Lesson Twenty-Three Church Services (2)—Campus

LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY

Lesson Twenty-Three

Church Services (2)—Campus

Scripture Reading:

John 15:16a You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain.

John 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit.

Matt. 4:19 And He said to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

1 Cor. 9:26-27 I therefore run in this way, not as though without a clear aim; I box in this way, not as though beating the air; But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest perhaps having preached to others, I myself may become disapproved.

Eccl. 4:12 And while a man may prevail against the one, the two will withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, they will give into your bosom. For with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you in return.

I. The Lord’s charge is to go and bear fruit—John 15:16a, 2:

A. The Lord having chosen us to go forth and bear fruit—John 15:16a.

B. Realizing our solemn responsibility to go forth and bear fruit—John 15:2a, 6.

C. Being serious and desperate to go forth and bear fruit—Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 9:24, 27.

D. The need of the God-ordained way for fruit bearing—Matt. 28:18-19; John 3:29-30; 12:24.

II. The best “fishing ponds” for the Lord’s recovery are the college campuses—Matt. 4:19, Acts 19:9-10:

A. The Lord’s recovery today needs to produce a large number of people—Gen. 1:28a; Matt. 28:19a; Acts 5:14; 6:7.

B. We must preach the gospel on the college campuses to gain the thoughtful people—Acts 22:3; Gal. 1:14; Phil. 3:5.

C. People need to hear the higher preaching of such a full gospel—Phil. 3:8; Eph. 2:8.

D. The first preference of the graduates of the full-time training in Anaheim should be the United States college campuses.

E. In spreading the Lord’s recovery to other countries, we must go to the leading cities which have colleges and universities to contact the students.

III. In our gospel work we must place special emphasis on the high school and college students—1 Tim 4:12:

A. We must take specific practical steps for the spreading of the gospel:

1. Open our homes for the preaching of the gospel.

2. Preach the gospel on the campuses.

3. Preach the gospel to the children.

4. Preach the gospel to people of all levels of society.

B. We must see the preciousness of the young people and their importance in God’s hands—Acts 7:58b; 9:20; 1 Tim. 4:12.

C. There are three reasons why we must go to the young people:

1. They are unoccupied—Matt. 20:6-7.

2. They are gathered in the schools—John 21:6.

3. It is easy for them to have a change in their mind—Acts 9:1, 20.

D. As we gain the students we will also gain their families—Acts 16:31.

E. Some of the co-workers and elders should focus on the college campuses.

IV. The way of laboring on the college campuses—1 Cor. 9:26-27; Eccl. 4:12; Luke 6:38:

A. The need of our students.

B. The need of full-timers—Rom. 12:1; Acts 19:8-10.

C. The need of the homes (families)—Acts 2:46; 5:42; 10:22-24:

1. Our homes are very useful for the labor on the college campuses:

a. On the one hand, the freshmen in college are eager to leave home; on the other hand, as they live in the dormitories at school, they are often lonely and homesick.

b. The young people in the church can invite the other young students to the homes of the middle-aged ones and of the young couples.

2. In preaching the gospel we do not need any gimmicks; we should simply pray, preach the word, and open our homes.

D. The need of consistency in our labor—2 Tim. 2:6.

E. The need of facilities (houses for the young students) for the work on the campuses.

F. The need of financial support.

V. By laboring on the college campuses the future of the Lord’s recovery is secured—Acts 19:9-10:

A. The promise, hope, and future of the Lord’s recovery are with the college students.

B. The source of manpower for the Lord’s move today is on the college campuses—Acts 19:9-10.

 

Excerpts from the ministry:

THE LORD’S CHARGE TO GO AND BEAR FRUIT

The Lord Having Chosen Us to Go Forth and Bear Fruit

John 15:16 [says]: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit.” If you have an inexplicable sensation within that you have been touched by the Lord, it is a proof that the Lord has chosen you. I have the faith and confidence that from the time I first began to serve the Lord, He has been in me as my motivating power. This has been true even until today.

