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We must pay attention to a fundamental point in the young people’s work, which is that we must bring them into working with us. We should not replace others in whatever we do. However, we often do the work by ourselves and thus replace others. This is the natural way to work. Those who have truly been trained will not take this way. The trained way is to always teach others and work with others. It is necessary for us to apply this principle to the young people’s work.
Many serving ones have fellowshipped about how to lead the young people’s meeting. They are searching for a way to preach the gospel in the schools. If it is necessary that we go to the schools to do the young people’s work, the work has already failed. A normal situation would be that many students are saved, but no co-worker has ever entered the gate of the school. No one knows that he has brought many students to salvation. This is skill. If we desire to do the students’ work, we must learn this skill. A serving one who has not learned to work in this way is natural and untrained.
We need to be aggressive and learn how to preach the gospel in a school without ever setting foot in the school. A brother serving with the young people in a locality should find out if there are any brothers or sisters in his target school. There are saints in almost every school in Taiwan; they are either students or staff. This is the Lord’s mercy to give us such an excellent condition. Suppose the serving brother finds a young brother who attends the school. The co-worker should spend time with him by fellowshipping with him, having meals with him, and leading him to pray until the young brother begins to love the Lord, is revived, and becomes willing to preach the gospel in his school.
The co-worker should not go to the school to preach the gospel. Once he goes, he has failed. Instead, he should let the young brother do the work. The co-worker must work on the young brother until the young brother is raised up. The co-worker should not go to the school; rather, he must work on a young brother until the young brother is more zealous and more serious about the work than the co-worker is. Thus, even if the co-worker would stop serving, the young brother would continue to believe and work. The work must become the young brother’s and no longer the work of the co-worker. Then the co-worker has achieved his goal.
The co-workers must always apply this principle no matter where they serve. A co-worker has failed in the service when he is always asking others to help him. The work must belong to the local saints to the point that they are, at most, asking the co-workers for assistance rather than relying on them to do everything. The work came to Taiwan from mainland China through me, but now it is your work, and because it is your work, you ask me only to help. The Western missionaries who went to China did not work in this way. Rather than raising up others, they were always asking others to help them. Hence, the work was entirely in their hands.
Some co-workers serve like the Western missionaries. When they go to a certain place, an impression is conveyed that the elders or deacons should help the co-workers or that those who come to serve are doing the co-workers a favor. Only when the service is in the hands of the saints, and they are asking a co-worker for help to carry out a service, is it a success. A co-worker must be able to raise up useful saints who can serve. Then he has succeeded.
In order to produce a useful brother, we must spend a few months to labor with him. This is the secret of our work. We must work on the brother until his burden is only to bring people in his school to salvation. If we can achieve this, our work will be a success because it will not depend on outward things, such as asking for permission to preach the gospel in a school classroom. Some serving ones want to organize a gospel club in the schools or put up posters. We may do these things, but they are not very practical. The practical way is to labor and gain one person, working on him until he is burdened to preach the gospel in his school. In other words, we should let him preach the gospel. He can save one classmate, and the two can begin to meet together. When he feels that he cannot meet the need, he will ask for help, and we should assist him. Perhaps he will bring a classmate with him. We should teach the two of them to coordinate together and to meet. However, we do not need to meet with them at school. We must learn this basic lesson.
When the young saints ask for help, we should be ready to help them. If we cannot help them, they will not ask for help again. A co-worker must develop the skill of helping the saints, or he will be useless. If the young saints learn something that they can apply, they will return for more help. Then the co-worker can give them further direction. At this point, the work will be borne by both the saints and the co-worker. The work will belong to both, because the saints carry it out at school, and the co-worker helps as needed. If we work in this way, it will be easy to gain a school.
A co-worker who goes to a school in order to preach the gospel will accomplish little, because when he leaves the school, the work will end. However, if a co-worker can serve according to this fellowship, the work will continue after he leaves, because it is borne by the students. This way of service must be the foundation of our work and should be applied to all our service, such as the brothers’ house or sisters’ house, the publication work, and coordinating with a local church. All our service must be built on a solid foundation. Without such a foundation, our service is outward. We must diligently learn to produce useful saints in the schools. Then no matter where we are, we will succeed in every situation, and we will gain double the result with half the effort.
In every school we must produce young saints who are so burdened for the gospel that the work becomes theirs, and we only assist and supply them from a distance. Perhaps a co-worker serves with a group of at least ten young saints who do not know how to meet when they come together. The co-worker should instruct the young saints how to meet and if necessary should also supply them. However, the supply should not be in the way of leading the students in a meeting or replacing them in the meeting. The co-worker should not decide on what day the students meet, direct them to invite their friends, take the lead in their meeting, or give a message in their meeting. If he functions in this way, he is replacing the students. Even though he will spend much time and energy, none of the young saints will be able to serve; instead, they will support the co-worker with their presence. By the Lord’s mercy, this kind of work may still bear some fruit. The Lord’s grace is abundant. Wherever the Lord’s word is, there will always be a certain amount of blessing. If we preach the gospel and speak the Lord’s word, the Holy Spirit will always work. However, that is not the best foundation for our work.
