Revival begins at home, true love brings renewal

【Pastor's Chapter】

Oral narration/Compiled by Pastor Hu Huiling/Zhou Weiwei

Pastor/Dr. Hu Huiling (hereinafter referred to as "Hu"), who is currently the vice president of ministry of Family Keepers International, is often invited to give lectures and trainings to Chinese churches and communities at home and abroad, and has also given lectures to several Chinese churches. He is a guest lecturer at the college and has published many family books and CD-ROM courses, including: "Marriage Preservation Wrap", "12 Tips for Proper Discipline", "Youth Is Not Rebellious - Capture the Hearts of Teenagers", "Bringing Fragrance Again - The Wonderful Second Half" , "Communication Traffic Light", "Anger and Stress Management", etc. He has rich experience and experience in family ministry.

The following is an interview with Zhou Weiwei, the editor of this unit.

Pastor Hu believes that the church is basically composed of families. Just like it has been said that the church is a tree, and the family is the root of the tree. For a tree to grow and mature, the roots must be healthy. If the roots lack nutrients, the tree will not be able to thrive. The church is basically made up of families. If the church is a tree, the family is the root of the tree. For a tree to grow and mature, its roots must be healthy. If the roots lack nutrients, the tree cannot thrive.

Why is family ministry so often marginalized in the church?

Hu:Generally speaking, in order to meet the needs of large groups, churches mostly focus on personal spiritual growth, Sunday school, small group fellowship, youth ministry, and children's ministry. But if you think about it carefully, these ministries are all derived from the needs of different members of the family. When the church generally develops various ministries in a standardized structure and ignores the most basic element - the family - it can be said to be putting the cart before the horse. .

According to the research report, the problems encountered by brothers and sisters in the church are rooted in the family, such as couples, parents and children, individuals, in-laws, etc. This is true for both Chinese and American churches. Most churches have a biased view on family ministry. They believe that such a soft ministry is sufficient to rely on foreign aid. Let some professional organizations and groups hold a family camp or special lecture every year, which can be considered as having a share in family ministry. . Little do they know that the health of the family is the real source of the health of the church.

Second, because many pastors attend seminary, family-related counseling courses only account for a few credits. In the absence of equipment, when pastors encounter family problems in church members, they are often helpless and have no choice but to invite outside family counseling teams to intervene. In fact, the best place for practicing faith in life is the family. The influence of sound family ministry is the foundation for the development of the entire church.

▲Pastor Hu Huiling, who has received complete training in theology, pastoral care, and family counseling, is often invited to churches and seminaries to provide diversified professional training in counseling, negotiation, pastoral care, and care.

Under what circumstances did you personally enter the field of family ministry?

Hu:After receiving God’s call, I came to the United States to study in psychology. After graduation, I had the opportunity to work at the Asian Pacific Family Center, part of Pacific Clinics in Southern California. It was a social service organization oriented towards mental health, which allowed me to come into contact with many immigrant families. They came to the center to seek help due to mental illnesses such as marital estrangement, parent-child alienation, depression and anxiety.

During the counseling and counseling process, I found that many personal problems were caused by not being dealt with in time during the growth stage, or by parents who ignored them and put the wrong focus on discipline, resulting in psychological disorders and the inability to grow healthily. When an unhealthy person forms a family with another unhealthy person, an unhealthy family is formed, and that includes many Christian families. The burden of "keeping family scandals in public" in Chinese culture is also one of the main reasons why family ministry cannot break through the bottleneck.

While working at Asia Pacific Family Service Center, I also received training in the seminary and became deeply aware of what the Bible says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10), “The wise have great power; Knowledge builds strength.” (Proverbs 24:5) To effectively promote family ministry in the church, you must first have a vision, and then be willing to be equipped. Combining biblical teaching with practical training, both approaches can complement each other.

Based on your years of experience, how should family ministries in the church be effectively established and promoted?