While I was walking on the road on the evening that I was saved, I was touched by the Lord within. At that time I did not know what it meant to be touched; nor did I know what it was to be chosen. But I lifted up my eyes to heaven and said to God, “O God, from this day on, even if the whole earth is offered to me, I will not take it. I will take the Bible and go to the villages house by house to tell people to believe in Jesus.” At the time I did not feel that that was a prayer. I only uttered those few words to God. I did not realize that by those few words I had sealed myself for God. Later, after I graduated from school, the Lord said to me, “Did you not say that you wanted to go to the villages with your Bible?” I tried to find reasons for retracting. But after some time, the Lord reminded me again, “Did you not say that you wanted to go to the villages with your Bible?” For eight years, from 1925 until 1933, I was unhappy. There was something within that could not be shaken away. Later I found out that it was the Lord’s choosing.

Do you have this something within the depth of your being today? If you do, it means that the Lord has found you. Although the universe is vast, the Lord did not go to other planets. Rather, He came to the earth, even to the shores of the sea of Galilee. He did not enter into other boats but went onto the boat of Peter to seek him out. In the same way, though the world is so big, the Lord did not go elsewhere. He came rather to your boat to seek you out. Outwardly speaking, it was the church preaching the gospel and your classmates inviting you to attend which resulted in your receiving the Lord. Actually there was another story within; you knew that the Lord Jesus had sought you out. Although you realized that you were over twenty years old and that you had to make plans for yourself, your parents, and your family, something within made you unconcerned about all the earthly things. Some drop everything readily to preach Jesus; but most are like myself, not being so quick and ready. However, the Lord Jesus continues to bother you day and night. You can no longer be as free as the others are. Others can easily look for jobs, go abroad, or get married. But for you, wherever you go, the Lord Jesus is there bothering and tormenting you. He does not let you go. (Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel, pp. 9-10)

Realizing Our Solemn Responsibility
to Go Forth and Bear Fruit

Many Christians love John 15 because it teaches us how to abide in the vine, how to enjoy the riches of Christ. However, in verse 16 the Lord says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.” The Lord did not choose us without a purpose. His choosing was for His appointing. He has appointed us for three things: first, we should go forth; second, we should bear fruit; and third, our fruit should remain. In this matter we have no choice; the Lord requires that we accept our appointment.

Regardless of how much we have spoken concerning this, there are some who think: “That is good! There is nothing wrong with preaching the gospel. If He has burdened that brother so much, then he should go. But I do not feel burdened to go. Surely, if the Lord wanted me to go, He would have burdened me.” We may not speak this, but this may be in our heart. One day, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will have to give an account of what we have done. If we have not been faithful, we will have to tell the Lord why we did not bear fruit, and the Lord will rebuke us. He may even remind us of this message concerning John 15:16 and ask why we would not take His charge to bear fruit. (The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way, pp. 40-41)

Being Serious and Desperate to Go Forth and Bear Fruit

If we see that we have been charged by the Lord, we will have a heart to carry out a successful contact with the sinners. We must be serious, earnest persons.

The lack of gospel preaching today in Christianity is shameful. Christians may like to talk about many things in the Bible except fruit-bearing. In John 15 abiding is not merely for abiding. Abiding is for fruit-bearing. The Lord Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away” (v. 2). To be taken away is to be cut off from the vine. Many Christians have already been cut off; they do not have the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. Some may say, “I have not brought one person to the Lord for six years, yet I enjoy the Lord very much.” This is based upon their feelings, not upon the fact. The fact is that they have not borne fruit. Fruit-bearing is the real evidence that we genuinely enjoy the Lord. His Word tells us clearly that if we do not bear fruit, we will be cut off.

We have to realize that we have been charged by our Master, and then we must be serious and desperate to go forth, to bear fruit, and to keep our fruit. This depends upon the Lord’s appointment in John 15:16. This appoint¬ment indicates that He has prepared an environment to accommodate our every need so that we can bear remaining fruit. The Lord has prepared and arranged all of our situations so that we can carry out our appointment…When we meet the Lord, we will have no excuse because, by His appointment, He has prepared the environment with all the situations that we need for bearing fruit. The only problem is that we would not go forth. We must take this very seriously. It is not a matter of merely fulfilling our duty; it is a matter of life or death. We must be serious, earnest, and desperate to go forth to gain people for the Lord. (The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way, pp. 41-43)

The Need of the God-ordained Way for Fruit Bearing

In John 15 the Lord told us that He is the true vine and that we are His branches (vv. 1, 5). As branches of the true vine, we should have much life, but how do we know that we have an abundance of life? The evidence of life is fruit. The Lord said that we have to bear fruit; otherwise, we will be cut off from the vine tree and thrown away to be burned (vv. 2, 6). Thus, to not bear fruit, to not have the evidence of an abundance of life, is really risky. When the Lord says that we can be cut off from the vine, this does not mean that we will perish. To be cut off from the vine is to lose the enjoyment of the rich Christ. If we say that we are enjoying life, we must have the fruit-bearing evidence of life.

