Reach Magazine, Winter 2023

ISSUE 25 | WINTER 2023

僑民 IN THIS ISSUE...

BBC CHRISTIAN BEING BRITISH-BORN CHINESE

LOVE IN ACTION AT THE GIVING TREE WELCOMING MIGRANTS TO MANCHESTER

ARRIVAL: EAST ASIANS IN BRITAIN

www.pioneers-uk.org Reach

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Contents 02 DIASPORA 2.0 A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

03 ARRIVAL: EAST ASIANS IN BRITAIN

Diaspora 2.0 Last year around this time, I was in the final days of putting together our double issue on diaspora peoples in the UK. I was well aware at the time that we were focussing very heavily on our African diaspora brothers and sisters, partly

06 BBC CHRISTIAN

because our own heritage as a mission agency connects us

09 LOVE IN ACTION AT THE

African Diaspora friends and field workers who were willing

GIVING TREE

to share their experience and expertise.

12 GIVING IT A GO

Little did I know, plans were in place to help me fill in the gaps

14 THE CHINESE DIASPORA CHURCH

year, Chee Yong Weng, an experienced Malaysian Chinese

ON OUR DOORSTEP

16 COMMISSIONED & GOING

quite strongly to Africa, and partly because we had so many

in our exploration of diaspora peoples in the UK. Earlier this missionary and church leader answered our advert for a Mission Mentor in Manchester. Chee and his wife Lee came to the UK last year so that Lee could take the post of Senior Pastor at Manchester Chinese Christian Church.

17 JUST WELCOME

I wasted no time in asking Chee to help me co-edit an edition

19 OUR ADVENT APPEAL

UK, and particularly looking at East Asian diaspora Christians,

of Reach looking at the East Asian diaspora peoples in the who make up a strong and growing part of the Church in the UK. I am incredibly grateful for Chee’s insights and for

All unattributed photos are either owned by Pioneers or free for public use. The following photos were taken from unsplash. com: 3 - Weiye Tant; 5 - Gianluca Baron; 6 & 7 - Luobulinka; 12Different Resonance; 14 - Serwin; 16 - Nick Fewings; 18 - Ave Calvar. The photo and graphic on pp 9 & 10 are used courtesy of The Giving Tree. The cover photo was created using Google Maps and canva.com.

his invaluable connection to the East Asian diaspora Christian community. I couldn’t have put this issue together without his help.

Learning about the East Asian diaspora has been eye-opening and encouraging for me, and I hope that the articles Chee and I have pulled together will have the same effect on you.

Happy reading!

Amanda 2

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Arrival E A S T A S I A N S I N B R I TA I N

BY AMANDA, PIONEERS UK’S COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Immigration is nothing new. People have been moving from

million people living in the UK had been born in a country other

one part of the world to another for as long as there has been

than the UK, and that doesn’t account for the second and third

a horizon to explore, another mountain to cross. Whereas seas,

generation immigrants who, though born in the UK still identify

vast deserts and impenetrable mountain ranges were once

with their parents’ and grandparents’ home culture.

barriers to the movement of people, our obstacles in the 21st century are more ideological, political and economic – and

In terms of East and Southeast Asian diaspora peoples in the

yet many who are determined to emigrate will still find a way.

UK, the most obvious are the Chinese, but the UK is also home

In the UK, we have both the blessing and challenge of being

to Malaysians, Singaporeans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Japanese,

ever more largely a nation of immigrants. In 2020, more than 9

Koreans, and Thai, to name only a few. They come to the UK

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for all sorts of reasons: usually for educational or economic

Of course, one only has to walk down the street in any British

opportunities, or to follow family. But there are other reasons,

city to know that the Chinese are by far the largest East Asian

too. About 10,000 Vietnamese boat people were accepted as

migrant group in the UK. The first group of Chinese migrants

refugees in the wake of the Vietnamese-Chinese Border War

arrived on British shores as sailors in the early 19th century,

in 1979, and London is host to the largest community of North

establishing them as the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

Koreans outside of Northeast Asia. About a thousand have been

They settled in and around Liverpool and, in fact, today the

granted asylum and have made their home there. On the other

largest Chinese arch outside of China is Liverpool’s Imperial

end of the economic spectrum, many of the Japanese who live

Arch, which was gifted to Liverpool by its twin city, Shanghai,

in the UK have come to work in large Japanese companies like

in 2000. From there, Chinese immigrants steadily trickled into

Toyota or Toshiba.

