Comments on: Models of Ministry in Chinese Churches

By: PK

PK — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:18:13 +0000

The focus of this series is on reaching ABCs through the EM. But I think that it is often true that there is more cultural diversity within the Chinese ministry than within the EM. In my own church we have needed to shift gears somewhat to reach out to the influx of people from China. I can imagine that in a Cantonese speaking church it would require a much greater adjustment. Some of factors that make it possible to develop a mature EM would probably also apply to establishing a solid Mandarin ministry in a Cantonese speaking church.

Bottom line: we need to be focused on the Great Commission and look for opportunities to reach those whom God is bringing our way.

By: whu

whu — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:34:04 +0000

there is another development in NA chinese churches (at least in Canada) more Mandarin-speaking from China are here, the traditional HK and SE Asia churches are facing new challenges besides the generational gap (OBC vs CBC)differences, what is the model? it seems to me that we need to sense the Spirit and go back to the basics of the Scripture and live the life God has given us both individually and collectively with the kingdom of God ruling over us. Working together with the community where you are and He is building His church.

By: PK

PK — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:27:09 +0000

Thanks for joining the discussion. I like the idea of using an Asian metaphor, and I would like to see Edwin Kong’s article if you can find it. The thing that I like about the term “parallel” is that it makes clear that there will be separate but similar ministries in each congregation. But of course we also want to have some connection points between the two congregations. Maybe we could think of the railroad ties as connections?

Another issue is whether the connections are hierarchical lines of authority or relational lines of fellowship. In our overall church org chart we show a separate EM and CM under the board, but at the bottom there is another arrow connecting them marked “Fellowship and Cooperation.”

By: Daniel L. Wong

Daniel L. Wong — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:56:43 +0000

The difficulty about “parallel” is that the lines don’t cross. I saw one image of parallel as train tracks. I like Edwin Kong’s use of the term “chopsticks.” He means somethings similar to parallel but uses a great Asian analogy. We need point(s) of crossing and movement together to carry out effective ministry. Edwin is the director of Chinese Christian Mission in Canada. His article on this is published. I will have to find it.
Those of us born and/or raised in North America are all somewhere on a cultural continuum (Gail Law), from Western to Asian or NABC to OBC. Our movement on that continuum is fluid too. I sense that we need different churches or at least different ministry emphases to minister to the spectrum of people, especially to reach out to others who identify in a certain way.

By: PK

PK — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:26:30 +0000

Good comments on the need for trust and compassion.

Many ABCs are attracted to an Asian American or multi-ethnic church. We need more churches of those types to reach certain people. But we still need healthy, vibrant bilingual Chinese churches. As long as Chinese immigrants continue to come and continue to have children, we need a strong EM in Chinese churches. The question that I am contemplating right now is how much the EM can move in the AA or multi-ethnic direction while still maintaining a good relationship with the Chinese congregation.

By: NKL

NKL — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:47:48 +0000

1. I’ve been part of the final transitioning from the paternal model to the parallel model.

2. The key was trust. Just as there is trust before a parent leave the children in charge of the house while they are away, there needs to be trust before a traditional Chinese church moves from paternal to parallel models of leadership.

I’m discovering that the third move from parallel to partnership is about more than trust. As good as Covey’s “The Speed of Trust” is in refining the workplace, it’s different in the church. Partnership implies fellowship, a deeper heart filled connection.

Fostering fellowship and community between two (or three) independantly led groups from differnt cultures and generations–it takes competence but more than just competence.

My opinion: It all comes down to compassion. I learned to walk the bridge and meet my developmentally handicapped brothers and sisters in community when I allowed God to awaken in me a compassion for them. The problem is, you don’t foster compassion when you live in parallel worlds.

3. Isn’t the direction of the American Asian church towards Pan-Asian and eventually multi-cultural churches. I’m getting this from my reading of Ken Fong’s contributions to this topic.

By: PK

PK — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:45:38 +0000

As I re-read your comment, I realized that I did not address some of your questions. I wanted to add that overall the CM, the board, and the Chinese Pastor have been very supportive of our efforts to build the EM to effectively reach the second generation. This was tested when we asked the church to buy a drum set for use in English worship. There was quite a bit of discussion about this, but eventually the board agreed to purchase the drums. There are some in the CM who do not really like drums in worship, but most of them recognize the Gospel purpose behind what we are doing and support our efforts. We in turn try to use the drums responsibly. Some of the earlier fears that we were headed for heavy metal worship have now subsided. We have no intention of going there.

By: PK

PK — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:35:29 +0000

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, CFC is striving to be a unified church with inter-dependent parallel ministries. We have to decide on an almost daily basis what that means, and which things make sense to try to do together and which are better done separately. Our two congregations have a considerable level of autonomy but we all are committed to working together as one church. Sure sometimes that isn’t easy, but there is a continued need for healthy bilingual churches.

The “under one roof” addresses the challenge of two congregations sharing one facility. Victor Lee has shared an updated version of his paper (see the link above) which adds one more step to the Partnership Model, namely having different buildings for each congregation on the same property. That sounds ideal, but it is difficult to see how we could do that at CFC anytime soon.

I have much more to say about church unity, but I will save it for a later post in this series.

By: LT

LT — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:22:13 +0000

I very much appreciate you sharing your journey of pastoral ministry with this Chinese church body.

Correct me if I’m wrong I see that like many Chinese churches CFC is striving to for a “unified” EM and CM with parallel and inter-dependent ministries. That partnership is usually difficult and full of tension but it’s one big happy family. I have read Victor Lee’s article sometime ago. Good resource indeed.

My questions are, what is the sense of unity like? Is it different in the minds of the EM versus the CM? How do you resolve that? Your EM congregation sounds young since you mentioned you’re at stage 3.

I agree with you, as long as there is a flow of immigration for the Chinese there will be a need for effective ministry to different generations – under one roof? I guess that also depends on the size and stage of life of the church. I think as a church grows in number it’s difficult to keep things under one roof unless you started building a campus.

I think there are opportunities for the EM to serve the CM and even reach Chinese immigrants but I think the tension arrives when a CM expects the EM to do so like a child.

Does the CM agree with the EM’s methods to reach and nurture its intended audience? How different is the EM allowed to be? Obviously translation is a no-no. Was that tough to swallow for CM leaders? Thanks for sharing that too. It cheered me up.

It really does come down to how the unified pastoral staff works if they are to set the vision and strategic initiatives for the rest of the church. The stronger the staff/leadership is at the early stages the easier it is to usher in change but if there’s fragmentation or disunity amongst the leaders it will be reflected in the life of the body as well.