MINISTRY// A clay jar

Boqin, a man in his late 30s, is the leader of a small group of Christians in a large Chinese city.

No formal pastor training

He has no formal college or seminary training to be a pastor. He became the leader of his group because he was the best qualified among those dozen and a half Christians.

Earlier in his life Boqin had been choosing his own path according to his own values. But when the Spirit called him to faith in Jesus his life changed.

A first sermon

Last fall he began to prepare sermons for his group’s weekly worship time. Our Bible institute pastors had been guiding him in sermon study and writing for many months.

He preached his first sermon while one of our faculty members visited his group. In his worship prayer Boqin confessed in tears, “What a sorrowful sinner I was but God didn’t give up on me. He was so gracious to me. He even equipped me as his servant through five years study with my American pastors.”

Assisted by 316NOW

Boqin is one of a number of Christian leaders in China that 316NOW has been training. He is also one of many who has little training to lead a group of Christians but he continued to grow in his knowledge of Scripture and his ability to lead.

The Apostle Paul compares this capacity for ministry to a clay jar. But then he rejoices that his ministry ability does not come from within him but from his God. “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4: 7). Boqin is a modern day example.

316NOW is grateful to be used by the Spirit so God’s all-surpassing can be shown through like Boqin and many leaders of Christian churches in China.