Stuff That Matters In Life

In the early 80’s when I was in seminary, I was looking for an internship with a church. At the time, the concept of ABC (American Born Chinese) ministry was just beginning to emerge.  English-speaking-only Chinese churches without a Chinese congregation were starting to be planted in Southern Cal. (Multi-cultural Asian American churches has not even been conceived.)

Through some friends, I met Pastor Wayland Wong, one of the pioneers of ministry to ABC, and I could’ve been a part of one of the first English speaking only Chinese churches that he just planted. The church met at a school in Huntington Beach; I attended the church for a few months, and met others who had the vision for ABC ministry. His church was new and he asked me to lead Vacation Bible School.

But I didn’t do it.

I came from a traditional Chinese church, and I was comfortable with its structure. I could not see beyond those walls; I did not have an entrepreneurial spirit.

I opted for an internship at a large traditional Chinese church in Monterey Park, the Chinese Evangelical Free Church. I wanted the comfort of the familiar. And I had 2 friends who also interned there with me which added to my sense of security.

Now I am a different person. Over the years, with the influence from my husband who has that entrepreneurial spirit, I changed to be someone who wants to start things.

If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve taken the risk and started the VBS with Wayland Wong, along with being there with one of the first Asian American churches. I recently met up with a friend who attends that church. And to think that I was there before she even heard about it.

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Fast forward just a few years to the late 80’s, the English-speaking-only Asian American church is starting to catch on. Somewhere along that timeline, Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles moved away from being a Japanese church to being an English-only church with it’s predominantly Japanese American congregation. I am sure it was not planned by man, but as it was likely to be God’s plan, it became the place to be for the Chinese Americans who did not want to be in a Chinese church with the cumbersome Chinese to English translation in its worship services. The term Asian American became more descriptive of a church such as Evergreen rather than a Japanese or Chinese church. (The population of Korean and other Asians were insignificant then.)

We left the Monterey Park church and went with the English pastor to his Asian American church plant. Interesting enough, that church got “weird” and became a cult….

We then went to Evergreen which has really taken off in growth in numbers. It used to be known as the meet up for Christian Asian singles, now those who met there and got married have started families. It seemed to me still predominantly Japanese. You can tell by the potluck dishes. I learned what  musubi was. Some inferences and jokes in the sermon were distinctly Japanese because the pastor is Japanese American. Honestly, I felt out of place.

I was still looking for a place of familiarity.

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When we moved to Walnut, we joined the church plant of the Monterey Park church, not particularly because it was a part of the church where I interned, but because we sold the pastor his house. And we liked him as a pastor. And honestly, it had that familiar feeling of the type of church I was used to.

Moving to Walnut gave us a chance to start fresh with a different type of church if we wanted to. But we didn’t analyze our needs or direction, we sort of defaulted to the familiar.

God gave me another chance to start a VBS and this time I was ready. I started the first VBS for this church, and has been directing about 15+ years of VBS since then.

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The above may not be accurate in terms of the history of the Asian American churches. I am just reminiscing what I saw in my journey of church experiences. As our church now is going through a period of transition, I am looking back to try to understand myself a little better.

I have to say, as much as the Chinese church as been pretty much the whole of my church experience as a Christian, I definitely see the hand of God redefining this model of church. I think there is still a place for it, but the demographics has changed, the culture has changed. This type of church cannot remain unchanged.

I also think that my choice of church has not only been based on the type it is, but the people in it. And that’s what church is about.