Hu:As mentioned before, church leaders must first see the need for this ministry, and then pass on the vision to the next level, encouraging and supporting co-workers with burdens to receive equipment. For example, the International True Love Family Association has established family ministry bridges with many churches and seminaries around the world over the years, providing assistance with training, conferences, and counseling, and advocating that family ministry is inseparable from church revival. Take the "Healthy Family Guide" ministry launched in 2012 as an example. Pastor Ye Gaofang, president of the True Love Family Association, originally had a vision for this ministry, which was to train 10,000 guides and 1,000 mentors through this ministry. , so that families can communicate honestly, pray, care, support and grow healthily with each other under strategic promotion.

So far, we have trained nearly 8,100 guides and more than 570 mentors. It is not necessary to have a background in psychological counseling to become a "family guide". Brothers and sisters who are committed to family ministry are welcome to join. After eight hours of intensive basic training, you will learn and practice with the help of relevant teaching materials provided by "True Love". There is a review and follow-up meeting every two months, where all guide families review and learn together and exchange experiences.

The establishment of the "Family Guidance Ministry" is based on the realization that each family has its own story and different needs; if several families can care for, support and build confidence based on mutual teaching, mutual trust and love, the family's The problem will not be "delayed" until the patient is terminally ill before seeking help from a church pastor or professional counselor.

When families can pray, care, and support in such a "mutual care network", they will become healthier, and the church will also become healthier. If a church neglects to run a "family ministry," no matter how many people there are or how big the ministry is, it will one day highlight the "puffiness and obesity phenomenon of external strength and internal weakness" because it does not provide the right medicine for the real problem.

In addition to "Family Guidance Ministry", True Love Family Association also provides "Family Care Certificate Class", allowing those who are interested in caring ministry to receive individual training and learn about pre-marital counseling, marital relationship, parent-child relationship, elder care and other ministries. .

The International True Love Family Association is headquartered in Los Angeles, USA. It has ten branches around the world, including North America, South America, Asia and New Zealand and Australia. No matter where they are, they work together to promote the concept of "Fighting for the Family, True Love for the Family". A family movement of purpose.

▲Pastor Hu Huiling and her family bless the Lord together.

What are the results of family revival?

Hu:Family revival will inevitably lead to a comprehensive revival of the church. When couples are of the same mind, the probability of the next generation staying in the church is relatively increased. When the ministry can be passed down from one generation to the next, the prosperity of the church is just around the corner, which will eventually lead to the revival of the entire society. As the Bible says in Malachi 4:6: “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest he come and fill the earth with a curse.”

In this rebellious era, what obstacles and challenges do you often encounter in promoting family ministry?

Hu:Based on my many years of experience in leading family ministries in various churches, I would like to appeal to all churches to have their own family ministries. Relying solely on foreign aid to hold one or two camps will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause, and the results will be limited. I often use "parent-child relationship" as a metaphor for "church and family ministry." To cultivate a healthy parent-child relationship, the most important thing is to spend time with your children. Some parents are too busy working, leaving early and coming back late, and have no time to spend with their children. When their children grow up, they realize that the family members who live under the same roof are like strangers and their relationship is weak. At that time, it is no longer time to manage the "parent-child relationship" Because I missed the golden period of relationship building. Likewise, by spending time early on in family ministry, churches can prevent problems and build healthy families that benefit all ministries.

What is the future of ministry? What advice do you have for fellow church pastors?

Hu:In this ever-changing era dominated by social media, the only way to diversify and develop ministry rapidly is to ride on the coattails of new media and convey our vision for family ministry through short articles, videos, and streamlined Disseminate it more effectively through teaching and other methods. Currently, "True Love" is actively building and updating its online platform, and hopes to successfully present True Love resources and services on social media in the near future.

In addition, God has raised up several Christian groups throughout North America that focus on family ministry. If various organizations and groups can meet regularly to communicate and share ministry experience, I believe it will have a multiplier effect on the comprehensive promotion of family ministry. Such a connection means that family ministry will break through barriers and become a movement, leading the entire society to return to its original nature and recreate the true meaning of family.

Interviewee profile

Hu HuilingPastor/Ph.D., Vice President of Ministries of International True Love Family Association. He graduated from the Psychology Department of Fullerton State University in California, the United States, a Master of Divinity from Golden Gate Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Pastoral Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has received complete training in theology, pastoral care, and family counseling and has been practicing and studying continuously. Regardless of lectures, courses, radio works, counseling consultations, and pastoral care, he is loved and recognized.