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.