After stepping off the plane in Africa, I expected to be a visible minority among the local people in the country of Lesotho. What I observed after meeting many of the families from the various foreign mission organizations and denominations, I was also a visible minority among them. As I began to look back during the application process with Africa Inland Mission, I had only met one other Asian family.
After returning to Canada, in my role as a missions pastor in a Chinese church and then as a mobilizer and recruiter for a mission organization, I wanted to find out why there were so few Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) Christians serving as missionaries. I wanted to discover what barriers were affecting recruiting missionaries among the Chinese churches in Canada (which may also be true for other diaspora churches).
My dream is for more CBCs to be encouraged, mobilized, and sent out as workers for the harvest. Why was I willing to serve as a cross-cultural worker, and why were there not more like me? Like Jesus, who healed ten lepers and only one came back to worship and thank Him, my same question was, “Where are the other nine?”
From Apathy to Africa
One day, a student was asked, “what is worse, ignorance or apathy?” He replied, “I don’t know, and I don’t care.” This was my attitude. I did not grow up attending church, so I would probably be the candidate voted least likely to become a Christian if there was ever a vote taken. It was not because I was a horrible person; I was from a middle-class family and considered a polite and well-mannered boy. I did not smoke, drink, swear, or date girls during high school. I dressed respectfully, had short hair, did well in school, and played on the school football and badminton teams.
Despite all of this external success, I did have one major problem. As a third-generation CBC, I did not have an identity. Born and raised in Calgary, where there were not many visible minorities, I felt I was not accepted by Caucasian society nor among the immigrant Chinese. Where did I belong? This led me to search for my roots at a Chinese church in Chinatown. It was there I met other CBCs like myself. I was introduced to and eventually accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord through their love and friendship. I had found my true identity rooted in Christ!
As mentioned, I did not attend church as a child and only started attending during my last year in high school, so I did not have much Bible knowledge. My Christian growth occurred while studying at university through my involvement with Campus Crusade for Christ. Three major influencing factors shaped my spiritual growth: the human element, spiritual disciplines, and practical, real-life learning situations.
Firstly, the human element included staff members and fellow students in my weekly small group Bible study, interaction time during retreats with people from other universities, and the weekly fellowship and worship times. Secondly, my spiritual disciplines were developed through attending Christmas and summer conferences and weekend workshops. Thirdly, my real-life learning situations where I had the opportunity to put into action through different activities such as weekly evangelism times sharing the Four Spiritual Laws on campus, leading a weekly small group Bible study, and also through a summer short-term mission trip showing the JESUS film along the Amazon River in Brazil.
After graduating from university, I worked in the secular workforce for two years. Unfortunately, during this stage, my spiritual life was waning after my time of growing and life experience during university. I was having difficulty integrating into church life, and somewhere deep within me, I knew there was more to life than just a 9-5 job and living for the weekends. My desire was for more than just a job, a wife, some kids, a house, a car, and the lifestyle of those around me. It was like an urging from within. I wanted to make a difference for eternity.
Each time I attended a missions conference or heard a missions speaker at church, my heart burned within me, and I never let go of the possibility of serving God overseas. I had asked different people and missionaries what steps would be necessary to become a missionary and their answer was I should get some formal Bible training. I distinctly remember conversing with my cousin, who is a missionary. She said I could apply for a Master’s degree at a seminary because I already had a university degree, so I applied and was accepted.
It never occurred to me to ask any church pastors or leaders about my decision or plans to attend seminary. They only became aware when I asked one of the pastors to be a proctor for my distance-learning Elementary Greek exam. I felt as if I had not received any direction or encouragement to pursue full-time ministry, had not been asked about my passion for missions, past short-term mission experience, or even questioned on my call or motivation. Nobody in the church asked or inquired about my spiritual readiness, maturity, preparation, or plans (they were unaware that my goal was to eventually join a mission organization). It felt like I was on my own, and when the church leaders did find out, they were happy a member of their church decided to pursue this direction, and they were somehow taking credit for raising workers, just content with giving their blessing.
