Tuesday
The new generation of rural migrant laborers in China is very different from that of their parents. They move from city to city looking for jobs and do not stay at one job very long. This phenomenon is found not only in the industrial East of China but also in the far West. People are calling them "floating laborers" or even cynically "tourist laborers". Many, if not all of the young rural believers in China go to work in the city once they graduate from junior high school. Once in the city, they are lost both emotionally and spiritually. Neither their parents nor their churches can help them. Let us remember them in our prayers asking God to help them not to drift away from their faith in Him but to continue to trust Him in every decision they make.
Wednesday
Thirty percent of all the migrant workers in China are considered the "new generation". They are young, newly graduated from junior or high school with an average age of about twenty-three years and they do not have any skills to be famers. Unlike their parents who went to the city to work to improve their living, these young migrant workers leave their village homes to go to the city for "fun and to fulfill a dream" but their hearts are not really into working hard and earning money to send home. One can imagine the great exodus of young people from the villages and how it leaves the churches with the very old and very young. Pastors are discouraged because the young people they trained leave for jobs in the city. Let us pray for faith and strength for those who remain to continue to minister to the young people left in their churches.
Thursday
In the past migrant workers from the villages had no desire to stay in the cities but the new generation of laborers want to live there where they find work. However, the reality of their being able to settle in the city is slim. Their wages are meager and the cost of housing is way beyond their means. It is estimated that only one in ten of the "new generation" migrant workers will be able to buy a house and settle down in the city. It is very difficult for Christian villagers to find a spiritual home in the city due to the many differences in life there. We pray that some city churches will open their doors and make migrant believers feel at home in spite of the differences or prejudices they may have. We are all one body in Christ!
Friday
The new generation of migrant workers is really poorly educated, psychologically immature, and lacks many basic social skills. All of their deficits prevent them from getting the better jobs and force them to take on really low-level menial jobs in the cities. Only about thirty percent of them are able to hold down long term jobs in the city. Let us pray for those in the Sunday schools and youth groups in the rural churches in China. Many believers feel they are not blessed by God because they are second class citizens who have little education and no chance of ever owning a house in the city, hence their children will also continue to be disadvantaged. We know God loves them as He does us so we pray for them as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Saturday
The restriction of getting a residency permit and a lack of social benefits are some other factors that prevent young migrant workers from staying in the cities. These young workers want to stay in the cities but are not able to get stable good-paying jobs because of their lack of education and skills. In contrast with their processors they have high hopes of staying in the cities but lack the drive and perseverance to make it happen. One great tragedy found in the rural churches in China is that many of the young people drift away from their faith. The great revival of twenty years ago is now a distant memory or unknown to the new generation in the church. We know God is able to do great miracles so we pray with faith beseeching our Lord to revive the village churches and rekindle the passion of believers.
Sunday
The older generation has traditionally played a large part in bringing up children in China, and still does. A baby is often farmed out to the grandparents for the first few years of its life, or the grandparents come to live in the family home to look after it. If no grandparents are available, nannies are plentiful and affordable. Christian grandparents are uniquely gifted in having this opportunity to use the Word of God in raising up their grandchildren and making a godly impact on them. We pray that grandparents who are believers will have this kind of influence and the Lord will use them mightily.
Monday
Most of the women in China seem to stop with one child, not only due to the one-child policy but because they believe additional child is nearly impossible to manage. Chinese mothers would claim that looking after the one child takes up all of their time and resources. Raising children is no easy task and is truly a lifetime career. In church, it is always the mothers who have to cook and prepare food for church events or meals. Let us pray for all the mothers who do food preparation for church. May the Lord strengthen and equip them.