By 1984, I was bothered about the fruit-bearing evidence in the churches. Generally speaking, the years from 1978 to 1984 were years of barrenness. Within those six or seven years, very few of us bore fruit. Because of our situation, I was compelled to study and restudy to find the best way to bear fruit. (The Scriptural Way to Meet and to Serve for the Building Up of the Body of Christ, p. 82)

THE BEST FISHING PONDS FOR THE LORD’S RECOVERY
BEING THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES

One of the best ways for the churches to get new contacts is to send our young people to the campus. The best fishing ponds for the Lord’s recovery are the college campuses. We should send our fisherman to the fishing ponds. (Preaching the Gospel on the College Campuses, p. 16)

The Lord’s Recovery Today Needs to Produce a Large Number of People

What does the Lord’s recovery need today? Please remember that the Lord’s recovery needs a large number of people. In order to produce a large number of people, we must bring in young students; hence, the campus work is a must. We have to bring in a large number of college students and then give them training. (A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, p. 64)

We Must Preach the High Gospel on the College Campuses

Many thoughtful people in the leading universities throughout the country are wondering about the meaning of human life. So many are asking themselves, “What is the purpose of life? What will happen after my graduation?” No one in the universities can tell them. We must go and tell them the real meaning of life. Go and tell them that they can be the holy brothers of the Firstborn Son of God. If the Lord delays His coming back, I hope that after a few years this kind of preaching will be prevailing in all the universities in the United States.

The United States, Europe, and all the leading countries need to hear the higher preaching of such a full gospel, the gospel that produces holy brothers of the Firstborn Son of God. If the young people will take up this burden and go to the campuses preaching this gospel, a good number of thoughtful young people will be caught. They will be satisfied. I hope that many of you reading this message will make a deal with the Lord, telling Him that you are willing to be burdened for the preaching of the high gospel.… I believe that the Lord will honor your preaching. “Lord, we need more young preachers, more preachers of the fullest gospel!” (Life-Study of Hebrews, p. 156)

People Need to Hear the Higher Preaching of Such a Full Gospel

In 1900 Satan instigated the Boxer Rebellion. In this uprising many missionaries and a great number of Chinese believers were martyred. Satan’s intention was to terminate the Lord’s move in China. But under God’s sovereignty this persecution aroused a great burden among the saints in the Western world to pray desperately for the Lord’s move in China. We believe it was through the Lord’s answer to those desperate prayers that some prevailing evangelists among the Chinese believers were raised up after the Boxer Rebellion. These “native” preachers became prevailing in gospel preaching, and their preaching reached the students of China’s new generation. Around the year 1920 the gospel penetrated many schools, and a good number of high school and college students were captured by the Lord throughout the country from the far north to the far south. A number of brilliant ones were called and equipped by the Lord to do His work. (Watchman Nee—A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, p. 8)

After the Boxer Rebellion, many saints in England prayed desperately for the vast country of China. The Lord answered their prayers by coming in and doing a marvelous work in the colleges throughout the country. Thousands of students, including a good number of brilliant ones, were captured by the Lord, and many of them saw a vision. I was one of these students, and I was very familiar with the situation. (Life-Study of Genesis, p. 1468)

In the 1920’s, in answer to the prayers of so many dear missionaries, the Lord did a marvelous work in the colleges and universities throughout China. Many thoughtful young college students were saved. I also was saved during that time. After we were saved, we began to preach Christ in a higher way. We, the Chinese young people of that time, knew the Chinese philosophical thought. As a result, we knew how to convince people. We preached the higher gospel not according to our human thought but according to the “divine philosophy.” …As a result of that higher preaching of the gospel, many doctors, nurses, professors, and learned people were brought to the Lord. (Life-Study of Hebrews, pp. 88-89)

Our gospel must spread to homes, cities, and villages. However, to really gain the good material, we need to go to the young students. Therefore, we need to work on the campuses. (On Home Meetings, p. 15)

The First Preference of the Graduates from the Full-time Training
in Anaheim Being the College Campuses in the United States