larger British cities throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

One particularly interesting group of East Asians in the UK is the Koreans. There are between 40-50,000 Koreans in the UK, many of whom have come to work for Korean businesses. But in addition to that, and (with some exceptions) unique among East Asian immigrants, there are also approximately 200 Korean Christian missionaries in the UK. Most of these have been sent and funded by Korean churches and organised and deployed

by Korean missionary councils. Korean missionaries are present

Of course, you only have to walk down the road in any British city to know that the Chinese are by far the largest East Asian migrant group in the UK.

in most countries of the world, South Korea being one of the world’s largest mission sending countries. However, in the UK,

In the 1950’s, a big wave of Cantonese-speaking migrants

because of the difficulty of reaching indigenous British people

came to the UK from Hong Kong as a result of post-war

for Christ, they tend to focus their work on sharing with other

colonial immigration schemes. Thousands of ethnically

diaspora groups.

Chinese Malaysians arrived at that time as well. Then in the 1990s, university students began arriving from mainland China.

Up until 2021, the UK’s largest number of international students were Chinese, peaking at about 150,000. These students are largely Mandarin-speaking unless they’ve come from the very far south of China.

By the 1990s, the Chinese church was well established in the UK, with large congregations in London, Manchester and Sheffield, to name a few. Services were largely in Cantonese, being the language of most of the older Chinese Christians who had come in the 1950s and 60s. But with the influx of so many Mandarin-speaking students from mainland China,

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Chinese churches had to pivot. In the 1990s and 2000s, they began to add second and, sometimes, third services to cater for the Mandarin-speaking students and the second and third generation Chinese who often feel more comfortable with English.

The latest wave of Chinese migrants started in 2021 when the British government opened a pathway for Hong Kongers to come to the UK. Originally, about 300,000 Hong Kongers were expected to emigrate, and about half that number have arrived so far. With around 15-20% of them being Christian,

The Chinese church is the fastest growing section of the church in the UK.

it was inevitable that the effect on British churches would be significant. According to the Chinese Overseas Christian Mission, about a third of Christian Hong Kong migrants have

fastest growing section of the church in the UK, with 27 new

chosen to join indigenous* British churches, while a further

congregations started in the last two years, and exponential

third have joined existing Chinese churches, and a final third

growth among existing Chinese churches. It’s an exciting and

have started their own churches.

dynamic time in the life of the church in the UK and the more indigenous British and diaspora churches work together, the

Interestingly, the arrival of the Hong Kongers has jumpstarted

more we will see our friends and neighbours of all backgrounds

more missional thinking in many of the existing Chinese

turning toward Christ. ~

churches. Chinese Christians in the UK have largely been focused on reaching out to and ministering to other Chinese people. Churches in Hong Kong, on the other hand, have done a good job of developing missions awareness in their people and so people in the latest wave of migration from Hong Kong have entered Chinese churches with a sense of calling to reach out beyond other Chinese to other diaspora groups and even to indigenous Brits. The arrival of these mature, missionally aware Hong Kong Christians has brought a revival, so to speak, to

Special thanks to Ian Prescott for sharing all the information in this article out of his personal knowledge and research into the East Asian diaspora. Ian served for 30 years with OMF in Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines and now serves as OMF’s ‘Beyond Borders Champion’ for all things diaspora.

many Chinese churches. *‘indigenous British’ refers to non-immigrant people or East Asian congregations are popping up all over the UK. There

churches in Britain

are nearly 60 Korean churches, as well as Filipino and Japanese churches and a vigorous network of Thai Fellowships. But the

**https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/27-october/

Chinese church is the largest by far. In fact, a recent study by

news/uk/chinese-church-is-fastest-growing-in-the-uk-study-

the Bible Society** has revealed that the Chinese church is the

reveals

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countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines. The Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM) greatly helped to establish Chinese Christian Churches in the major cities of the United Kingdom and resource them over time to reach out to Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking immigrants and students from East and Southeast Asia with the gospel.

Without this crucial work, many East Asian peoples living in the UK would not have had access to a church service where they can worship God or understand the Christian faith and the Bible in their native language.

B B C CHRISTIAN British

Born

Chinese

BY BEN LAW

One significant sub-group within the East Asian churches which has emerged and continues to grow are the 2nd and 3rd generation British East and South East Asian (BESEA) Christians including British born Chinese individuals (BBCs) like myself whose parents found a spiritual home within the Chinese heritage churches.