星期二
新生代農民工中出現的「短工化」、高流動性趨勢逐年明顯。這現象不僅出現在東部繁榮地區，也同樣存在在經濟欠發達的寧夏。有人稱這類頻繁更換工作的農民工為「工漂族」，及「旅遊式打工」。許多農村年輕信徒初中畢業後，就離家到熱鬧的城市打工。情感與靈命如同在曠野一般，家人和教會也鞭長莫及、愛莫能助。我們禱告神親自吸引他們，幫助他們每天來到主面前支取力量，活在祂的愛中，更是在每一個抉擇中尋求神的旨意，討祂的喜悅。
星期三
新生代農民工佔外出農民工約三成，基本上為剛離校的初、高中畢業生，平均年齡為二十三歲左右，普遍缺少從事農業勞動的經歷。他們與傳統外出農民打工的目的有明顯差異，他們外出就業動機不再是「改善生活」而是「體驗生活、追求夢想」，幹活、為家計掙錢已不再是唯一目的。青年離家入城，農村只剩老弱婦孺，教會的斷層可以想像是何等嚴重。農村教會的傳道人也不免心灰意冷，因辛苦栽培的年輕人，最終也是會離開。讓我們來為那些忠心留在農村教會，繼續不斷為主培養下一代的工人禱告，求主加添他們信心與力量。
星期四
傳統農民工那種近似於候鳥的打工方式和亦工亦農的經歷，往往形成城市過客的心理。新生代農民工卻是希望在務工地長期穩定生活，安居樂業；「做城裡人」已成為新生代農民工的憧憬。目前工資收入水平較低，而房價又居高不下，生活成本高是他們長期穩定就業生活的最大障礙。按照他們當前的收入水平，能最終實現他們夢想的比例不會超過一成。農村信徒要在城市找到一個屬靈的家，也絕非易事，因兩地信徒在各方面有極大差異。求主感動城市教會能敞開大門，放下歧視或偏見，接納來自農村的信徒，看見我們在基督裡都是屬於一個身體，都是主的家人。
星期五
新生代農民工大多是剛踏出中小學校門，心智發展尚未成熟、思想尚未穩定、身份認同尚不清晰的年輕人。教育程度和職業技能水平滯後於城市勞動市場的需求，阻礙他們在城市長期穩定就業，大約只有三成人能在城市長期穩定就業。我們為農村教會的主日學老師及青少年導師禱告，求主賜他們美好的靈性，以生命影響生命。部份農村信徒認為神沒有祝福他們，他們似乎就是二等公民，沒有好的教育，一輩子沒有希望能在城市中定居，甚至下一代也無法翻身。求主施恩憐憫，幫助他們轉眼仰望耶穌，看見神不偏心待人，祂的祝福也遠非今世的福樂能相比。
星期六
受制於戶籍制度、社會保障水平不到位等因素影響，新生代農民工雖然漸熟悉城市，卻難以真正融入城市主流社會。他們自身文化和技能有限，在城市中難以獲取穩定、高收入的工作，一直位於城市底層，向上浮動的動力不足、機會不多，心理預期高於父輩，但耐受能力卻低於父輩。中國農村教會一大悲劇是年輕基督徒信仰的流失。二十多年前農村教會曾經歷屬靈大復興，但對教會的新一代根本不知神為中國教會所行的奇事。我們深信神今日仍要作工，願祂再次興旺農村教會，挑旺信徒服侍的熱忱。
星期日
中國老一輩人在撫養孫輩方面都扮演著很重要的角色。通常很小的孩子會交由祖父母看管，或者讓祖父母住到子女家中來照看孫輩。如果不能得到祖父母的幫助，請保姆也是方便又划算的方法。感謝主讓中國基督徒的祖父母能有特別的機會、時間，以神的話語來養育教導他們的第三代，繼續在小孩子的生命中，有屬靈的影響力。我們求主使用他們在他們的孫兒女中，教導他們自小敬畏真神，扎實建立好敬虔的根基。
星期一
大部分在中國的女性只育有一個子女，這不僅是由於「獨生子女」政策，更是因為子女多實在太難照顧，單單養育獨生子女就要耗費很多的時間和資源。養育孩子已然成為一項需要耗盡心力來競爭的事業。有孩子的姊妹經常還要為教會衆多聚會或者活動預備膳食，默默供應了弟兄姊妹的需要，願主記念姊妹們的擺上，賜下夠用的力量，也充足供應靈命成長所需的裝備。
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