“Then the full-timers; where should you go? I tell you the need of full-timers. Number one. Don’t think Russia’s need is the first. Today I don’t stress that. I would say Russia’s need is second. The first need is in the USA. Look at the big US, full of colleges, the young people. All the nations send their young men to the US to be educated. All these foreign students they are scattered in all the top universities. So, to work on the universities, you just work on all kinds of people, not just Americans. Right?… USA has a big need, big need. These days I do have a burden. I said to the Lord, “Lord how about the Northwest? the New England states, right?, Northeast I mean, Northeast, Boston, Newton where the churches are there …. How about that corner? How about the Northwest, the Seattle area… Then Southeast, Georgia, Miami, Florida. Even Southwest, How about San Diego? To the four corners. I would not say any corner is adequately strong. They need co-workers, full-timers, young people to work on the campuses. It’s up to your choice. Or maybe the Lord would send you to Russia, that’s good. Russia is the second preference. Don’t ask me what the third preference. Third preference means a zero. Either you go to Russia as a second preference or you remain in the US….” (Unedited transcription of Brother Lee’s fellowship with graduating fourth-term trainees—June 1996)

Spreading the Lord’s Recovery to Other Countries
through Contacting Students

Some can emigrate there to study in a school and serve the Lord. I would recommend that some go there to be “professional students.” In other words, those who go to school should plan on remaining in school for the Lord’s work on the campuses. The longer they stay in school, the better it is. This is because they can spend their time contacting the students for the Lord’s interest. I hope that many young people among us would go to the universities in Europe to be professional students teaching the divine truths. It is glorious and worthwhile to be such a student, contacting other students daily with the Lord’s truths. I believe that some students who go to Europe can bear new fruit monthly like the tree of life in the New Jerusalem. (The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, p. 47)

PLACING SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE HIGH SCHOOL
AND COLLEGE STUDENTS IN OUR GOSPEL WORK

We should pay particular attention to the young people in our work in each locality. Today Satan’s organizations and philosophies pay particular attention to young people. Can we not infer that God is paying attention to young people as well? This does not mean that the souls of older people are not precious in God’s eyes, but it does mean that for the sake of God’s work and for the future of the gospel, there is more hope with the young people. Our gospel work should place special emphasis on high school and college students. We should spend and pour out our all to save, cultivate, edify, and lead these young ones. (The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 55, p. 49)

Taking Specific Practical Steps for the Spreading of the Gospel

Opening Our Homes for the Preaching of the Gospel

We have to encourage all the saints, no matter what their situation, to open their homes for the gospel. We even have to motivate the saints who are weak and the saints who have not been meeting for a long time to open their homes. This is a tremendous task, and it requires the responsible brothers and full-timers to put in all their effort. If a church has over one hundred open homes, and every home preaches the gospel at least once a week, the number of people will be doubled in just half a year. This will not only recover those saints who have not been meeting for a long time but will also cause their unsaved family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues to be saved through hearing and believing the gospel.

We must preach the gospel through our homes. The best way to invite people to your home is to invite them for meals or to prepare the best refreshments for them. When the best refreshments get into their stomachs, their hearts will be opened. As long as the best refreshments can get into their stomachs, the Lord Jesus will gain an excellent opportunity to come into their spirits. How worthwhile and meaningful this is! (Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, pp. 128-129)

Preaching the Gospel on the Campuses

Moreover, owing to the universality of education, there are many schools in many different places. The campuses are like fishponds, and the students are like the fish. All the “fish” have been gathered in the “fishponds,” so we must go to every college, high school, and elementary school to preach the gospel. This requires some specific ones in every church to receive the burden to serve in the gospel on the campuses and seek all kinds of opportunities to go to the campuses to preach the gospel. (Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, p. 129)

Preaching the Gospel to the Children

The third way of gospel preaching is to preach the gospel to the children. This requires the sisters to pick up the burden. It is not necessary to use the meeting hall as the place for the gospel meeting. Rather, it is best to meet at the saints’ homes. Use the weekends to gather the children from your neighborhood and to invite the children of your relatives and friends to your home. Many times parents are saved through their children, so do not overlook the children’s work. If, starting from, we use our effort to work on the gospel for children who ages range from six to twelve, then after ten or twelve years, they will be those who will rise up to bear the responsibility of the church service. This way may seem slow, but it is actually very fast. This way is also profitable.

