Young, immature, and inexperienced pastor couples who run churches on their own have to fight ministry battles and deal with life, family, and raising children on their own. They need the help of mature pastors; they also need prayers, communication, pastoral care, and covering.
Brother Guang and Sister Qiqi are a young couple serving in the same church. They met while studying at the seminary and got married because of their common vision. However, after a few years of marriage, Brother Guang said he felt powerless and needed help; Sister Qiqi, although she believes in God's guidance, also said she was hurting in her marriage and needed someone to help restore her family.
Brother Dayong and Sister Yujie are also a married couple of forty years old and also work together as pastors in the church. In terms of age, Brother Dayong is six or seven years older than Brother Guang; the couple is also more experienced in life.
During a testimony of grace conducted online, the two families interacted with each other in a video.
Brother Guang, who was moved to open up about his family situation because of the testimony of Brother Dayong and Sister Yujie's beautiful marriage, first expressed his dilemma, "I do not have the strength to lead my wife in the path of faith. She knows this path and is sure that she wants to follow the path of ministry, but when faced with reality, she gets anxious about life and her child. For example, now that the church can only pay one person's salary, she nags."
Brother Guang added his family needs a push. He hopes that he and his wife can continue to move forward.
Faced with the pressures of real life, Brother Dayong pointed out, "The life of a pastor must be filled with battles; too much worrying and overthinking will cause people to lose sight of God. Without God in our hearts, problems will increase."
Brother Dayong believes that the descendants of the righteous do not beg for bread. "Since the Lord has called, He will provide. We will not look at how much the church sends us; rather, we will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. God has extra provision when you need it. We have worries about having children too, but this requires constant practice. When we get through it, we will discover that God has not caused us difficulty. We need to set our hearts on the Lord."
Regarding the relationship between husband and wife, Brother Guang explained that he started working at the age of 16 and also experienced poverty. Married at the age of 30, he had been used to living independently for a long time and had not yet adjusted to his married role. Born with a strong personality, he found it difficult to yield during arguments, and he did not know how to handle conflicts with his wife.
Sister Yu Jie used her own marriage experience to guide the young couple: "My husband is very broad-minded, and he never argues with me. In fact, I have a very strong personality, but we follow the biblical principle that instructs the husband to love his wife. I am willing to put myself down and submit to my husband, which is the principle of a wife. Even though sometimes I might be right, I will not fight against my husband. We respect each other, understand each other's upbringing, and we are a little more tolerant."
Sister Qiqi also expressed her own inner pain. "During the years we served, we had no pastors, no co-workers, no teachers or elders, and no spiritual covering whatsoever. It was difficult to even get some pastoral resources, so you could say we were on our own for a few years. We also had to figure out marriage and our children's upbringing on our own. There was no one to listen to us when we encountered difficulties, and we could not talk to believers when conflicts arose. So I felt very sad."
Brother Guang added, "Now we have two children, and neither of our parents can help with childcare. Sister Qiqi is facing a lot on her own: ministry, life, family, children, and so on, and she is under even more pressure.
Sister Qiqi continued, "I wanted to move on, but it hurt too much. I have a special call from the Lord to choose the path of ministry, and I have faith in Him that I can persevere. It's just that Brother Guang has little knowledge about families, and he hurt me a lot after we got married. In ministry too, we often argued. I had some ideas, but he would not let me talk about them in church."
"A lot of things make me get tired of life and ministry, and I do not have the confidence to move forward. I actually believe in God's provision. We have gone from having nothing here to building a church worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. I have seen His provision, and I believe in Him."
Brother Dayong and Sister Yujie comforted her and felt sorry for the two young preachers. Their sharing may demonstrate how difficult it can be for pastors without a cover. Without a covering, pastors have no place to speak of their sufferings, and many problems arise.
Brother Da Yong and Sister Yu Jie said they were willing to start a fellowship for pastor couples so they could help more pastors who needed spiritual support. They also hope that more pastors will pay attention to young pastors.