As people born and raised in the United Kingdom, BBCs will often find themselves relating to aspects of both the local British culture and their Asian heritage culture. The extent to which they fit in with the local and heritage cultures will depend on the individual’s

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East Asian churches in the UK today come in all shapes

ability to assimilate to the wider cultural norms and

and sizes. The largest group of these churches is the

expectations of both groups, but most often, those ‘in-

Chinese heritage churches which have existed since

between’ cultures find themselves not fully identifying

the 1950s. Despite the inclusion of the term ‘Chinese’

or fitting in with either one exclusively. What emerges

in their official names, these have been multinational

is a hybridised cultural identity where an individual

and multicultural Christian communities since their

will find themselves somewhere between the two (or

conception, drawing not only people who have

sometimes more) cultures (i.e. being more British than

immigrated from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong

Chinese or vice versa). Even amongst the 2nd and 3rd

and Macau but also those from South East Asian

generation BBCs there are smaller groups with their

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own idiosyncrasies such as Cantonese-speaking BBCs and Mandarin-speaking BBCs, but generally speaking they have a common shared experience of growing up in the UK but being raised in an Asian family, negotiating between conflicting Western and Eastern cultural values, and using English as their main language in everyday life including in their Christian faith.

Factoring in other groups amongst the Chinese population in Britain such as the 1st generation immigrants, the ‘1.5’ generation immigrants (those who were born elsewhere

... MANY TEENAGE BBCs STRUGGLED WITH PARTICIPATION AND MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT IN SERVICES DUE TO LANGUAGE AND GENERATIONAL BARRIERS.

but came to the UK during their childhood), Asian overseas students and those who have recently relocated to the UK from Hong Kong, we have reached a point where Chinese

would likely have attended a Sunday school or youth group

heritage churches are quite complex and diverse worshipping

growing up, whereas those from non-Christian families often

communities. In recent years we have seen the emergence

come to know the church through outreach programmes such

of different Chinese heritage churches and congregations,

as Chinese language schools and reaching out to Chinese

each with their own styles, expressions, practices and

workers in the catering trade. However, the services their

theological perspectives. Non-denominational (but mostly

parents attended would likely have been in Chinese or be a

evangelical) Chinese Christian Churches make up the majority

multilingual service, and many teenage BBCs struggled with

of Chinese heritage churches. In larger cities such as London

participation and meaningful engagement in services due to

and Manchester there are multiple congregations meeting at

language and generational barriers. As a minority group within

various sites and several pastoral workers. In other cities there

these predominantly Chinese-speaking congregations, many

may be multiple services on a Sunday in different languages

of these young BBCs did not feel a sense of belonging and did

or a single multilingual service at one location depending on

not receive much attention from church leaders. Some of this

the size of the congregation. Other Chinese heritage churches

was alleviated in Chinese heritage churches where there was

include denominational churches (e.g. Methodist, Pentecostal),

an established English speaking service, but still, upon reaching

satellite churches linked to a church based in East or South

adulthood and leaving for university, many BBC Christians take

East Asia (e.g. ACTS Church from Malaysia) and Asian-majority

the opportunity to explore attending local churches where they

congregations that have formed from existing local British

tend to be more comfortable with the language and worship

churches such as at St Helen’s Bishopsgate and St Martin-in-

style but less comfortable having to adapt to a being in a very

the Fields in London.

different Christian culture. Nevertheless, it is good to see BBCs able to serve and find a place within local British churches.

So where do 2nd and 3rd generation British-born Chinese Christians fit in within Chinese heritage churches? Today, a

One significant shift that took place was the pioneering of

significant proportion of 2nd generation BBCs who have grown

youth and young adult conferences that allowed BBCs across

up attending these churches are aged between 25-45, with

different Chinese heritage churches to connect and grow

some also raising 3rd generation BBC children. Those who

spiritually. Organised by COCM with churches collaborating

grew up in Christian families with Chinese-speaking parents

together, many BBC Christians established a community Reach

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with others who shared a similar experience of growing up

future of UK Chinese heritage churches – do we continue

in a Chinese heritage church. Initially, Asian Canadian and

to reach primarily East Asians who struggle to worship and

Asian American teams came to serve and encourage these

understand the gospel in English, or might there be a different

young BBC Christians given their own similar trajectory and

vision that God has for the next generations of British East and

experiences, but in the past 15 years, they have been able

South East Asian Christians and churches to pursue?