The next step in my journey, God sent me to Toronto for several reasons. The first reason was to attend seminary, the second reason was to pursue a missions-minded girl who lived there who eventually became my wife, and thirdly, I was introduced to two of the churches that would be our primary support when we eventually served in Africa. After getting married and graduating from seminary, my wife Rita and I had God’s vision for cross-cultural missions. We started to look for mission opportunities, so we attended Intervarsity’s Urbana missions conference. There we contacted Africa Inland Mission (AIM), and two years later, we were part of a missionary team in the country of Lesotho and served with AIM for eight years.
After completing our time in Lesotho, having completed my goal to serve as a missionary, my next question was, “after accomplishing my goal, what do I do now?” One of my mentors gave me the illustration of an astronaut. He told me when their lifelong goal of getting to the moon was accomplished, after returning, their responsibility was now to tell others about their experiences and then to help them to achieve this same goal. So now, with my missions adventure with “field ministry” experience, my role is to tell others about my journey and assist others in serving on the mission field. This led me to realize my new role was to mobilize and recruit missionaries. I needed to discover what platform would best enable me to achieve this goal in which I use my experience and giftedness to identify, train, empower, and send CBCs to take my place on the mission field.
Why I Consider Canadian-born Chinese Great Candidates For Mission
Since Canada is one of the most ethnically diverse nations, it is imperative to learn to blend into different cultures every day. Growing up in Canada provides many benefits and advantages. Therefore, at least three reasons CBCs make good candidates for cross-cultural ministry are cultural, practical, and psychological.
The first factor is culture. Growing up in Canada, as a visible minority in a predominantly Caucasian environment, I realized there were times when I was caught between the Chinese and Western cultures. I often did not feel I belonged and subconsciously was often shifting between the two cultures. After I became a Christian, what I looked like or where I grew up did not matter anymore because my citizenship and heritage became rooted in God! I saw how God had designed and placed me where I was to have the best of both worlds, Chinese and Western. For cross-cultural mission work, as a Canadian, the benefit of the Canadian “golden passport” enables me to enter any country in the world. Another benefit, being Chinese, I do not bring the “colonial baggage” Caucasian missionaries are associated with when going to previously colonized countries. Another advantage is being able to better recognize and understand various aspects of other cultures. For example, it was easier for my wife, Rita, and I to understand the Basotho people and their veneration of ancestors than it was for our other fellow missionaries because the Chinese also worship their ancestors.
The second reason CBCs make good mission candidates is the practical advantages in human and financial resources. In Canada, each citizen has free medical treatment, education (free up to high school and subsidized university or college tuition), and many job and career opportunities. CBCs are given opportunities unattainable for previous generations of Chinese due to language, cultural, and racist barriers. This is an advantage for cross-cultural missions as CBCs have the chance to go to Bible school or seminary in English or French as these are their mother tongues. In addition, being fluent in English, CBCs can easily join established Western mission organizations. I know missionaries from non-English speaking countries were required to learn English before serving because they needed to be able to communicate with the mission agency.
Another practical advantage is financial. Firstly, children in the Chinese culture would grow up and take care of their ageing parents in prior generations. In Canada, there are many systems to help look after and provide for the care of ageing parents, releasing the children from this primary responsibility. Secondly, in recent years, the Western Caucasian churches and mission agencies have been declining in numbers and finances. In contrast, some of the fastest-growing churches in Canada are the diaspora churches, which is evident among the Chinese churches. They are growing numerically and financially and are now at a point of great opportunity as many established churches have great resources available for world evangelization.
The third factor why CBCs make good mission candidates is psychological. Growing up in Canada has provided security and a firmly rooted home base in recent generations. Security-wise, few CBCs have ever lacked the basics of life (food, shelter, clothing), have never been threatened by violence (war, slavery, oppression), and have freedom of choice. CBCs also have developed a solid home base. In contrast, when new immigrants leave their ‘motherland’ and come to Canada seeking a better life, Canada is their final destination, making it less likely they would leave to go to another country. For CBCs, Canada is “our home and native land” and our base of operations. This stability allows CBCs the foundation to step out in faith to serve as missionaries to other places in the world.
Why So Few?
So, if CBCs have so many positive attributes as missionary candidates, why are there so few serving in cross-cultural ministry? As I mentioned earlier, when I decided to go to seminary, I thought, just like with my career and educational choices, it did not even occur to me to involve the church or church leaders. Somehow, “my call” was not connected to the church, nor did I ever hear about or encounter anyone from my church who communicated or showed any interest in this area of my life.