(All names in the article are pseudonyms.)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
生命尚不成熟，阅历也有限的年轻传道人夫妻独自牧养教会，他们既要在服事中争战，又要独自面对生活、家庭、养育孩子等各样的环境和压力。他们需要成熟的传道人或牧者的帮助，他们需要祷告、交流、牧养和遮盖。
光弟兄和琪琪姊妹是一对年轻的夫妻，在同一间教会服事。他们两个人是在神学院学习的时候认识，因为共同的使命走进婚姻。但是几年的婚姻里面，光弟兄表示自己感到无力，需要帮助；琪琪姊妹虽然相信上帝的带领，但也表示自己在婚姻中很受伤，需要有人能够帮助自己的家庭。
大勇弟兄和玉洁姊妹也是一对夫妻，四十岁的年龄，也是一同在教会做传道人。年龄上，大勇弟兄比光弟兄大六七岁；他们夫妻的生命也更成熟一些。
在一次线上进行的恩典见证中，两个家庭在视频中互相交流。
光弟兄因为听到大勇弟兄和玉洁姊妹美好的婚姻见证而有感动将自己的家庭敞开，他首先表达了自己的困境，“我没有力量把姊妹往信心的路上带。姊妹知道这条路，也确定要走服事的路。但是面对现实，她会产生焦虑。她对生活，对孩子有担忧。比如，现在教会只能支付一个人的薪水，她也会唠叨。”
光弟兄表示自己的家庭需要一个推力。他希望自己和妻子两个人可以继续往前走。
面对现实生活的压力，大勇弟兄指出，“传道人的生活一定是有争战的，过多担忧和思虑进来，人就看不到上帝了，心里没有上帝，问题会越来越多。”
大勇弟兄相信义人的后裔是没有讨饭的，“既然主呼召了，他一定会供应。教会发给我们多少，我们不要看，先求神的国和神的义。你需要的时候，上帝有额外的供应。我们生孩子也有担忧，但是这都需要操练。走过来会发现上帝没有让我们作难。我们要把心放到主那里去。”
对于夫妻关系，光弟兄解释说，自己16岁走进社会打工，也经历过贫穷。30岁结婚，中间很长的一段时间都习惯了独立生活，在婚姻中还没有调整好自己的角色。个性也比较强，很难低头。不知道怎么处理跟妻子的冲突。
玉洁姊妹用自己婚姻的经验来引导光弟兄和琪琪姊妹：“我家弟兄很宽广，他从来不跟我吵架。其实我是一个很强势的人，但是我们按照圣经的原则，他爱妻子，这是丈夫的原则；我愿意放下自己，顺服丈夫，这是妻子的原则。即使有时候我的想法可能更对，我也不会跟丈夫对着干。我们彼此尊重，了解对方的成长经历，就会更包容一些。”
琪琪姊妹也述说了自己内心的痛苦，“我们服事的这几年，没有牧者，没有同工，没有老师和长辈，没有任何属灵的遮盖。甚至想要得到一些牧养的资源也很难，可以说这几年我们就是单打独斗。婚姻也是自己摸索，孩子教育也是。遇到难处没有人倾听，发生冲突了也不能跟信徒说。所以心里很难过。”
光弟兄补充：“现在我们有两个孩子，照顾孩子的事情上，双方父母都帮不上忙。琪琪姊妹一个人面对很多：事奉、生活、家庭、孩子等等，她面对的压力更大。
琪琪姊妹继续说道：“我也想往前走，但是伤害太大。选择事奉的路，我也有主特别的呼召，我能坚持下来，我对主也有信心。只是，光弟兄对家庭的认识比较少，结婚之后从他而来的伤害很多。服事上也是，我们常常争吵。我有些想法，但是在教会里他不让我说。”
“很多事情让我觉得生活和服事都很累，我没有信心往前走。其实我相信上帝的供应，我们这里从一无所有，到建了几十万的教会，我看到了他的供应，我也相信他。”
大勇弟兄和玉洁姊妹安慰了琪琪姊妹，很心疼两位年轻的传道人。
光弟兄和琪琪姊妹的分享也让更多人意识到传道人没有遮盖会多么不容易。没有遮盖，传道人有苦没有地方讲，就出现很多问题。
大勇弟兄和玉洁姊妹表示愿意成立传道人夫妻慰问团契，希望帮助更多需要得到属灵支持的传道人，他们也盼望更多牧者来关注年轻传道人。
（文中人物均使用化名）
特写| 年轻传道人渴望属灵的遮盖
Young, immature, and inexperienced pastor couples who run churches on their own have to fight ministry battles and deal with life, family, and raising children on their own. They need the help of mature pastors; they also need prayers, communication, pastoral care, and covering.