to raise up and empower local BBC Christians to become ministry leaders, initially in youth and worship ministry, but now

As a BBC minister in a Chinese heritage church, my desire is for

branching out into other areas of church life within and beyond

our generation of Christians to be able to use the position that

Chinese heritage churches. Much of my own personal journey

God has given us between cultures to reach out more widely

into ministry within a UK Chinese heritage church was shaped

with the gospel than our parents’ generation could. There is

by my involvement with these conferences, and I have come

much cross-cultural work to be done both inside and outside

across other BBCs who also share a similar sense to stay within

the Chinese heritage church, continuing to share the gospel

Chinese heritage churches and to establish them.

with the next generation British East and South East Asians and our families whilst also expanding to reach our British and other ethnic colleagues, neighbours and friends who can worship with us using the same language. My prayer is that the 2nd and 3rd generation British East and South East Asians would be secure in their cultural identity as well as their Christian identity, knowing that God does not make mistakes in placing us where we are and raising us as bicultural individuals. We can draw encouragement from the likes of Moses, Daniel and Paul, all of whom were used by God as people able to navigate between cultures to fulfil His purposes for their lives.

Finally, whilst recognising that this article has been focused on Chinese heritage churches and Christians in the UK, I am sure that the issues described and questions raised will also be of direct relevance to other ethnic church communities in Britain

Ben ministering to the English congregation at Manchester Chinese Christian Church Now at a stage where BBCs are stepping into leadership positions within Chinese heritage churches, the challenge that remains is how to work together and remain united with our other Asian brothers and sisters in the Chinese speaking

today. I dream of the day when churches representing different ethnic groups might be able to come together and see how we as culturally hybrid Christians can have a great spiritual impact for the sake of the gospel, to work together and spur each other on in bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone in these British Isles we also call ‘home’.

congregations whilst also being able to minister to English-

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speaking Asian Christians and enable them to express and

Ben has served as Assistant Minister for the English

live out their faith in Christ meaningfully, authentically and in

congregations at Manchester Chinese Christian Church since

accordance to Scripture. This poses many questions for the

2020. He was born and raised in a Christian family in Bradford.

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Love in Action at

THE GIVING TREE

BY SARAH, A PIONEERS FIELD WORKER IN MANCHESTER When you walk into The Giving Tree1 across from Whitworth

Latin America, Uganda, South Korea, Iran, and the USA among

Park in Manchester, you will find yourself greeted by walls filled

others, has grown significantly to now include a majority of

with colour and collages. On a recent weekend, the exhibition

people coming from Hong Kong. Throughout our journey as

opening for “Taste of Belonging” included coffee tasting, art

a church family, we have been learning to tangibly work out

projects, and a guided time of reflection about the journey

what it means to be reconciled to one another in Christ as we

of migration. For the next month, “Taste of Belonging” will

live it, wrestle with it, and learn to love one another through

showcase art reflecting on the transformational journey from

it. Our native languages and cultures are different, the way we

Hong Kongers to the UK.

define hospitality and various other values can differ drastically, and yet amidst the cultural faux pas and misunderstandings,

Over the past year, The Alliance Manchester (TAM), once a

we know this: we are called to Christ and to one another, and

small church community based in the UK with people from

this outworking of life together is our worship. And even more so now!

The Giving Tree is a cafe, ministry centre, and a place of connection and welcome for The Alliance Manchester (TAM). https://www.thegivingtreehub.com 1

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“Our hospitality as a church can be a gift to those who are navigating the difficulty of transition.”

With new church members from a different culture, whether

new skills, and coping with the stress of change, job hunting,

it’s learning to wrap our minds around singing in Cantonese

and the challenges that can lead to feelings of anxiety and

(with its 9 different tones!) or learning to honour our brothers

depression. Furthermore, some of them encounter obstacles

and sisters who value order and punctuality (when some of our

related to language and culture shock.”

cultures have a more lax understanding of organisation and time), we find ourselves again working out what it means to

Another brother from Hong Kong expressed the need for

honour one another above ourselves.

mental health support for many Hong Kongers, sharing that

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many come to the UK alone and additional stressors may In her book, The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse

include “worrying about the future, worrying about friends and

World, Sandra Maria Von Opstal describes our corporate

families back in Hong Kong, these are all mentally taxing.”