Our work is to produce a saint who is more burdened than we are. We should work with him until he is on fire for the gospel. He should be so burdened for the gospel that even if the director of his school opposes Christ, he would find a way to preach the gospel. Our work is a success if we do not go to a school and ask the director for a room in order for the young saints to meet. This is what it means to be a capable worker. We should let the brother whom we have perfected lead his classmates. When he asks for help, we should be ready to assist him so that he can take a step forward. If we work in this way, the young saints will decide when and where to have a meeting. They will take care of their own meeting and bear the burden for the meeting. Apparently, their meeting is their work; in reality, it is also our work.
If this is the way we serve, every school will be open to us. Both university students and junior high school students can be gained in this way. Instead of replacing the students, we should serve with them and let them serve. It is not a problem for them to make a mistake. We should watch over them from a distance and render help to them when necessary.
If the co-workers grasp this principle and practice it diligently, they will succeed and the work will be light. Many of those who serve in the young people’s work expend much energy. They are like generals who fight the battle on their own instead of letting the soldiers fight the battle. A good and skilled general never fights the battle himself. The soldiers fight the battle, and the general directs the troops. If we do not labor in this way, we may gain results, but the effect will be minimal. The more students we can train to fight the battle, the greater will be the results.
We should regard the students as soldiers. If we learn this secret, our service will be ten times more effective. To engage in battle does not require a great skill, but to teach others to fight requires skill. In order to teach others, you must be the first one to learn. The more people you teach, the more you must learn. If we could adopt this way of serving, it will be easy to spread the work. There are probably three hundred and twenty thousand students in Taipei. If we gain one-tenth of them, we will have thirty-two thousand students. God is not asking too much from us. He asks only for one-tenth, but this one-tenth is thirty-two thousand. If we continue in the old way, we will not be able to gain this many.
The co-workers must also learn to supply others. They must endeavor in this. The military emphasizes training, supply, and then command. Unless a person has been trained, he cannot command troops in a battle. We must learn the scientific way of serving. The scientific way is contrary to our natural inclination. We must learn many things in order to take this way.
Any co-worker who adopts this method in his service will gain results within two years. Although we do not have many co-workers, I would still encourage all the co-workers to put as much of their time as possible into working with the young people. This does not mean that they should not care for other services in the church, nor does it mean that they should not assist the elders. This simply means that eighty percent of their time should be spent with the young people. However, the co-workers should not do the work themselves; they should carry out the work according to this fellowship. Then there will be a work in the universities, a work in the junior high schools, a work in the high schools, and a work in the vocational schools. If we practice according to this way, the work will continually grow.
We must let the students have their own meetings. We must even let go of the junior high students and let them have their own meetings. At the same time, we should actively supply, care for, and guide them from a distance. The university students may not require as much of our effort and time. The younger the students, the more time and effort we will need. This does not mean that we should lead their meetings. No, we should still let them have their own meetings. Guiding the students can be compared to flying a kite. A person holds the string that is attached to the kite, not the kite itself. The students carry out the work, and we supply them. The way we serve and the supply we render are the focal points of our work. These two matters are not easy to learn. No matter what the situation is, we must always have something solid with which to supply others. This supply cannot be met by giving one message a week. What we supply should meet the students’ real need. Initially, this may be difficult, but the more skilled we are, the easier it will become. Furthermore, it is very effective.
Coordination in the church can be troublesome. There is a district meeting that is very close to the National Taiwan University and also very convenient. The responsible brothers in this district welcome young people and are zealous. This is a help to the students’ work. However, the middle-aged or older saints do not always understand the psychology of the young ones. These older saints might extinguish the fire in the young people. The help that they render may become a hindrance.
Some may say, “If this is the case, there is no need for the church’s coordination. The saints in the district labor to cook meals and spend time with the students, and all they receive is criticism.” This word is not negating the coordination and help from the church, but sometimes the result of our labor is contrary to what we hope for. A person may put a cup of hot water in the refrigerator in order to keep the water fresh, but this also causes the water to cool down. Your intention is not for the students to cool down, but because you do not understand their situation or circumstances, they become cold. I hope that you understand what I am saying. The young people’s work sounds simple, but it is not simple. The young people have their own psychology. If you understand their psychology, they will work very hard for you and do whatever you tell them to do. If you do not understand their psychology, they will not rise up even if you render them help. Some of the saints in the district do not understand the young people. Therefore, they cannot meet the need of the young people’s work.
Those who serve with the young people must be discerning. Second Timothy 4:5 says, “Be sober in all things.” Not all the saints in the district can render real help. Sometimes their help may be a hindrance. Therefore, those serving with the young people should be cautious; that is, they should be sober and consider the situation thoroughly. This does not mean that they should oppose the church’s coordination but that they should be cautious and sober-minded.
