Terry Parkman, a NextGen pastor at River Valley Church in Minneapolis, works primarily with Generation Z and Generation Alpha. He and his wife Christina are raising two daughters. Drawing from his personal experience, Parkman encourages parents to take responsibility for discipling their children, emphasizing that parents need to "be the church they go to."

Terry Parkman, NextGen pastor at River Valley Church, shared insights on how the church can effectively reach and disciple Gen Z and Gen Alpha in an interview with China Christian Daily. He emphasized the importance of tailored discipleship, biblical literacy, and cultural discernment in helping these digital generations navigate their faith in today’s rapidly changing world.

Small groups and discipleship training are increasingly valued in churches. To strengthen these ministries, pastors in charge often adopt materials from various churches and institutions to facilitate growth. However, pastors have diverse perspectives on the training materials they use, shaped by their specific contexts. Three frontline pastors gave their views on the contextualization of training materials to the Christian Times.

In October, a delegation from the Outreach Foundation visited China, including stops in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, to meet with church leaders, seminary faculty and students, and local believers for exchanges. On October 10, China Christian Daily interviewed Telford Work, a member of the delegation and professor of theology at Westmont College, to hear his reflections on the trip and insights on theological education.

The Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA) successfully concluded their 11th General Assembly (GA) held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 7th to 12th August 2024. 200 participants from 23 countries and 20 mission agencies were committed to Disciple making. The assembly was historic, not only for the AEA but also for the host, Mongolian Evangelical Alliance (MEA), who celebrated their 25th anniversary. Mongolia’s Christian history, dating back to the 6th-7th century, experienced a significant interruption until the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Today, the Spirit’s movement is evident, with around 700 churches flourishing across Mongolia.

“Everything that is not growing will slowly decay,” says Dr Bambang Budijanto, General Secretary of the Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA), as he highlights the challenges facing the Church in Asia today. Following AEA’s 11th General Assembly in Mongolia, Budijanto and other Asian leaders have now published their reflections on what they see as the only way forward: repentance, focusing on discipleship within families and truly empowering younger leaders to participate in God’s mission.

A Japanese pastor urged Christians in Asia to focus on three relationships to make disciples for Christ.

Jesus dedicated most of his time and energy to the twelve disciples, spending the most time training those who would bear the greatest mission and responsibility in the future to expand God's kingdom.

The practices of the three churches may be an inspiration to change a lukewarm church which lacks enthusiasm for the Great Commission.

If pastors can get rid of the influence of pragmatism and successful thinking driven by vanity, and take the objective law of individual life growth as the main body to do their best to serve and care, then the church will revive.