A few years later, I heard two people from my church who were close to me (one was the best man at my wedding, and the other was my first cousin) had decided to go to seminary. While I was happy to hear this, the sad part was that throughout the years, I was not aware they had been considering serving full-time. I wondered why they had never mentioned this desire to me before? How many more “out there” have this same desire yet do not tell anyone, or worse, are not identified or recognized? There seems to be something missing. Why is there a gap between those who make commitments and those who follow through?
One example I can think of is church retreats and missions conferences, where many raise their hands, come up to the front, or fill out a response card, expressing their willingness to serve God full-time. When I inquire with different mission agencies and Chinese churches, I am surprised so few attend seminary or enter into full-time ministry. What happened to all those people, and what were some reasons they did not follow through with their commitment? For every ten people who commit, somehow, one by one, they are reduced until all but one has left. Where are the other nine?
Barriers To Mobilizing Canadian-born Chinese
There are many hindrances and barriers to mobilizing Canadian-born Chinese for full-time ministry; some tend to have more impact, such as a lack of identity, societal barriers, Chinese church barriers, and mission agency barriers.
Identity
“Who Are We?” in this vast country of Canada. It was difficult to identify Canadian-born Chinese Christians specifically, so I will extrapolate using data from Asian American and Asian Canadian statistics. Asians trace their heritage and roots not just from the continent of Asia, but they are considered to be from twenty countries located in the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian sub-continent.
In 2011, 5.6 percent of the population in the USA was Asian American. In Canada in 2016, South Asian - 1,924,635, Chinese - 1,577,060, Filipino - 780,125, Southeast Asian - 313,260, West Asian - 264,305, Korean - 188,710 and Japanese - 92,920 for a total of about 5,141,015, which made up about 14 percent of the population of Canada.1
Of the population in the U.S., 42 percent identify themselves as Christians (Filipino 89 percent, Korean 71 percent, Japanese 38 percent, Vietnamese 36 percent, Chinese 31 percent, Indian 18 percent), and attend church weekly (76 percent vs 64 percent), say their religion is the one true faith (72 percent vs 49 percent), and say the Bible is the Word of God (94 percent vs 92 percent).
An interesting observation is that many students attend the Urbana Missions Conference. Some 40 percent of Urbana attendance in 2015 were Asian American (which most likely also included the Asian Canadians), yet only 7 percent have responded by becoming missionaries.2 If so many Asians attended Urbana year after year, should there not be more Asians reflected in the response and joining missionary organizations? A lack of identity may have affected the disconnect between the attendance and response of Asian Christians.
Societal Barriers and Stereotypes
A second hindrance is societal barriers and the stereotypes accompanying Canadian-born Chinese. Some stereotypical characteristics are being hard-working, studious, quiet, self-disciplined, family-oriented, filial piety (respect for elders), and collectivistic. Society perceives this as being inoffensive, harmony-seeking, middle path (moderation), and self-effacing (humble). CBCs are considered to be the “Model Minority,” and in terms of “religiosity,” very “evangelical” compared to the general population. Some U.S. statistics supporting these stereotypes are:
- Highest average income ($66,000 vs $49,800 per year)
- Most educated (49 percent vs 28 percent), having more college degrees than any cultural group, consider marriage important (54 percent vs 34 percent)
- two-parent homes (80 percent vs 63 percent)
- parents have a big influence on their children’s education, profession, and marriage partner (66 percent vs no data available).
These stereotypes of the Model Minority contribute to limiting the potential impact on both society and mission agencies. A survey conducted and then reported in an Evangelical Missions Quarterly article from 2018 asked, “What characteristics do people look for in leaders?” The answers were self-confidence, assertiveness, self-promoting, problem-solvers, and out-of-the-box thinkers. These qualities do not fit the mould of what we think of the stereotypical Asian American. Like in the business or political world, there are very few Asian Americans because we view them as more worker-like and less leader-like (bamboo ceiling). The same “model minority” label causing people to overlook Asian Americas for leadership roles in the business world makes people think they are not well-suited to missions.