To be cautious is to be sober; it is to see things clearly. There is a fog covering every situation, which makes people unable to see things clearly. Those who are sober are able to see clearly and know what the issue will be. In such a situation the help that is needed from the responsible ones in a district may not be significant. Sometimes the work with the young people can progress without much help. Our purpose is to produce many young saints who can be set on fire. If the coordination from a district is appropriate, it will be beneficial, but if the coordination is inappropriate, it will become a hindrance. We need to be sober in our coordination with others.
One thing that is definitely helpful is to have a place for hospitality, that is, a brothers’ house or a sisters’ house. Such a place does not require much effort and will not compromise the effect of the work, because the young people do the work.
In the young people’s work we should not always mention financial matters. It is not always profitable for the church to provide the finances for the work. The situation in Hong Kong over the past few years is a good example. If it were not for the young people’s work, the testimony of the church might have been lost during the turmoil. The saints were able to maintain the Lord’s testimony because of the young people’s work. When the young people’s work began, it did not rely on financial support from the church. The elders were willing to support the work financially, but those who bore the responsibility of the young people’s work turned them down. If the serving ones had accepted their money at the time, the young people’s work would have been affected when the turmoil came. The serving ones looked to God and were not influenced. This, however, does not mean that they were independent of the church.
The financial support for the young people’s work does not have to come from the church. The proper way to deal with financial matters is to learn to depend on the Lord and to exercise our faith. Our work should not be detached from the church, but we should exercise our faith. Although the church can rise up and care for a burden, we do not need an arrangement; rather, we need to learn the lesson of faith. We must lead the young people to live before the Lord, not to rely on the church.
These are matters of our practice in the work. We should never have an organizational arrangement or depend on an organization. Rather, we should lead the young ones to look to the Lord and exercise their faith in all things. The church should also pick up the burden by faith. However, if the church does not pick up the burden, the Lord has other ways; He is living, and He cares for the needs of His children. The natural concept is to go to the schools, coordinate with the responsible ones in the districts so that they open their homes and cook for the students, and ask the church to provide the finances to support and supply the young people’s work. All these ways are natural and ineffective. We must go against this natural way and be one with the church. We must honor the church but not do a natural work. If we learn this lesson, the effect of the students’ work will be unlimited and immeasurable.
We should not force the students to attend meetings. There is no need to compel the students to join any meetings of the church; rather, we should work on them until it is their desire to attend the meetings. Then their attendance will not be a matter of compliance to our demand. The serving ones must help the students to allocate time for their studies. The students must study diligently, and we should encourage them to spend time studying. We should work with each student according to his situation. In principle, the students should be able to set aside two hours a week for the meetings. No matter how busy a student is, he needs other activities for relaxation. Every human being has a need for enjoyment, and when the students attend the meetings, this need will be met.
The students also need to be enlightened. They should not merely come to meet for enjoyment but also to receive practical help. The serving ones must find the best way for the students to meet. They do not necessarily have to bring the students to the church meetings. We must be very flexible. The students who attend night school can have a meeting during the day, and other students can have a meeting at night. Furthermore, the students do not have to wait until the Lord’s Day in order to meet. They can meet any day of the week. We should exercise to be flexible in this matter.
A brother asked whether district one should coordinate with district three. Sometimes there is a need for coordination. However, coordination should not be organizational or formal; it should be living. We must tear down any sense of regionalism and not become isolated. The districts should be open; we should never say that a particular area belongs to district one and that another area belongs to district three. May the Lord have mercy on us. We should not designate a school as belonging to one district and another school to another district. This concept must be removed. We belong to the same local church. It would be very sad if we cannot tear down a sense of regionalism related to the districts.
A co-worker serving in a district should not think that the result of his work belongs to that district. We must drop this concept. At present, those serving in a district have difficulty coordinating with other districts. In the work, however, we must not limit the students. If the students feel to serve on the campus of National Taiwan University, they should have the freedom to do so. If they feel to serve in district one, they should also have the freedom to do so. Whether the result of our service is manifested in a school or in a district does not matter, because the result belongs to the church. Hence, the serving ones from different areas of the work can fellowship without prejudice concerning the service of a student. There is nothing difficult to resolve. The only thing that needs to be resolved is selfish intentions that result in regionalism. Regionalism must be removed. This applies to all the churches. We should not set up separating walls between the serving ones.
I hope that you will bring these matters of fellowship before the Lord. We must learn how to apply these matters and be flexible. The basic principle is to produce useful saints, and we should be flexible in everything else. Furthermore, there should not be any differences between the churches or between the districts. There should be absolutely no distinctions. Even if I am serving in a district, I should be able to help another district. The elders should have a broadened view. Do not say that since a serving one is assigned to my district, he should not help in another district. Our view must be enlarged. Then the Lord’s blessing will be multiplied.
The basic principle is to work to produce useful saints who can carry out the work. We must also work with the elementary school students, because they will be gospel seeds in junior high school, high school, and college. When we gain the young people as gospel seeds, the work will multiply and increase in every level of education. If the co-workers work in this way, the work will go on unhindered and without limitation.