worship (and I would say church life) as a way we can live out the reconciliation that “is central to and a mandate of

The Giving Tree has provided an avenue for us to partner with

the gospel....Reconciliation is not something we add to our

friends from Hong Kong in creating space through coffee and

worship; it is a practice in which we live out our true nature as

art to help people process some of these challenges through

one new humanity....Reconciliation in worship is expressed in

events like MusiCoffee (an event for Hong Kongers to process

three ways: hospitality, solidarity and mutuality.”3

the transition to the UK) and “Taste of Belonging.” While sometimes additional professional mental health support is

Our hospitality as a church can be a gift to those who are

needed, our hospitality can be a way to support and also come

navigating the difficulty of transition. A sister from Hong Kong

alongside one another on the journey.

shared with me: “I believe that numerous Hong Kongers are

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contending with physical, spiritual, and emotional trials. As

Henri Nouwen described hospitality as “primarily the creation

newcomers, they face the task of starting a fresh life, acquiring

of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a

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Philippians 2:3-4

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Sandra Maria Van Opstal, The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World, InterVarsity Press, 2015, pp. 60-61

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friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people

Another Sunday, a sister from Hong Kong led us in worship using

but to offer them space where change can take place.” He also

a song from the Taizé community in France, a simple chorus,

went on to describe listening as a form of spiritual hospitality:

“Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 7

“The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start

She created space and time for us to lament collectively the

feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and

grief experienced by many in our congregation through the

discovering their own true selves.” As we meet new neighbours

losses in transition, crying out the words of the man beside

from Hong Kong, we have the opportunity to listen to, make

Jesus on the cross, to be remembered by our Saviour through

space for, and welcome them with the hospitality of Jesus even

this time of trial.

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as we ourselves are welcomed by one another and experience God’s transforming reconciliation in our communities.

Our community gatherings can also be spaces to stand in solidarity with one another as we navigate the loss and grief encompassed in migration and also the events or difficult situations that have been left behind in our home countries.

“Our neighbours from Hong Kong have become our friends and family and enriched our lives, our community, our worship...”

Towards the end of last year, when the protests began in Iran, what seemed a grievous but distant injustice became real to

We’ve been incredibly blessed by the people God has brought

our community in the faces of our brothers and sisters who

together in our community at TAM. As we’ve welcomed

grieved for their country and worried for their family members

brothers and sisters from Hong Kong and stood beside one

still there. Our musical worship has been shaped by songs from

another in our grief and joy, we have seen firsthand how God

our different nations, and that morning as we sang a song in

has made us to need one another. Our neighbours from Hong

Persian together, “The healing rain of Your Spirit falls and brings

Kong have become our friends and family and enriched our

my soul back to life. Deserts will turn to gardens at the healing

lives, our community, our worship, and we believe that even

touch of Your hand,”

a British sister prompted us to sing this

through difficult circumstances, God has brought them to the

verse again, changing the words “my soul” to “Iran” to make it

UK with a plan and a purpose “for such a time as this.” 8 And for

a prayer for the people of Iran and to sing together as an act of

both our small community and as the wider church in the UK,

solidarity standing with our brothers and sisters as their grief

we have the opportunity to welcome, stand with one another,

became ours.

and learn from each other in our need, that the world may see

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Jesus, the One who is reconciling all things to Himself. 9

4

Henri Nouwen, ‘Hospitality’, Henri Nouwen Society, 18 February 2021, https://henrinouwen.org/meditations/hospitality/.

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Henri Nouwen, ‘Listening as Spiritual Hospitality’, Henri Nouwen Society, 11 March 2018, https://henrinouwen.org/meditations/

listening-spiritual-hospitality/.

6 7 8

Najarnejad, Roozbeh. Chon Rizad. (English singable translation)

Public Domain. Jesus, Remember Me.

Esther 4:14.

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Colossians 1:19-20 Reach

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I attended a British church for a year. The Sunday service was great. People were really friendly, but after a year, I was still unable to make lasting friendships. We just didn’t seem to click or have deep enough connections. After that, I changed to an Asian church where I’ve made really good friends.

- Jenny

I’ve been attending a small white church near my home.

I find it very encouraging for my spiritual life and enjoy singing the hymns as I’m from an older generation. Most of the Christians from my country don’t speak good English.