Brother Guang and Sister Qiqi are a young couple serving in the same church. They met while studying at the seminary and got married because of their common vision. However, after a few years of marriage, Brother Guang said he felt powerless and needed help; Sister Qiqi, although she believes in God's guidance, also said she was hurting in her marriage and needed someone to help restore her family.
Brother Dayong and Sister Yujie are also a married couple of forty years old and also work together as pastors in the church. In terms of age, Brother Dayong is six or seven years older than Brother Guang; the couple is also more experienced in life.
During a testimony of grace conducted online, the two families interacted with each other in a video.
Brother Guang, who was moved to open up about his family situation because of the testimony of Brother Dayong and Sister Yujie's beautiful marriage, first expressed his dilemma, "I do not have the strength to lead my wife in the path of faith. She knows this path and is sure that she wants to follow the path of ministry, but when faced with reality, she gets anxious about life and her child. For example, now that the church can only pay one person's salary, she nags."
Brother Guang added his family needs a push. He hopes that he and his wife can continue to move forward.
Faced with the pressures of real life, Brother Dayong pointed out, "The life of a pastor must be filled with battles; too much worrying and overthinking will cause people to lose sight of God. Without God in our hearts, problems will increase."
Brother Dayong believes that the descendants of the righteous do not beg for bread. "Since the Lord has called, He will provide. We will not look at how much the church sends us; rather, we will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. God has extra provision when you need it. We have worries about having children too, but this requires constant practice. When we get through it, we will discover that God has not caused us difficulty. We need to set our hearts on the Lord."
Regarding the relationship between husband and wife, Brother Guang explained that he started working at the age of 16 and also experienced poverty. Married at the age of 30, he had been used to living independently for a long time and had not yet adjusted to his married role. Born with a strong personality, he found it difficult to yield during arguments, and he did not know how to handle conflicts with his wife.
Sister Yu Jie used her own marriage experience to guide the young couple: "My husband is very broad-minded, and he never argues with me. In fact, I have a very strong personality, but we follow the biblical principle that instructs the husband to love his wife. I am willing to put myself down and submit to my husband, which is the principle of a wife. Even though sometimes I might be right, I will not fight against my husband. We respect each other, understand each other's upbringing, and we are a little more tolerant."
Sister Qiqi also expressed her own inner pain. "During the years we served, we had no pastors, no co-workers, no teachers or elders, and no spiritual covering whatsoever. It was difficult to even get some pastoral resources, so you could say we were on our own for a few years. We also had to figure out marriage and our children's upbringing on our own. There was no one to listen to us when we encountered difficulties, and we could not talk to believers when conflicts arose. So I felt very sad."
Brother Guang added, "Now we have two children, and neither of our parents can help with childcare. Sister Qiqi is facing a lot on her own: ministry, life, family, children, and so on, and she is under even more pressure.
Sister Qiqi continued, "I wanted to move on, but it hurt too much. I have a special call from the Lord to choose the path of ministry, and I have faith in Him that I can persevere. It's just that Brother Guang has little knowledge about families, and he hurt me a lot after we got married. In ministry too, we often argued. I had some ideas, but he would not let me talk about them in church."
"A lot of things make me get tired of life and ministry, and I do not have the confidence to move forward. I actually believe in God's provision. We have gone from having nothing here to building a church worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. I have seen His provision, and I believe in Him."
Brother Dayong and Sister Yujie comforted her and felt sorry for the two young preachers. Their sharing may demonstrate how difficult it can be for pastors without a cover. Without a covering, pastors have no place to speak of their sufferings, and many problems arise.
Brother Da Yong and Sister Yu Jie said they were willing to start a fellowship for pastor couples so they could help more pastors who needed spiritual support. They also hope that more pastors will pay attention to young pastors.
(All names in the article are pseudonyms.)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
Feature: Young Pastors Desire Spiritual Covering