Chinese Church Barriers
Most CBCs are raised in a Chinese church, so there are many cultural dynamics not easily separated. For example, in Chinese immigrant churches, children are raised to be respectful and obedient, never to question authority, express their opinions, or show disagreement. This results in programs and activities that come across as “babysitting and story-telling” at church, resulting in low value being placed on adult English-speaking ministry, English-speaking leadership, and English-speaking pastors. In other words, anyone who is English-speaking is automatically considered to be the child of the church even though many are leaders and CEOs in the corporate world or are now retired senior citizens, yet are still treated as second-class.
I did not realize this as I was not raised going to church as a child. In the high school youth group I attended, I noticed how among the kids who “grew up in the church,” there was little to no care, concern, or awareness of the lost-ness of non-believers. They appeared cliquish and inward-focused, concerned with status, power (pecking order), and comfort (risk aversive). It seemed the kids who grew up in the church were just spoon-fed the Bible stories as they were put downstairs to be babysat while the Chinese-speaking adults were provided real ministry and care. The children are treated as secondary or, in some cases, as people not worthy of being ministered to, let alone empowered or encouraged to take on the discipleship mandate of Jesus. How could they develop a sense of serving the world and being able to commit to serving as missionaries in this environment?
Another Chinese church obstacle to overcome is parental pressure and the need to be successful. As children of immigrants, they are constantly reminded their parents sacrificed so much to provide for their education and new life. Then they feel an obligation and need to repay their parents by becoming successful and having the life their parents never had. The easiest way to measure that success is through good grades and education, high-status and well-paying jobs. Thus, becoming an engineer, doctor, nurse, pharmacist, accountant, businessman etc., is a sign of success. The conflict comes when the idea of becoming a missionary does not reflect success in the parents’ eyes, or worse, in the parents’ relatives and friends. This is a major dilemma. How do CBCs respond and commit to obeying God when they are told God gave the command to obey their parents?
Mission Agency Barrier
After a Western mission organization accepts a Canadian-born Chinese, there are issues specifically more difficult because of the cultural implications. The main barriers are raising support, loss of community, individual calling, and self-promotion. Firstly, the concept of raising support and directly asking for money runs against the Chinese culture as there is shame associated with losing face, “mooching” off others, saying what your family provided for you isn’t enough, having to be pitied by others, not to mention embarrassing for family members when they are asked by others what their son/daughter does for a living. Being a religious worker is considered low status and undesirable in the immigrant perception because their concept from their homeland of Buddhist monks who take a vow of poverty and must beg for a living. No immigrant parent wants this for their child.
Secondly, there is a loss of community. Being strongly collectivistic, being part of a family provides both identity and protection from discrimination, which may not occur on the field. An example of one Chinese missionary who is not accustomed to the North American idea of “fun” ran into difficulties when teammates would have weekly “game nights” playing board games and card games. This Chinese missionary did not understand nor participate in these activities and could not find ways to connect with the rest of the team, experiencing more stress as the activities were a “waste of time” and unproductive.
Thirdly, the concept of a specific individual call is a product of an individualistic approach to identifying missionaries. The collectivistic Asian culture is geared towards duty and responsibility to the group (family, church, etc.) and not following a personal call and chasing their own individual goals and dreams.
Fourthly, the barrier of self-promotion goes against humility and self-deprecation, which makes it challenging to promote and stand up in front of people to share about ministry and the needs (especially financially) in such a public manner. Not only is this difficult to articulate and identify as a problem, but there is a lack of role models and mentors to help navigate and encourage them.
Concerns of a Canadian-born Chinese Missionary Mobilizer
I have concerns about the lack of other Canadian-born Chinese (CBCs) in full-time Christian ministry. My dream is for more CBCs to be encouraged, mobilized, and sent out as workers for the harvest. Although many hindrances and barriers exist for all missionary candidates, the unbalanced number of Asians who attend conferences like Urbana and their response is stark. I believe it is the role of both the church and the mission agency to help identify, nurture, and grow our CBCs to be servants to the world.
This is an excerpt from the book, On Mission Volume 5. Download your free copy today.
- https://minorityrights.org/country/canada
- Report On Factors Affecting Asian Americans In Missions webinar by David Narita.