Hence, they go to a Chinese church.

– Zhang W

Giving it a Go Diaspora Chinese Experiences in Indigenous British Churches Finding a new church is a challenge when you move across town, much less when you move across the world! Moving to a new country and operating within an unfamiliar majority culture is often daunting, and many first and second generation diaspora Asians choose to worship at culturally

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familiar Asian churches. Others, however, take the plunge and get involved with indigenous British churches. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We spoke to a few Chinese Christians in the UK to hear their experiences in indigenous British churches. Here’s what they had to say...

My husband and I were living in a small town for a few years. The only church around was, like the town, all whites.

We spent some years there and had good fellowship with the mostly elderly members.

They were very friendly and would give us loads of fruits from their trees in summer. Although there were some things we weren’t used to in the church, for example a very short sermon (we’re used to 40 minutes but in that church it was less than 20 minutes), it was fine. When we moved to a bigger city, we chose to go to an English-speaking Chinese / Asian church. I guess we missed being around ‘our people’. Although we’ve been in the UK over a decade, it still takes effort to build relationships with non-Chinese, whilst with our ‘own people’ we can just be natural. And in church, we just want to be ourselves after a tiring week.

– Tay

I’m a British born Chinese (BBC). Some BBCs can speak, read and write Chinese whilst some can’t.

I was the latter and I found myself identifying more to Western culture. Hence, when I became an adult, I chose to go to a predominantly white church. I am blessed in my church with good preaching and worship. I joined in to help a new church plant that we started some years ago.

- Philip

Most of my friends went to an Asian church when we first came to the UK to study. I wanted to try to get out of my comfort zone and went to a multicultural church instead. I really like the diversity in the church and the opportunity to serve as well. There are differences like the church not having active ministry in August (rest month), whilst back in my home church, there is no such thing as rest month. We are taught to sacrifice a lot for the Lord.

One thing I do know of that makes us Chinese Christians uncomfortable is the LGBTQ issue. We do love them but don’t really know how to be friends with them without offending them (whilst maintaining our own stance). It seems that if we are to be friends, then we must accept homosexuality. But back in our multireligious country, there are many things we don’t accept of each other’s beliefs / practices, but we are still friends.

– Chin KC Reach 13 Reach`

The Chinese Diaspora Church

on Our Doorstep

BY REV HENRY LU, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF COCM

When the Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM) was

same year, he also started the first Chinese Christian fellowship

founded by Pastor Stephen Wang in 1950, there were no

group which later became the Chinese Church in London

Chinese diaspora churches in all of Europe. Pastor Wang

(CCiL). Over time, more Chinese came to Christ and were

observed that most of the Chinese who came to the UK in those

equipped to join Pastor Wang to reach others. As people were

days had a low education level and little understanding of the

encouraged to gather and worship in their native language,

English language. Overwhelmed by immediate and practical

Chinese fellowship groups were formed, and Chinese churches

needs, isolated from the rest of the local community and the

were planted in many cities.

general society, these people were entirely out of touch with Christians and indigenous British churches. The exodus of

More than 70 years later, we have a great number of Chinese

foreign missionaries from Communist China around this time

churches and fellowship groups spreading across Europe.

meant that British missionary societies had to deploy workers

There are now more than 200 Chinese churches and fellowship

returned from China to new mission fields, yet there were no

groups in the UK. Some have joined different denominations,

plans to reach the Chinese diasporas in the UK and Europe.

but the majority are independent churches with no formal tie to other diaspora or indigenous UK churches.

With the support of several like-minded British ex-missionary

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friends, Pastor Wang set up COCM with the vision to bring the

The relationships between these Chinese diaspora churches

gospel to the Chinese diasporas in the UK and Europe. That

and indigenous British churches can vary depending on the

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specific arrangements and individual interactions. A Chinese

to everywhere” and from “everyone to everyone”. It is time for

church might be a congregation that is part of a British church

Christians in the Chinese diaspora community to step out of

or might just hire their venue for worship services and meetings.

their comfort zone and move from diaspora to cross-cultural

Some will interact and collaborate more than others. Most of

evangelism and missions locally. And the education needs to

the time, good relationship is built between a Chinese diaspora

start with church leaders.

church and a British church when leaders from both churches have a good personal friendship and have a shared interest in

COCM organises an annual Oasis pastoral retreat for pastors

partnership and collaboration.