Preaching the Gospel to People of All Levels

The fourth way is to preach the gospel to people of all levels. Most of our brothers and sisters work in different professions, trades, and circles; they may be in schools, hospitals, factories, corporations, government bureaus, or private organizations. Whoever we are, we should exercise our influence by preaching the gospel to everyone whom we contact.

Seeing the Preciousness of the Young People
and Their Importance in God’s Hands

In whatever a person does, the most important thing is to have a heart. Without a heart, a person will not want to do anything, and even if he does something, he will not be enthusiastic in doing it. Of course, this is also true with the young people’s work. If you want to do this work, you must like the young people, care for them, and be concerned about their affairs. This may be considered the minimum “capital” required for the young people’s work. If you have no interest in the young people and have no heart for them, doing the young people’s work only out of reluctance, then it is useless…If we truly want to do the young people’s work, and do it in a weighty manner, we must let God open our eyes to see the preciousness of the young people and their importance in God’s hands. If we see this, we will appreciate this work, and spontaneously we will have a heart within us for it. (How to Lead the Young People, pp. 1-3)

Three Reasons Why We Must Go to the Young People

There are three reasons why we must go to the young people. The first reason is that the young people are not occupied. It is best to contact young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty. During these years they begin to understand things, but they are not occupied. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity to gain the high school students and the freshmen in college. When many young people turn eighteen, they are eager to leave home. This is the right time to gain them for the Lord’s recovery.

The second reason for going to the young people is the fact that so many young people are gathered in the schools. No other age is gathered together like this. Because the young people are gathered in the schools, it is easy to contact them. In order to catch fish, you must go where the fish are.

The third reason is that it is easy for the young people, especially those at the end of their teen-age years, to have a change in their mind, that is, it is easy for them to repent. (To repent means to have a change of mind.) If you present something solid, worthwhile, and interesting to young people, they will take it. (The Spirit and the Body, p. 106)

Gaining the Students’ Families by Gaining Them

If we gain the freshmen, then through them we shall gain some of their parents. It seems that when young people reach the age of nineteen or twenty, they will not listen to their parents, but their parents will listen to them. (The Spirit and the Body, pp. 108-109)

Some of the Co-workers and Elders Focusing on the College Campuses

Let me say a word to the church in Taipei. For a brief time forget about Lin-ko. Focus yourselves on this goal and this burden. Secure a large and good building near the campus for the meeting hall. Find one that will hold at least three to four hundred people. Taiwan University is the top university in this country. All the top people are produced in this place, and the student population is big. We should have the foresight. If we want to have the campus work, we have to work on Taiwan University. I ask the co-workers to give me the liberty to bring up some old complaints. You have been under my training for many years and have been working all this time. Why have you not had this kind of view? You have always declared boldly that you are for the campus work, but what have you done on the number one campus in the country? If I were taking the lead in the church in Taipei today, I would surely go back to all of the meeting halls and fellowship aggressively about this burden. I would encourage all the brothers and sisters to make offerings for a new building near the campus. We should have this kind of spirit and this kind of view.

We should have a proper and practical plan concerning the campuses. Some meeting halls are five or six stories tall. What is the use of having such tall buildings in places that do not have a good campus? If the saints cannot afford to offer for the campus, I do not believe we need to keep these other big meeting halls. We can sell three or five of these halls to direct the money to the campus for a larger facility. This is very worthwhile. Even if we can only gain one hundred students from the campus, this is still worthwhile. When a nation launches a project, it cannot be too calculating concerning the cost involved; it can only count on the success of the project. If the project succeeds, it is worth the price. I hope the elders will take up this matter and pray and fellowship thoroughly about this when you come together for your elders’ meeting. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 13-14)

THE WAY OF LABORING ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES

The Need of Our Students

Those who go to school should plan on remaining in school for the Lord’s work on the campuses. The longer they stay in school, the better it is. This is because they can spend their time contacting the students for the Lord’s interest. I hope that many young people among us would go to the universities in Europe to be professional students teaching the divine truths. It is glorious and worthwhile to be such a student, contacting other students daily with the Lord’s truths. (The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, p. 47)

The Need of Full-Timers

On the other hand, this also requires a large number of full-timers to be raised up, especially the full-timers who have just graduated from college, because it is easy for them to go to the college campuses to preach the gospel to the college students. This is why we encourage the saints who are in school to consecrate two years after college to serve the Lord full-time. If the full-timers really have the burden to continue to preach the gospel at the colleges, this would be another profitable way to preach the gospel. (Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, pp. 129-130)

Out of every twenty saints meeting in the Lord’s recovery there should be one full-time serving one. Although I cannot say that this is a revelation from the Lord, I feel very clear inwardly that this is an excellent way. I also trumpeted this call very clearly in the United States, hoping that all the more than six hundred churches on the six continents would be able to do this. This is the first principle for carrying out our change of system: that one out of twenty of the saints would be full-time.

