With the number and size of Chinese congregations growing rapidly, the challenge confronting clergy is that time and resources are too stretched to train new Christians.
by Jeremy Halcrow
While many Anglican ministers will go away from last month’s Synod thinking how they can ‘plant’ new congregations, the Rev Peter Chung says the Mission challenges Chinese-speaking ministers to think more seriously about training their lay people.
Mr Chung, who began a Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking congregation at Thornleigh in 1996 and has just begun a new Mandarin-speaking work at Hornsby, says church planting has always been the priority for Chinese Christians in Sydney.
“Most English-speaking ministers just stay in one place. They think they are the pastor, not the evangelist. But I am the pastor as well as the evangelist. I’ll go all around Sydney to see people. You must go outward or you will close down,” he said.
There are currently 17 Chinese-speaking congregations that are part of Sydney Diocese. The growth is phenomenal, with five of Mr Chung’s flock baptised in the past two months and another four waiting to be baptised. Among them is a former professor from Beijing University, who was a staunch evolutionist.
Yet with so many new Christians in Chinese-speaking churches, Mr Chung says a lack of training is now hampering the strength of these churches. He believes that new converts like the former professor must be discipled so they can be effective lay leaders. “You need to equip people as well as lead them to go out and evangelise,” he said.
Mr Chung is chairman of the Sydney Short-Term Mission Training Centre, and he now visits other Chinese-speaking churches to train lay people. “You need to nurse them and give them time to grow up,” he said.
With a congregation that has grown from nothing to 70 members in two years, the Rev David Yue agrees that training lay leaders is his greatest challenge. At present much of his available time is spent running evangelistic courses for interested non-Christians invited to church by friends.
my story - Angela Lee
Angela Lee, a software engineer, has some great friends. They prayed for her and invited her to Eastwood Anglican Church. It was there that she heard the Rev David Yue teach the Bible.
Angela, who was born in Hong Kong, had not been raised as a Christian. Through David’s careful exposition of the Scriptures, Angela began to understand why Jesus died and rose again for her.
“David helped me a lot. Firstly, he went through a ‘Get to know Christianity’ course with us. He then took us through the book of Luke and explained who God is and who Jesus is. It was an enlightening experience for me,” she said.
Angela also learned a lot about following Jesus from the people at church, especially through the small group that she is part of.
“Whenever I need to make a difficult decision or when I’m feeling down, I always get help and encouragement from my minister and from the brothers and sisters at church,” she said.
“The most enjoyable part is when the other people in the group share their experiences and how it relates to Bible teaching. It is interesting to know that the more you read and understand the Bible, the more you can apply it to your everyday life.”
So would Angela invite an unbelieving friend to church?
“Of course! It would mean a lot to me if all of my friends became Christians. My life has changed so much since I became a follower of Jesus. It is a gift from God.”