and ministry workers from Chinese diaspora churches in the UK. This year, we invited key leaders from Evangelical Alliance,

Chinese churches in the UK tend to take the approach of

Global Connections and Lausanne Europe to share messages

“Chinese first” or even “Chinese only” and solely focus on the

on the current situation of diaspora groups from various

needs of their own congregations. This is often out of necessity

ethnicities and the great opportunities for diaspora churches to

as the average Chinese church has very limited resources

participate in global missions right here in the UK. Those who

and few full-time pastoral workers. Some churches must rely

attended the retreat gave feedback on how eye opening it was

on outside support, so leaders make efforts to first connect

to hear about the UK and Europe as the modern-day mission

Chinese churches in the UK tend to take the approach of “Chinese first” or even “Chinese only” and solely focus on the needs of their own congregations. with other Chinese churches and organisations to seek help, partnership and collaboration. COCM missionary workers have been providing support to many Chinese churches in various capacities on a regular basis and over a long period of time.

fields and the idea of taking part in cross-cultural mission where we live. Those who have lived in the UK for a long time and the ones who have recently immigrated to the UK were all deeply inspired and wanted to go back to their churches to encourage Chinese believers to engage more with people from different cultures in their neighbourhoods and communities.

I would love to see more opportunities for leaders from indigenous British churches and Chinese diaspora churches to spend time together to build friendship and foster collaboration.

Likewise, I would love to see more opportunities for indigenous churches and diaspora churches to work together to serve the needs of the broader community, building relationship, mutual understanding, appreciation and respect along the way. ~

While concern for lack of adequate human and financial resource in some Chinese diaspora churches might hold them back from actively engaging in collaborative initiatives with indigenous British churches, I believe that what really holds them back is the lack of awareness and understanding of God’s mission globally and the role the Chinese Diaspora Church should play locally as part of the Universal Church. We are at an age with unprecedented opportunities to catch the wave God is creating for cross-cultural mission from “everywhere

To read more from Rev Henry Lu and find out more about the Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM), visit their website at:

www.cocm.org.uk Reach

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Commissioned &

GOING

BY LEE SIU QUEK, SENIOR PASTOR OF MANCHESTER CHINESE CHRISTIAN CHURCH With the diaspora of Hong Kong Chinese to the UK, many Chinese Churches are experiencing tremendous growth. Catching this mission wave, a number of churches from Hong Kong, as well as some of the UK mission organisations, have started church plants in the UK. Manchester Chinese Christian Church (MCCC) is also reaching out to the BNOs*. As a church, we are trying to avoid a ‘Church Shopping Mall environment’ for the new Christian BNOs to choose and compare as they hop around churches. We hope to help and lead them to find God and not religion. We do not want to get into a competitive nature of who is the

*BNO stands for British National Overeas, and is used to refer to the many thousands of Hong Kong residents who have migrated to the UK in the past few years.

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fastest growing church nor wanting to create another ‘look-a-like’ or ‘feel-a-like church’ from Hong Kong but rather a church that transitions them into Christian life in the UK. As much as we help the Christian BNOs to settle and adjust in the UK and our church, we are also focusing and gearing our efforts to reach the unchurched BNOs through Chinese Language School, community outreach, restaurant evangelism and friendship evangelism.

Taking God’s Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:1820), we do not limit our focus only to the BNOs but to whoever is yet to know Christ and His Gospel.

For many years, we have been partnering with other churches to reach Middle Eastern and South Asian Muslims in Manchester itself.

We are grateful for this opportunity and for the fruit it bears. Due to language challenges, it is not easy for our Cantonese and Mandarin

congregations to reach people cross-culturally.

However, our English-speaking congregations are trying to do that.

In the last year, we have taken a more purposeful approach to global mission, focussing on supporting indigenous church planters reaching unreached peoples in South and South East Asia.

Due to the strength of the British pound, what we see as a small offering converts to a financial blessing to the church planters. For example, £150/month can support a church planter and his family. Hopefully, more UK churches will utilise their funds for overseas mission by virtue of the multiplying effect of currency conversion and substantially lower cost of living overseas.

We are thankful to the Lord for a missionary that we have sent out from our own church to the field. He is currently reaching an unreached people group in a difficult region. We hope to raise more missionaries in the long-term.