Some news has come in from two local churches. One locality which has one hundred eighty in the meetings is willing to produce nine full-timers, and the other locality which has eighty in the meetings will produce four full-timers. Now the church in Taipei, which has four thousand people regularly attending the meetings, has produced two hundred full-timers. This altogether corresponds to the principle of one out of twenty. I am very happy about this. (The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, p. 14)

The Need of the Homes (Families)

Our Homes Being Useful for the Campuses

The focus of the change in system is the household. In the New Testament we see many sweet households, such as the household of Caesar (Phil. 4:22), the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:22-24), the household of Lydia, a seller of purple-dyed goods (16:13-15), and the household of the jailer whose name is unknown (vv. 29-34). There was also the household of Stephanas (1 Cor. 1:16) and the household of Crispus (Acts 18:8). In addition, there were houses in which the meetings were held, such as Aquila and Prisca’s house (Rom. 16:3-5; 1 Cor. 16:19), the house of Nymphas (Col. 4:15), and the house of Philemon (Philem. 1-2). These examples clearly show us that the unit of God’s salvation and service is the household.

From the beginning of the Lord’s recovery in China, Brother Nee pointed out that the church needs to be built up with the household as a unit. I received this matter from him and brought the practice to Taiwan. In addition, I introduced the practice of the “groups.” However, in 1984 when I returned to Taiwan, these two practices were almost non-existent. (The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, p. 13)

College Students Becoming Homesick
and Being Invited to the Saints’ Homes

On the one hand, the freshmen in college are eager to leave home; on the other hand, as they live in the dormitories at school, they are often lonely and homesick. This provides an excellent opportunity to invite them into our homes. The young people in the church can invite others to the homes of the middle-aged ones and of the young couples. All these homes need to be open and ready to receive the young people. When they come in, serve them something to eat and drink. This will touch their heart.

Not Needing Any Gimmicks, but Praying,
Preaching, and Opening Our Homes

In preaching the gospel we do not need any gimmicks. We should simply pray, preach the word, and open our homes. It is difficult for the young people both to go to the campuses and to prepare their homes to receive others. We need the youngest ones to go to the campuses, the oldest ones to pray, and the middle-aged ones to prepare their homes. Day and night the homes need to be ready. (The Spirit and the Body, pp. 108-109)

We need a young army that can be sent to the campuses to bring in more young people, but all the older and middle-aged saints are also needed. We should not be discouraged that we may be too old to go to the campuses. The church’s gospel preaching needs all the saints. (Preaching the Gospel on the College Campuses, p. 16)

We have to encourage all the saints, no matter what their situation, to open their homes for the gospel. We even have to motivate the saints who are weak and the saints who have not been meeting for a long time to open their homes. This is a tremendous task, and it requires the responsible brothers and full-timers to put in all their effort. If a church has over one hundred open homes, and every home preaches the gospel at least once a week, the number of people will be doubled in just half a year. This will not only recover those saints who have not been meeting for a long time but will also cause their unsaved family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues to be saved through hearing and believing the gospel.

We must preach the gospel through our homes. The best way to invite people to your home is to invite them for meals or to prepare the best refreshments for them. When the best refreshments get into their stomachs, their hearts will be opened. As long as the best refreshments can get into their stomachs, the Lord Jesus will gain an excellent opportunity to come into their spirits. How worthwhile and meaningful this is! (Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, pp. 128-129)

The Need of Consistency in Our Labor

September is a golden time to catch the freshmen. Every September we should be able to catch a good number. This does not mean that we do not preach the gospel to others. Our daily walk, our meetings, and our communal life are all a type of gospel preaching. Wherever we live, we influence the community. But we must purposely form teams to go to the campuses to reach the young people. If we do this with much prayer, a good number will be brought in. Let September be the time to make contact and October the month to reap. During these months, concentrate your time and labor on reaping a new crop of freshmen. First you reap them, then you build them up. After that, you may use them to gain their classmates or roommates. We need to do the same thing year after year. I believe that each time we do this, more freshmen will be reaped. Do not miss this opportunity. We must pray and seize this golden opportunity. (The Spirit and the Body, p. 108)

The Need of Facilities

My burden in this message, however, is how to work on the campus and how to have the brothers’ and sisters’ homes in particular. The brothers’ and sisters’ homes for corporate living are our invention. Although some in Christianity may have practiced this in the past, I did not learn this from them. I learned this way by our own experience. At a certain time I found that for the campus work we need brothers’ homes and sisters’ homes. Otherwise, after we catch a “fish,” we will have no vessel for keeping it.

