Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Across all the towns and villages of Judea, Jesus the Lord saw people harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, and he had compassion on them and healed them. He preaches, teaches, and heals, with Salvation finished on the cross. He chose seventy people apart from the twelve disciples and sent them to preach the gospel.
The work of evangelism started from one person to a dozen and to scores. In the Apostolic Age, the number of evangelists reached hundreds and now millions of people have been on the road of ministry. However, there is little room for batches of seminary graduates trained by seminaries to serve the Lord.
There are many seminaries in different sizes in China, some famous while some unknown. Annually thousands of theological students graduate from seminaries. But the bad thing is that they receive little attention.
1. They receive no financial support at school.
Almost every theological student has his mother church. If that church doesn't offer financial assistance and he has no other income, he could hardly continue his study. Especially in some special circumstances, the husband still has to support his family as well as study theology.
Some claim that God takes charge of those he called and if a seminary student receives no financial support, it suggests that he is not called by God. This statement is incorrect in my eyes. Instead, churches have the duty to train the next generation, which is related to the development of the kingdom of God while a number of churches don't have such insight.
2. Churches don't provide positions to seminary graduates.
Those students finish their studies at their own expenses, receiving no support from the church. What's worse, they'll find themselves in trouble after graduation. There's no church want to provide them positions. Some churches hold that they won't hire those seminary graduates whom they didn't support. These churches have one thing in common: seminary graduates are despised in their eyes.
Regarding seminary graduates as knowledgeable but not spiritual, those churches would only invite them as guest speaker instead of a full-time preacher, let alone supporting them. Rejected by churches, a large percentage of graduates who are determined to serve have to work outside. What's worse, some churches respond that those outside-working graduates are not called by God, since they're not devoted.
Actually, pastors and believers should examine themselves before God. A number of churches are aged and churches without successors are dead bags.
3. No spiritual elder leads them in ministries
Many pastors claim that seminary graduates today are less experienced than them, only have knowledge. But the apostle Paul says that you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. May spiritual elders can lead those children who dedicate themselves to the gospel like fathers.
Translated by: Karen Luo
