Growing Up in Church

By Caleb

I am a member of a Chinese Scholars Fellowship, which was founded four years ago. We meet in an American church. The Fellowship is continuing to grow in numbers thanks to the care and help of our American brothers and sisters in the church.

Over the years we have learned a few things with regard to worshipping and serving the Lord in an American church:

Acknowledging differences

People from Mainland China often feel alienated in American society and in American churches too; some even show a wariness and bias against American churches. Chinese Christians are different from American Christians in many ways because of their atheist background as well as their unique national and cultural customs. So we talked about these differences with our American brothers and sisters in the church and have found that the discussions have been very useful to our efforts at promoting mutual understanding, tolerance and acceptance and have also helped the pastors to be more focused and practical in their evangelistic efforts. At the same time, many Chinese scholars are impressed by the unconditional love American Christians often show us, by the devotion of their church life, and by their generosity in committing their time and money to us. Chinese scholars frequently wonder about the religious power which lies behind these actions. The positive example set by American Christians in the church is also a help in breaking down some of the obstacles to our own evangelistic outreach.

Mutual understanding

Mutual understanding is essential as we share together in church life.

Not only do American churches send out large numbers of missionaries to different parts of the world, they feel a special obligation to preach the Gospel to Chinese scholars, who, in their eyes, are good candidates for evangelism right here on their doorstep. Presenting the Gospel to Chinese scholars is seen too as a valuable training exercise for their future missionaries. These spiritual insights lead them to take as active a part in our Fellowship activities as if it were their own group. Five spiritually mature brothers and sisters offered themselves as co-workers in our Fellowship. They also provide teachers to run English Sunday school classes for us and provide us with excellent meeting facilities and reference materials. Some of the American brothers and sisters open their homes to the members of our Fellowship. The teachers in the children's Sunday school really care for our children, encouraging them to come to the English Sunday school classes and helping them overcome language barriers so that they can get along well with their American classmates. The importance American Christians place on international mission means that Chinese and Americans can work together with a common goal and for a common cause.

Mutual acceptance

Mutual acceptance is also important in dealing with American Christians. Although we belong to different nationalities and have different cultural backgrounds, it is the love of Jesus which brings us together, breaking down any national and intellectual barriers. Through spiritual fellowship, sharing and testimonies and praying for one another, along with the fundamental changes which follow on coming to faith in the Lord, we can greatly shorten the distance between ourselves and American Christians. We speak the same language; we increasingly trust each other and affirm our relationship in the body of Christ by truly caring for one another. When they hear that some of our number have accepted the Lord, they really rejoice; when they learn of our difficulties, they pray earnestly for us with anxious concern.. The fact that we are spiritually one ties us together. Because we share the common goal of serving the Lord, we can always come together in spite of the real differences there may still be between us.

The Lord's blessings

Over the past few years the brothers and sisters in our Fellowship have come to realise that it is the Lord's will and command that we have a church life, and that this is also indispensable to our spiritual growth. So in addition to our Friday evening Chinese Bible study, we are also focussing on Chinese worship services on Sundays and on English Sunday school classes. We are aiming at having everybody get used to coming to church on a Sunday to worship the Lord. As we receive teaching from the truths of the Word and take part in testimonies and sharing, discussion sessions, praying for one another, personal visitation and fellowship, the Lord continues to add to our numbers. Many in our group have become believers in the Lord, and many others are experiencing tremendous changes in their lives as they get involved in serving the Lord in the church.

The author, a physicist, came from Shanghai and he now serves the Lord in a local church.