The phenomenal concentration of Chinese in the San Francisco Bay Area since Chinese started immigrating to the United States in the mid-1800s up to this day has led to establishing many Chinese Christian churches. Inasmuch as there is a variety of denominations there is a variety of Chinese churches in the Bay Area. Most of the older churches are related to historic mainline denominations. Newer churches tend to be independent of these American denominations but have stronger ties with evangelical Chinese church associations.
In the Bay Area Chinese Churches Research Project, four one-day consultations were held in 2007-2008. A major part of each event was to gather what are opportunities and challenges facing churches. In a process, known as “storyboarding,” each participant was able to prioritize what was important. Using dot stickers, equally given to church groups and individuals, the process provides a general understanding of what Bay Area Chinese churches are concerned about and would like to address with programs and resources.
The four consultations were:
1. Greater San Francisco Chinatown Area on January 13, 2007 at the First Chinese Baptist Church, SF with 51 participants representing 10 churches and 5 interested organizations
2. San Francisco City-Wide on October 27, 2007 at the Sunset Church, SF with 35 participants representing 11 churches
3. East Bay (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) on January 12, 2008 at the Alameda Campus of the Bay Area Chinese Church, Alameda with 40 participants representing 12 churches and a few interested organizations
4. South Bay on April 26, 2008 at the Overseas Theological Seminary, San Jose with 60 participants representing 22 churches and 3 interested organizations
In summary, there were over 185 participants representing approximately 55 churches in this study.
The Bay Area
The Bay Area is actually a mega-metropolis anchored by three large cities: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. If someone is planning a trip to the Bay Area, one can fly into any one of the three major airports located in these three cities to visit the Bay Area. For most people who reside in the Bay Area, driving 60 plus miles one way is common for work and to attend church. This means that choosing to attend any of the 55 churches in this study or for that matter any church in the bay Area is determined not necessarily by distance or convenience but by theological, historic, familial, or traditional ties.
For the purpose of analyzing the collected data from these consultations and developing an understanding of the priorities of Chinese churches in the Bay Area, we will first examine the results from the San Francisco churches (Greater San Francisco Chinatown & San Francisco City-Wide) and then the results from outside San Francisco (East Bay & South Bay). In the end, we would also compare findings of all four events recognizing the concise identity and geography of the entire Bay Area.
San Francisco
The concerns for the “Retention and Replenishment of Members” along with “Mission Outreach” emerged as priorities for churches in the city of San Francisco. While a congregation may be aging, young adults and young families are moving out of the city for more affordable housing and available job opportunities. Fear of losing members to other churches with better programs and more inspiring worship is also coupled with choices that parents make for their children such as attending Chinese language school on Sunday leading to a decline in attendance.
Churches are struggling with the task of reaching out to prospective members. They offer summer day camps, food programs, English classes, tutorial, services to people in SROs (single resident occupancy), restaurant workers and other Christian education programs with the hope of attracting more people to come to church. As congregational members grow older, younger people moving out to more attractive suburban communities, and perhaps city churches becoming more insular and unfamiliar with their neighbors, all of these developing realities are alarms for many Chinese churches in San Francisco.
Facing such concerns, the churches in San Francisco looked toward “Youth & Age-Group Ministries” and “Leader Development” as ways to remedy their declining attendance. Raising a family and living in the Bay Area almost always require both parents working. Most churches offer summer day camp programs for children that provide activities all day augmented by the federal summer lunch program. Youth are reach by churches with camps, sports leagues, and retreats. In order to sustain such ministries, churches are concern about nurturing and developing new leaders every year whether they are youth, young adults or adults. They feel it is a constant task to pass the mantle of leadership to the next generation.
One significant difference that separated the churches in Chinatown from those in the San Francisco City-Wide group is that the latter believe that the answer to church obstacles is “Spiritual Growth.” By studying the Bible, praying to discern God’s plan, and members growing spiritually will lead to a growing and vital church.
East Bay & South Bay
While there were churches located in dense neighborhoods like those in San Francisco such as in Oakland Chinatown, some of the churches in the East Bay and the South Bay in this study are located in more suburban communities. In fact, both of these events were held at large school campuses instead of local churches suggesting that concerns about the retention or replenishment of members evident in historic older churches were not necessarily priorities for these.
