Now in his fifties, Pastor Hong has devoted the majority of his life to church ministry. Observing that many churches and believers today have lost the transformative power of truth, he has committed himself to restoring this foundation within the church, aiming to cultivate a truth-based church culture that will take three to four generations to fully establish.
From Task-Driven to Life-Driven
Like many congregations, Pastor Hong's church had long focused on ministry activities, with more emphasis on "tasks" than on "people." While the church experienced considerable growth and success in its ministries, Pastor Hong began to reflect more deeply on the spiritual well-being of the believers. This led him to seek God's direction in prayer, desiring to understand how He truly wanted to lead the church.
About seven or eight years ago, through prayer, Pastor Hong came to a realization: God is more concerned with the renewal of faith than the completion of tasks; people matter more than tasks. In response, he and his pastoral team gradually shifted their focus toward "life formation" within the congregation.
Although the concept of "life formation" had been part of the church's teaching for decades, over time, it had deteriorated into a mere slogan and routine. The true essence of "life building" had been diluted, reduced to external practices such as Bible reading, prayer, hymn singing, and attending services.
Today, Pastor Hong's central mission is to shepherd his ministry team and pastor the congregation in authentic spiritual growth—what he sees as the true "life formation." He insists that biblical truths must not only be faithfully taught but also actively lived out. Only by embodying these truths himself, he believes, can he guide his co-workers by showing them the path, how to walk it, and what to be mindful of. While Pastor Hong values teaching, he places even greater importance on example. In his view, living out the Word of God before others is far more impactful than explaining it repeatedly.
Building a Church Community Through Three to Four Generations
The Bible describes the church and believers as "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession." Pastor Hong believes that Christians must truly live out this identity.
However, he has observed that worldly values have deeply infiltrated the current Chinese church. In many congregations and among many believers, heavenly values have been lost, replaced by secular approaches to handling interpersonal and family relationships. As a result, the church has become powerless, and so have the Christians within it.
He believes that for the church and Christians to fully structure their values, community life, and family relationships according to biblical principles, it would take no less than three to four generations to form such a complete and well-structured communal body. Throughout a person's life, one encounters countless situations, and aligning each of them with Scripture is no easy task. Before a specific situation arises, that area of life is often not yet built. As new situations continue to emerge, one must continuously construct responses upon the foundation of biblical truth.
"Christians must become a people who live apart," he says. "They need to uphold different values, worldviews, and perspectives on life from this world, not just as individuals, but as a collective. The church must be able to form a shared understanding and consensus across the entire body. Without three or four generations, I believe this is not possible."
While China has many Christian families spanning three, four, or even more generations, Pastor Hong observes that the spiritual lives of many remain underdeveloped. The shallowness of their faith becomes apparent when it comes to handling family and marital relationships, workplace dynamics, interactions with fellow believers, or facing financial temptation.
Pastor Hong took the early church as a powerful example of genuine community. The early believers shared the same values and became a close fellowship, like hosting church gatherings in their homes. The love feasts, held in believers' homes, had a profound impact on society back then, as non-believers had never witnessed such practices before.
However, he noted that today's church often lacks this influence. Some people come to church with high hopes, only to leave disillusioned. "When I was in the world, I was disappointed," some have said. "But when I came to the church, I felt hopeless."
"The church must be a place that is admired by many," Pastor Hong emphasized. "It is critical to truly build up the spiritual lives of believers. Christians should not merely live a religious life but a life of genuine faith, where God's Word becomes the guiding value of the entire church community."
He acknowledged that this is a difficult task, but not impossible. He gave the example of hosting believers, which will be a burden if carried by one family but an easier practice when hosted by every family. In such a setting, the Holy Spirit moves more freely. Pastor Hong believes that today's church must also open the door in hospitality so that Christians may become a truly heavenly community. Only when the church has an impact on society will people admire it and be willing to come.