At first, it did not seem easy to have the brothers’ homes. This practice started in the church in Taipei, which has practiced having the brothers’ and sisters’ homes for more than twenty years. They have learned much and experience much, and now they are enjoying a very big success. According to a recent letter I received, they have one hundred forty new trainees in the current term of the full-time training in Taiwan, most of whom are college graduates from the brothers’ and sisters’ homes. The goal of those who catch and gain new ones on the campuses is to bring them into the brothers’ and sisters’ homes. If they cannot bring a saved one into the homes, they feel that this is a failure. In the Orange County area, we have tried to practice the brothers’ and sisters’ homes. The Lord afforded us some houses through some brothers who love the Lord. The church did not buy those homes, but certain lovers of the Lord bought a number of houses for this purpose. I did not go to see these homes, but word concerning them has come to me. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 9, p. 7)

We are burdened to go to Europe in a team of at least four saints, including a couple between the ages of thirty to fifty, in whose home the meeting will begin. Every team of saints going to Europe should have a couple, and this couple may have some children. This family will be the center of the team. We will try to help them to get a home close to a college or university. Hopefully, this home will be big enough for keeping two or three guests. It should serve as a place for some emigrating saints to stay until they can become properly situated. The newly-contacted people can be brought to this home for fellowship. This will be our way. (The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, pp. 48-49)

The Need of Financial Support

In the face of all the advances and prosperity around us, we must do something. We should strive with all we have. Only then will the Lord have a way. We must pick up these three burdens—building up the home meetings, having a success in the truth-teaching meetings, and aggressively developing the community and campus work.

In order to pickup the burden and to spread the work aggressively, we need to match God’s work with our material supply.

Today the assets and income of most of the saints far exceed their need. The question is whether or not we are really for the Lord. Have we really consecrated our all for the Lord? When all put their shoulders together, we can build a city. When everyone gives a hand, we can lift many things easily. If everyone puts in his share, we will more than meet our needs. This requires not only the churches’ attention and the saints’ awareness but also you practical consecration. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 15-16)

SECURING THE FUTURE OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
BY LABORING ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES

The Promise, Hope, and Future of the Lord’s Recovery
Being with the College Students

In Moscow we recently held a conference with more than one hundred twenty college students. The promise, the hope, of the Lord’s recovery in Russia is not with the older people but with the college students. Today the college students in Russia are under twenty-one. It may be that after ten years they will be prepared to come to the United States to re-evangelize this country. Therefore, I fully agree that we should go to the campuses to gain the Russian students. (The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, p. 115)

Now we come to the matter of gaining the young people. Every church must go to the young people. In any field the future is with the young people. If an industry or a school does not gain young people, that industry or school has no future. This generation is the generation of the young people. However, this does not mean that we do not appreciate the older ones. (The Spirit and the Body, p. 106)

If we read through the Bible carefully, we will discover a fact: It is not easy to find a case showing that God called an old person to do a new thing or a thing of great consequence. This may discourage the older brothers and sisters, but it is something undeniable. Indeed, we cannot see that God ever called an old person to do a new thing…Not only is this true in the Bible, but even in all of church history it is hard to find a strong illustration to show that God called an old man when He had a new and important thing to do. We can say that virtually everyone used by God to begin a new thing or chosen by God to turn the age was a young man.

I would like to give you a testimony. Thirty years ago the Lord’s work in China had a new beginning. In that period of time God did not call any old people. All the ones who are around fifty years old and who are standing firmly to serve before the Lord today were still young people who, thirty years ago, were around twenty years old. They were raised up by the Lord in the schools for that new work. Brothers and sisters, if you see this, you will treasure the young people before God.

Furthermore, nearly every work that the young people were called by God to do was a work that turned the age…For the carrying out of all these works of great consequences, God always called young men.

