGCM). Later, we saw a bigger vision and changed its name to the current European Campus Ministry (ECM). We are willing to use East Germany as a starting point and follow Under God’s guidance, the gospel was widely spread among Chinese students in Europe.
▲Board of directors family, from left: Lu Xiaopei, Ding Tonggan and his wife, Pastor Zhang Luke and his wife, Fan Dasheng.
Q What is the current situation of campus ministry in Europe?
It has developed rapidly in the past three and a half years. From pioneering, establishing fellowships one by one, starting to hold small camps, and now leading students to pioneer again. Currently, ECM takes care of seven fellowships, each with a number of people ranging from 20 to 30 people.
Although we are still the only pair of co-workers in ECM who are based in East Germany, more than 30 co-workers have come to East Germany from various churches in the United States to preach in East Germany after seeing the need in the fields. Most of them are pastors. Many of the deacons and couples come here for more than a month or two at a time, and almost all the co-workers continue to come back to care for the students in Dedong for a long time. Some of them are considering early retirement to serve in Dedong.
In addition to those who go out to fight on the front lines, there are also brothers and sisters who belong to different churches and are silently loyal, doing financial management, missionary qualification review, giving and intercessory services. These many witnesses are like a cloud, inspiring us to continue running the race that is set before us.
In addition to the two founders, our board of directors includes Pastor Luke Zhang, who has been spiritually leading and encouraging from the beginning, and Elder Ding Tonggan from Atlanta, who contacted the Southeastern United States Seven Churches Council (SECCC) to support ECM. ministry.
Q I often hear that missionaries will experience cultural shock when they return to their home countries. Please tell us about your experience.
Culture shock is still a real thing! That day when I returned to the church where I had served for twenty years, I stood in such a luxurious and spacious hall, with choirs, youth orchestras, and spiritual books and periodicals that couldn’t be squeezed into the bookshelf... We were like strangers in a foreign land, and Grandma Liu entered Grand View Garden.
Think of ECM's "center" in Dresden, an 800-square-foot mini-apartment. In addition to the co-workers' residence, the living room serves as a gathering place, and the bedroom serves as a discussion room and reception station for short-term mission teams. But students will stretch their limbs when they walk in the door: "Oh, it's great, we have a family!" Last Christmas Eve, more than 40 people crowded into the apartment, and amid the joyful and heartwarming Christmas carols, there was no need for tea, because No one can turn around.
There was a family group that night when I returned to my mother church. When I walked into a brother's house, I couldn't figure out why American houses must be arranged in "double" configurations: two living rooms, two dining rooms, and two studies! Not to mention several bedrooms and several sets of sanitary equipment! The mountain of food piled on the kitchen counter is enough to feed five times the students in Dedong. A person uses several sets of paper cups and plates in one night, but the students in Dedong clean the paper cups and plates every time and use them for many years...
The word "equal" always raises a question mark in my mind. There is great inequality both materially and spiritually. The only treasures in some fellowship's "libraries" are gospel tracts. No fellowship has the entire hymnbook. They are all photocopied inserts... There is a fellowship that takes an expensive three-hour one-way trip every month. The train came to our fellowship just to listen to God’s words with tears and to be embraced by the brothers and sisters. In some fellowships, brothers who have believed in the Lord for one or two years take turns preaching enthusiastically. There is one fellowship that has no pastor and relies on watching VCDs for Sunday messages. However, they carry home-made food, happily change trains three times, and go to a small town to treat guests. Preach the gospel...
What's going on? We are all children of God, some are supported and some are hungry. Who is rich and who is poor?
Q Why does European Campus Ministry look for retired people?
The formation of disciples after pioneering requires a permanent shepherd to lay a solid foundation. The cost of living in Europe is high. For a pair of young missionaries to go to Germany, they need to raise between US$60,000 and US$80,000 every year. But if you have a pension and live without worries, it is the most economically feasible way. These people are spiritually mature and have service experience. They can face various problems of faith and life in the missionary field. They can legitimately be parents, from how to live, behave, study and manage to reading the Bible, praying, and loving and dedicating themselves to the Lord.
The crops were turning gray all over Europe, and before there were full-time missionaries, someone had to go. In the past, we always complained that the church lacked young people who could take charge of their own affairs, and we always felt that we could not make good friends. When I arrived at the mission field, I realized that the North American church is indeed rich in resources and has a surplus of talents. We think that our brothers and sisters in North America have taken theology classes for many years, but have not had the opportunity to stand on the podium or teach adult Sunday school independently, and are still stuck in the preparation stage. Now we will encourage North American elders in their 50s and 60s to pay attention to the cultivation of new people when leading ministries. In every service,Explore in the first year, lead people in the second year, and hand over the baton in the third year.In this way, it is possible to let go of the church ministry, go down to the mission field, and go to the vast harvest fields, and see the fellowship flourish and grow under the leadership of the faith of new believers, and see that God is much greater than what we know in North America.
