Young Seminary Graduates Serve in Ningxia Saying They Feel Lonely Due to Lacking Contemporaries

Ningxia is a multi-ethnic place where the ethnic minorities containing Hui, Uyghur, Dongxiang,Kazakhs, Salar and Bonan believe in Islam. A part of the Han people have faith in Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Catholicism.

Now, there are more than ten Christian churches in the autonomous region and some seminary graduates serve there. So what is the environment in their ministry?

CCD interviews two young preachers from Ningxia, who graduated from seminaries, to talk about their situation. 

Preacher Zhao, who graduated from Yanjing Theological Seminary two years ago, said that she often feels lonely because there are no contemporaries who can encourage and help her with her ministry as she is the only seminarian in the church.

An elder leads the church and the rest staff are all seniors. Elderly believers account for the majority of the congregation and there are rare young believers. 

Zhao wants to carry out some ministries, but she has to spare all her efforts over the church issues for the church doesn't have enough workers or even volunteers. "I can't concentrate on one single ministry well." She says. 

Asked what kind of ministry she wants to do, she answers that she, who has burden on nurturing, would like to start a ministry called "Fishers of Men" that will undergo discipleship training. For this, the elder strongly supports the proposal but is limited in time and energy as they are busy with many things. "We can't really work together in the ministry."

Preacher Li, from another urban church in Ningxia, faces the same situation: the co-workers in her church are much older. "There are no peers who can understand you and walk with you with support in doing the church's ministry. I feel relatively lonely and find it hard to develop the ministry."

It is said that most of the seminary graduates studied in Yanjing Theological Seminary and some received training in Shaanxi Bible College. In the recent years, some started to advance in Northeastern Theological Seminary.