As the Internet develops, social media platforms like group chats in WeChat and QQ have appeared consistently and raise awareness easily with some churches and Christians establishing their own WeChat group chats to share and pray for each other. However, it's not easy to get nurtured spiritually and communicate about the Christian faith online.
Sister Gu, who has ministered believers on WeChat for about four years, tells CCD her story.
Being a Christian for 26 years, Gu confesses that she had never wanted to preach Gospel in the first decade of her faith journey during the time which she suffered from sickness and hardship. In the second decade of her journey, she recovered from the illness and got access to different kinds of patients.
"In the beginning I had faith myself but I did not have the thought to preach the Gospel." She says. Two decades later, she gradually stepped on the road to evangelize others, "There was a sort of moving in my spirit. I felt God was letting me do it."
She recalled that it was in March 2012 that she really began to evangelize others. A woman walked into the church which she led and gave her much encouragement. Since then, she has invited a lot of non-Christians to the church in 2012.
That October, she organized about two dozens of people to attend a special gathering held in Hong Kong. Owing to the inconvenience of taking a laptop, she bought an iPad and started to read the Bible and share the knowledge through a WeChat group.
In April 2013, knowing the need to nurture on WeChat, some believers invited her to engage in ministering Christians on the social platform.
"We can serve God the whole lifetime." Their word touched her and her response was, "I would like to do it as long as I speak the Word of God."
Since then, she kept sharing daily verses, her prayers and medication for two hours in the 14 groups she is a part of until June 2013.
In the first year, things were disorderly, but she insisted on the principle - "no argument, quarrel, explanations while doing her duty with all her heart and mind". She held fast to the organization of reading the Bible by the members and share the Word. Now she's in charge of 15 groups.
A large percentage of the members seek the counselling about their personal problems, familial problems, marriage problems or their faith from her privately. She will answer their questions in accordance to the Bible and it takes her eight hours in her busiest time, while they would only need to preach the Gospel and organize reading the scripture in the groups.
In Gu's eyes, a WeChat group equals to a parish where co-workers are needed, including those who lead the worship and prayer. But there's a key problem with this platform as a large number of members just standby without speaking.
She says that first, you need to express yourself freely. During the first phase, she shares the message and changed to send voices last year. She will ask those who give responses to continue the reading and send an invitation to others without any reply: "If you do, please send me a smiling face. This will be our covenant in the group."
She encourages everyone to praise and read the Bible. "I don't care whether you can or not but whether you do."
Another challenge in the WeChat ministry is the high mobility of people. Gu introduces that newcomers stay while some quit the group because it's no fun. Currently, these groups remain stable with a good number of members.
Moreover, the groups should be nurtured in various levels. For example, the members are accustomed to read one chapter in one of her groups and some five chapters in the other.
Some have already questioned her ministry during the past four years, asking her, "Can trust really be established since you can't see or touch on the WeChat?"
She answers, "I can't see God either, but why do I believe ?" She confesses that the personal reading time can be spent on more people. "If there's one in the thousands moved by the Holy Spirit when my personal prayer to God is shared, that is the grace God gives to me. We don't ask God to do anything. The responsibility of Christians is to evangelize while that he or she believes or not is all in God's hands."
"Before contacting others using the Internet, I never spoke in the church half a decade ago. Now God opened my mouth."
The sister feels happy although she doesn't have a rich family or good health.
"God shows no penny to me, but money can't afford the value." She says.