Q How can retired workers serve in the workplace?
Seasonal propaganda relay, short-term propaganda cooperation.People of retirement age may need physical examination themselves, may have elderly parents or grandchildren to take care of, or may the church still have needs, so they cannot be away year-round. Our suggestion is that they come to the same mission field for one semester (one season) every year, and be replaced by another pair of co-workers in the next semester. In between is the time for the students to take the college entrance examination, return to their hometown or work in Germany. It is not a big problem if there are no workers for a while.
The workers of Ji Mission are closely connected with the local fellowship, and they turn around to mobilize their North American churches to donate resources and send out short-term mission teams. Short-term mission teams must be connected by seasonal mission workers so that they can meet local needs; they must be hosted by seasonal mission workers so as not to place too great a load on the local fellowship. Seasonal missionaries often teach and shepherd, while short-term missions teams have specific tasks, such as teaching a certain course, giving music sermons, or supporting camps, etc.
In this way, the North American church and the mission field have frequent exchanges. The gospel is spread in the mission field, and it also drives the spiritual renewal of the North American church, which is of great benefit to both parties.
After ordinary people retire, they no longer have the focus of their past work, and their lives tend to become scattered and weak. The church's services are prone to aging because they do not change people for a long time. We deeply feel that it is a great blessing to retire or retire early and enter the missionary field through the Ji Xuan Relay. It is better to be happier and stronger while harvesting the sheaves than to spend your days studying health care tips and waiting for the next trip. What’s more, this kind of “second spring of service” can lead to a “second spring of mission” in the church! If the church preaches the gospel and missions, it can avoid stagnation and only grow in knowledge without renewing faith.
▲Co-workers from the Salt Lake City Church in the United States who participated in the ECM short-term mission in Dresden, Germany, from left: Pastor Chen Xingfu and his wife, Zhou Tianjian and Liu Fusheng, Qian Zhiyu, and ECM student co-workers Jin Lei and Fan Dasheng.
Q Your workers are often couples. Please explain the importance of couples serving together.
The husband and wife team is a testimony of life.Everyone knows that there are many difficulties in the missionary field, it is easy to be lonely, and a partner is needed. After decades of married life, couples have a better understanding of each other when they enter the service field. But when we arrived at the factory in Dedong, we discovered another role of the husband-and-wife team, which is to bear witness to life.
It turns out that in this post-modern culture, these young students from mainland China, on the one hand, hope to have a beautiful vision of marriage, on the other hand, they often think that happy marriage does not exist and that marriage is therefore unnecessary. I often hear students respond: "Seeing you working together so lovingly gives us so much hope!"
As a missionary, your whole person and life must be transparent, with nothing to hide.May the Lord be gracious to us, continue to practice the lesson of humility and submission to each other as husband and wife, and use our lives to witness the goodness of God and the goodness of marriage established by Him. Ask the Lord to give this generation of young people hope and direction in their emotional lives through the testimony of His children’s marriages.
We sincerely invite God’s children to see the whitening fields of Europe, walk to the fields with faith and love, and use their lives to witness the glory of God, so that this generation of European students can know salvation just like the original North American students. Lord, because most of them must return to China to bring the gospel back to the vast fields of Chinese intellectuals.
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Understand and support European campus ministry
ministry projects
1. Pioneer evangelism. 2. Care and pastoral care. 3. Discipleship. 4. Physical connection. 5. Share the vision.
Gospel Strategy
＊Pioneering: Start with small-scale life-oriented discussions to establish friendship, and then continue with personal talks.
*Follow-up: Holistic care for life and faith, emphasizing life change and spiritual advancement.
*Training: Small training camps are held every quarter to grow through interaction.
*Pioneering again: Motivate students to go out and pioneer.
＊Follow up: Contact by phone and email, from East Germany to China.
You are invited to join this blessed ranks
*Eager intercession: Receive prayer letters regularly to keep watch for us.
*Become a missionary: A fixed two to three months (or one to two months) every year for pioneering, follow-up, pastoral care, care, training, and camps.
*Contribution to funds: In the short term, it can be used for ministry center expenses, workers’ travel and accommodation, and camp scholarships; in the long term, it can be used for scholarships for theological students and support for long-term mission workers.
＊Website technical support.
