Recently, Pastor Xu, who serves in a church in an East China city, shared that based on the family culture they built the church and fostered relationships with other churches, engaging in collaborative evangelism. She mentioned that in the culture of “family,” believers seek to align with spiritual parents and follow God's will in everything.
Aligning with Spiritual Parents — Generational Alignment
Pastor Xu first traced the origin of the family culture. The family model was initially the foundation of Jesus Christ's salvation. The beginning of the gospel is about God's Son, Jesus Christ. Although Jesus was equal with God, He humbled Himself to be the son of Mary and Joseph for 30 years; after turning 30, Jesus began His public ministry and aligned himself with the will of the Heavenly Father. Even when he was crucified, he sought the Father's will. Therefore, God's plan of salvation was achieved through the alignment between the Father and the Son, and this alignment across two generations fulfilled the salvation of the world.
The Bible also shows the alignment between the Father and the Son through Abraham and Isaac, David and Solomon, and Paul and Timothy. Because of Isaac’s obedience, Abraham could offer Isaac; David prepared materials after receiving the vision of constructing the temple, which was completed by Solomon; Paul and Timothy walked together as two generations, expanding and continuing the work of evangelism.
Xu emphasized that within the family relationship, there is a mutual covenant. Christians should recognize their spiritual parents through prayer, honor them, and establish mutual trust. Spiritual children can share their hearts, and spiritual parents can share their experiences; even if some children have greater anointing and gifts than their spiritual parents, the parents will not be jealous.
"When it comes to the 'family,' we need to manage the family well and live out love." Xu said that sometimes they would put aside their ministry work to accompany their spiritual parents on trips, such as making prayer walking. After the spiritual father passes away, they would care for his wife like biological children.
She said, "When building a church, we must use the family model so that the church is stable and staff workers live in harmony. Our children will not resist or blame us for our mistakes, just like a family. Parents would never disown their children because of their mistakes, and children would never expel their father because of his flaws or lack of trendiness. This will never happen." They are determined that nothing could destroy their relationships, which is even more important than evangelism.
Xu stressed that church division happens when the relationship between generations breaks down. The true way to break the spirit of division and jealousy is through unity and love. When the older and younger generations are in step, the door to the enemy is shut.
Xu said, "Restoring the family needs trusting each other, similar to Jesus Christ aligning with the Father." If we establish relationships based on mutual trust, whether among friends or between spouses, our lives will be beautiful, and we will be joyful.
Seeking God's Will in Everything
Pastor Xu mentioned that she used to be ministry-oriented. When a decision was made, action would follow, but often operated on the human level. When David welcomed the Ark, Uzzah reached out to steady it. God was angry and killed him because the Ark was meant to be carried according to God's way.
Now she has shifted from being ministry-oriented to being presence-oriented, seeking God's guidance. Just as when Moses built the Tabernacle, every aspect, including the material, shape, and who would build it, was according to God's instructions.
When several pastors are aligned with one another in a 'family,' the breakthrough in the spiritual realm is significant. God is looking for a small group of people who embrace His heart, understand His will, stand in the gap, bring about spiritual breakthroughs, and manifest His glory in the physical world. God first reveals His will to this small group who may bring blessings to many others.
- Edited and translated by Abigail Wu