Ultimately, MCCC wants to be a mustard seed Kingdom church for God, bringing the Gospel to the nations. ~

Lee, along with her husband Chee and their two daughters, came to the UK in 2022 with several years of cross-cultural mission experience. She and Chee were sent as missionaries from their church in Malaysia to the Middle East and North Africa, and now that Lee has settled into her role as senior pastor of Manchester Chinese Christian Church (MCCC), she is keen to keep MCCC’s missional momentum going - “to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.”

Find out more about MCCC at www.manchesterccc.org.uk Reach

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Just Welcome A GENTLE GUIDE FOR FIRST-TIME WELCOMERS When it comes to welcoming migrants and refugees, there’s no right or wrong and no need to worry that you’ll mess it up. Friendliness and honest effort go a long way toward making migrants feel comfortable. Here a few ideas from our UK field members to help you get started:

church community, and provides more points of contact. Over the meal, make sure to ask about them - their story, their family, their homeland. Perhaps ask them to teach you a few words in their language - like how to greet someone, or how to say ‘thank you’. Ask them about their desires for their life in the UK. Make special effort to really listen to them - very few others will do so. Ask them about their worries and their needs and offer to pray for them.

The Church is not a physical building; it’s the Body of Christ - so when welcoming a visitor

You don’t have to meet all their needs, but you can offer advice on where to get

to your church, try to go deeper than just

those needs met. For example, if they need somewhere to stay, you may not be

the initial welcome into the church building.

able to accommodate them, but you may know someone else who could. Or

A smiling face, warm greeting, and small talk

you could show them how to navigate finding housing in the UK. Sometimes,

are a great start, but welcoming migrants and

if their needs are complex, you might want to walk the path together with

refugees ideally reaches beyond the walls of

them. Accessing healthcare, setting up a bank account, registering children

the church building. Why not welcome them

for school, getting broadband and other utilities set up are all challenges for

into your world? Inviting a migrant for a meal

those new to the UK. Having a local person help clarify things goes a long way.

in your home speaks of acceptance. Meals

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inevitably involve more time together, making

Whatever your level of involvement with a migrant or refugee, remember that

space for deeper conversation. If possible,

the important thing is to be genuine, kind and hospitable. We won’t always ‘get

invite other church friends to the meal. This

it right’, but we can certainly make our best effort and trust the Lord to do the

introduces the newcomer to more of the

rest. ~

Reach

Our Advent Appeal Chee Weng Yong and his wife Lee moved to Manchester from overseas just a year ago. Lee came here to become the senior pastor of the Manchester Chinese Christian Church and Chee works for Pioneers as one of our team of Mission Mentors, focusing on encouraging East Asians into mission.

Lee is working hard to nurture the amazing potential that we read about in the inspiring articles on these pages. Meanwhile, her husband Chee would echo Chinese church minister Ben Law’s desire “for our generation of Christians to be able to use the position that God has given us between cultures to reach out more widely with the gospel.” (page 8) Our Advent Appeal this year, expressed in the letter or email accompanying this edition of Reach, is for our Mission Mentor Team, working with churches and individuals from churches who want to “reach out more widely with the gospel”, as Ben puts it.

May we invite you to support this hardworking team – including Chee – as they engage and train enquirers and their churches – East Asian or British – who are being called by God to share the gospel with local and distant communities who are unreached by the gospel.

Chee serving on our stall at Keswick Convention 2023

You can donate using the Advent Appeal button on our website home page (www.pioneers-uk.org) or with the enclosed giving slip if you’re reading our printed edition.

Thank you!

Reach

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Pray With Us Prayer is our most powerful tool in bringing the light of the Gospel to the least reached.

Our Pray With Us webpage provides links to several resources to help you in your prayers for those on the leading edge of mission, and to help your prayers for the people they serve.

Visit our Pray With Us page and join Pioneers’ praying community.

Effective mission to the unreached is impossible without it.

www.pioneers-uk.org/get-involved/pray **Please recycle me.** www.pioneers-uk.org hello@pioneers-uk.org Tel. 01302 710 750

PioneersUK pioneers_uk

Pioneers UK Ministries Registered Charity No 1037154 and a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England & Wales Registration No 2917955.

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The work of Pioneers is sustained thanks to your gifts and legacies.

You are free to reproduce any article in this magazine, providing acknowledgement is made to Pioneers UK. You may unsubscribe to this mailing at any time by emailing hello@pioneers-uk.org or ringing 01302710750.