Please contact us
＊Tel: 256 883-6283
＊E-mail: egcm.org@gmail.com
＊Website: www.ECMinistry.net
＊Please send your donation to:
ECM
PO Box 4376 Huntsville, AL 35815
Check payable to: OCC, Memo: ECM
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Life Stories of Dedong Students
The prayer of a Hui girl
There was a Hui girl who had only believed in the Lord for three months and came to Germany without any discipleship training. The Spirit of God urged her to preach the gospel passionately. She knocked on two dormitory doors every day to preach, and often cooked meals for guests to preach. Some people laughed at her, some believed it but did not believe it, and only a few truly believed it. Tears rolled in the child's bright, round eyes: "I can lead people to believe in the Lord, but I can't shepherd them." She was only twenty years old. The little girl knelt before the Lord every day and prayed with tears, asking the Lord to send someone to help.
At this time, a group of co-workers from Dedong arrived in her city for evangelism. It was just before Christmas. The little sister worked hard to cook for everyone, but she was fasting for the party. The party started, the Christmas table was decorated, all kinds of exquisite snacks were served, and the students gathered excitedly. In the light of candles, the story of Christmas was read out from the Bible. The whole audience was silent at first, and then more than thirty people said "ah" with shocked expressions, "It turns out that Christmas has a historical story! It turns out that Jesus is related to Christmas ! It turns out that the era is calculated based on the birthday of Jesus Christ!"
The questions continued that night, and they were asked until one o'clock in the morning. When the Bibles were distributed, there were only a few copies, and students rushed to get them. When a co-worker handed her a small New Testament, she couldn't take it. It was as if she was electrocuted. She was so happy that she hugged the co-worker, cried, jumped, and shouted, "Thank you Lord!" because when she preached the gospel , when someone asked her to borrow a Bible to read, she was always reluctant to part with it and felt deeply guilty. "If I lend it to you, there will be no Bible to read today!"
Slowly the Bible study group became a fellowship. She rented an apartment, and the rent was double the price of a single room in the student dormitory. She said, "This way, you will have a place to live when you come, and you will be able to bring the word of God." Her family is not wealthy, and she lives frugally on weekdays, and she does not know where the rent will come from. For more than two years, God Himself has been raising His precious daughter.
Today, this small apartment of more than 500 square feet is a fixed place for local fellowship gatherings. It is a home shared by the little sisters and their brothers and sisters. It is also a reception station for speakers and a "camp" for discipleship training. The fifteen members of the fellowship usually meet to study hard and exercise. The three meetings a week are always attended by everyone, including prayer meetings, even during major exams. What is even more valuable is organizing short-term mission teams to regularly go to remote universities to preach the gospel.
I brought my grandpa to believe in the Lord!
I received a call from a young brother, "Can I come over for dinner?" After dinner, he asked the ECM co-worker: "Teacher, have you ever been to rural China? How do you preach the gospel to people with low education? I I preached it to my grandfather and told him the truth over and over again, but he just couldn’t listen.”
The co-worker advised him: "Be friends with your grandpa and ask him to talk more about your childhood. Use these past events to thank him for loving you so much." After hearing this, the brother covered his face and cried bitterly. It turned out that his grandpa had advanced esophageal and stomach cancer. , he felt sad and anxious.
A few days later, he called home. A few minutes later, he came to his co-worker and said, "Teacher, please take grandpa to pray for a decision." The grandpa on the other end of the phone said one sentence after another, and he very readily confessed his sins, repented, and accepted the Lord. "Is your grandpa so easy to talk to?"
"He is so stubborn! Today is my 22nd birthday. When I got up in the morning, I told the Lord: 'Lord, I want a birthday gift!' Then I thought, should I want a girlfriend? Or do I want my grandfather's salvation? What? After struggling for a while, I decided to ask for my grandfather's help. I said to him, "Today is my birthday, so don't coax me."
Grandpa said firmly, "I won't coax you. If you want to believe it, you have to believe it." ’” Now that grandpa has rested in the Lord’s arms, God has given the little brother a double birthday gift, which is a girlfriend with whom he has grown and served in the Lord.
Say goodbye to living together
A couple of male and female friends who lived together had a quarrel when they came over, and they burst into tears. It turns out that boys like to chat online, including with past girlfriends and other female classmates. Girls can't stand it and often quarrel about it.
The ECM colleague told the boy: "She is angry because she feels insecure. Since you love her, you must give her a sense of security. Can you delete the name?"
He obeyed and said, "Wow, is it so simple?" So the co-worker taught them how to be humble and kind to each other according to the Bible's teachings.
The two quickly accepted the Lord and their lives changed. Then the co-worker showed them the Bible's view on cohabitation: "Other sins are committed outside the body, but this sin is committed in one's own body. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and cohabitation is an offense against God." The girl listened. He left in anger.
Only two days later, something came to her mind and said, "This is your protection!" She figured out that commandments are not God's purpose to restrict us, but to protect us. The two decided to return to their country to meet their families. The parents of both families accepted the Lord because they saw them "so happy" together, and the gospel began to spread in both families. The two also officially registered their marriage, were baptized, and happily served in the fellowship.