I would like to tell you, brothers and sisters, that because we saw this, we have been paying much attention to the young people’s work for nearly twenty years. This is not to say that one young person’s soul is worth two older persons’ souls. This is not what I mean. What I am saying is that a person has to be gained by the Lord at a young age if he will have some usefulness in God’s hands or a future in God’s work. This is an obvious fact.

Quite often I have said that for salvation, for the receiving of grace, and for the enjoyment of the Lord’s salvation the older ones are absolutely precious. However, for usefulness in the Lord’s hand, for the spread of the Lord’s kingdom, and for the propagation of the Lord’s work, the responsibility undoubtedly falls on the shoulders of the young people…Twenty years from now those who will be useful to the Lord are those who are in their twenties or younger today.

If there are no young people gained by the Lord today, after our depar¬ture there will be no one to succeed us. Then there will be a gap…If the Lord does not have a group of young people today to receive help, after some time, when we pass away, will there not be a gap? This will not only delay the day of the Lord but also diminish the effectiveness of our work.

We already saw this clearly more than twenty years ago. Therefore, from that time on we paid a great deal of attention to gaining the young intellectuals in the universities and hospitals. Thank the Lord, this work had good progress from 1936. The Lord gained a good number of young people from the Union Medical College in Peking, from a certain hospital in Tientsin, from the Ch’i Lu University in Tsinan, from the College of Nursing in Shanghai, and from some universities in Nanking. Many young medical students, resident physicians, nurses, and even professors became our brothers and sisters. About ten years later, among us nearly all the co-workers and responsible ones in the churches all over the country were the young people gained at that time.

I would say to you, brothers and sisters, that I love the older ones. The Lord can testify for me about this. But I also would ask the older ones to forgive me because I would also say that I really appreciate the young people’s work. Some spread words about me saying that Brother Lee only cares for the young people’s work and that he has chased all the older ones out to the street. I deny this; I never had that intention. However, for the future of the Lord’s work, I would ask the older ones to pray much for the young people. The future of the work and the usefulness in the future, no doubt, are with the young people. From the view of saving souls, we should treat older ones and younger ones equally. From the view of the future of the work, however, we should put our emphasis on the younger ones. If the church or the work fails to gain young people, it will be like a family that has only some childless old people: an old grandfather who is eighty-five years old, a father who is sixty years old, and a son who is nearly forty years old. There are no younger ones under them; there are no crying ones or shouting ones. Rather, everyone is well-behaved. This is abnormal.

In summary, we need to gain the young people in the church and in the Lord’s work. Anyone who works for the Lord with insight needs to pay attention to this matter. If you see this, your heart will be burdened to love the young people regardless of whether they are good or bad. Having a young one who is not very desirable is better than having none at all. May the brothers and sisters as the Lord’s lovers all love the young people for the future of the church and for the Lord’s work. (How to Lead the Young People, pp. 3-7, 9-15)

The Source of Manpower for the Lord’s Move Today
Being on the College Campuses

“Thank you for your good report dated March 19, 1993. Praise the Lord that He has gained so many young ones for His recovery. This is really what the Lord needs. The source of manpower for the Lord’s move today is on the campuses of the U.S.A. May the Lord raise up more co-workers who would be burdened to labor on the leading campuses throughout the U.S. that the Lord may have a way to get the proper manpower to meet the needs of His move today on the earth.” (A Letter by Brother Lee in Response to a Church’s Report About Its Campus Labor—April 2, 1993)

References: Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel, ch. 1; The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way, ch. 5; The Scriptural Way to Meet and to Serve for the Building Up of the Body of Christ, ch. 7; A General Outline of God’s Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, ch. 6; Preaching the Gospel on the College Campuses, ch. 1; Truth, Life, the Church, and the Gospel—The Four Great Pillars in the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 10; Life-Study of Hebrews, msgs. 8, 14; Watchman Nee—A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, ch. 1; Life-Study of Genesis, msg. 114; On Home Meetings, ch. 1; Brother Lee’s Fellowship with graduating fourth-term trainees—June 1996; How to Lead Young People; Watchman Nee. A Talk Concerning the Future of God’s Work in China; The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 55, Issue 2; The Spirit and the Body, ch. 11; Witness Lee. The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 6; The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 9; The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, ch. 4; The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 1; The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, ch. 10; A Letter by Brother Lee in Response to a Church’s Report About Its Campus Labor—April 2, 1993.