Josh Gaudreau ;Hi, I'm Josh, the English #pastor of a Chinese #church in Winnipeg, Canada. Just checking out this #mastodon site and liking it so far. #introductions #welcome
djchuang@joshgaudreau greetings from Southern California. I like researching about Asian North American churches. Would love to learn more of your experiences at a #Chinese #church in #canada
@djchuang Hi DJ, thanks for reaching out! I'd love to tell you about them - perhaps some specific Q's would help me to know where to start, if there's a specific focus you're interested in?
(fun fact: I've followed you on Twitter for quite a while now!)
(fun fact: I've followed you on Twitter for quite a while now!)
@joshgaudreau Hi Josh, thanks for the quick reply; let's start w/ some basic Q's: how long have you ministered in Chinese church? does your church have monthly deacon board meetings you sit in on? what kind of cultural and contextualizing adjustments did you have to make? how is the health of the church? what is weekend attendance on average?
@djchuang I was away for 3 yrs with practicum and working at another church between attending and pastor, but cultural adjustment is really coming w/ working w/ the sr. pastor and other congregational leaders (Cant. pastor and Elder board). So for e.g., learning to communicate in less direct ways w/ certain people (and interpreting what they mean when they're not direct about it). At same time trying to stretch them to look past issues of safety/fear and Chinese only/first for English ministry.
@djchuang Thankfully, each cong. has a decent measure of independence, but it still has a lot of frustrations. The English deacons are struggling through how to become a multi-cultural cong., but not ready for the implications of that yet (becoming independent while parallel or some such similar model). This was helpful for my thinking: https://www.amazon.ca/English-Ministry-Chinese-Canadian-Churches-ebook/dp/B00VUHCE9W/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FZMS7R6MXKZY6N4DGYAF
@djchuang Spiritual health of English cong. is low as mentioned: little desire for scripture knowledge/intake, little desire for personal prayer, corporate prayer meetings is just me and sometimes 1 or 2 others, little (yet growing) desire for outreach. Length of attendance = spiritual maturity & professional vocation = Elder candidate.
The English congregation is mostly young families (age 20s-40s), with a few seniors & highschool age. About 10% non-Chinese (all adult or senior).
The English congregation is mostly young families (age 20s-40s), with a few seniors & highschool age. About 10% non-Chinese (all adult or senior).
@djchuang Thanks for the Q's!
Attended 13years, pastoring 2 so far. I attend monthly elder meetings (made up of reps from each congregation), plus each congregation has their own deacon board, which I lead for English. The health of the church is pretty poor overall, especially English. On top of that Mandarin pastor made lead 3 years ago, but he's very traditional. Mistake, IMO. 300avg attendance, 60 for English service
Attended 13years, pastoring 2 so far. I attend monthly elder meetings (made up of reps from each congregation), plus each congregation has their own deacon board, which I lead for English. The health of the church is pretty poor overall, especially English. On top of that Mandarin pastor made lead 3 years ago, but he's very traditional. Mistake, IMO. 300avg attendance, 60 for English service
@djchuang Ha, sorry the order is a bit messed up, I tooted them as not replies at first by accident, then cut and pasted them as replies but still messed up once :p
@joshgaudreau thanks for your toots, appreciate you sharing about your situation.. amazed to hear of your perseverance and faith there.. just realizing that #mastodon doesn't have private messaging (or does it?)
@djchuang I realized I shared the stuff I'm most frustrated with, though I believe it was accurate. Many in my congregation love Jesus sincerely, but just don't understand that His call is to follow Him beyond just coming to church (though they know that intellectually), and they struggle with knowing what that looks like in their own life, aside from being super busy and giving Him low priority (over fun, kids, work, etc).
@joshgaudreau uh huh, that is indeed the situation we find ourselves in, how do we help people live out their faith in everyday life beyond being moral and ethical and reading the Bible and praying? It's what Tim Keller calls working out the implications of the Gospel