From these two consultations, “Spiritual Growth” was a priority followed by “Leader Development.” The emphasis of improving prayer ministry and the concern of low attendance at prayer meetings are believed to be reasons for the lack of spiritual revival. For the South Bay churches where high-tech companies employ many people, spiritual growth is hindered by burnt out from long working hours and less energy to give to church work.
Similar to the churches in San Francisco, there appears to be a perennial concern for enough dedicated leaders both lay and professional to lead ministries. Aging leaders need new leaders with new blood. There is a lack of discipleship training programs to invite more volunteers to serve. For churches initially organized as Mandarin-speaking, there is also a need to find and develop English-speaking leaders to work with the next generation of children and youth born in the U.S.
One unique concern that emerged from the East Bay and the South Bay churches is “Church Health.” Assuming that for the most part, these churches are relatively newer than those in San Francisco Chinatown, they are concern about generational issues, communication and church unity. After the foreign born first generation of members started the church, they are now concern about how to communicate and integrate the American-born second generation into the life of the church. They are seeking for a clear strategy for English-speaking ministries. Creating an open and safe environment for church life where honesty is welcomed, structures can be changed, “no business as usual” is sought after.
All Four Consultations
From all four events, “Leader Development” emerges as the highest priority for Bay Area Chinese churches. With effective and comprehensive leader development programs that can occur in both traditional Christian education formats as well as in particular strategies like one-day or weekend training events, the other needs and priorities identified in the study can be met. The retention and replenishment of members would happen with well-trained leaders who can build family ministries, deepen relationships among church people, encourage those who have moved away to return to their home church, and most importantly, share the meaning of the church as the Body of Christ.
With leader development, church leaders would become effective in mission outreach to their neighbors by identifying their needs, communicating the Gospel, and becoming advocates and participants in missions locally and globally. Preparing and equipping leaders to minister to today’s youth and young adults is essential for a growing and healthy congregation. While it’s important to have matured youth leaders, we must also recognize that youth and young people themselves are already leaders of the church today. They often bring the asset of enthusiasm and a positive attitude to the life of the church leading to renewal and hope.
The concerns about “Spiritual Growth” and “Church Health” appear to be interrelated. Ultimately, the question to be addressed is what is the nature of the church. For Chinese churches that frequently are reflecting some of their cultural heritage in ministries, how do they maintain a discipline prayerful life while trying to make a living for their families? The Chinese church sometimes takes on the role of the “extended family” where many individual families function and live out their lives together in the church leading to many of the same growing pangs experienced in the home to be played out also in the setting of a local church. Discovering ways to learn from mistakes, speaking honestly and respectfully, valuing the wisdom from elders and the innovation of youth, and learning how to welcome new people into the fellowship all contribute to church health and spiritual growth.
The concerns about “Church Facilities” and “Finances” surfaced but once the participants were given the opportunity to identify priorities, these concerns became low priorities at all four events. While it is always nice to have good physical space to do ministry, located in a convenient area and sufficient resources to pay for them, unsurprisingly, the priorities identified above trumped these consistently.
Next Steps
The analysis of priorities from these four consultations on Bay Area Chinese churches may tell us what we have always known—Vital and healthy churches are committed to leader development, spiritual growth, and church health where caring for one another and open communication among members are taking place. Strong commitment to leader development programs would automatically prepare people for effective evangelism, outreach to neighbors, and solid Christian education programs.
Most churches put high priorities on calling a senior/solo pastor or a pastoral staff member whom they believe would turn the church around for the better. While our study did identify some concerns for this, this was not a high priority. This once again reaffirms for us that the life of the church is the faithfulness of all of its members including the church pastor. Believing that calling that one person to solve a local church’s problems would be a misplaced focus.
The other interesting finding that is different from congregational studies performed on American churches across the country is the place of corporate worship. While worship emerged as a part of encouraging spiritual growth, it was not a priority in the Bay Area Chinese churches like it is in other churches in the country. This suggests that while corporate worship is still recognized as the high point on a Sunday, the other priorities identified in this study such as leader development is more significantly strategic for a vital and healthy church.
Finally, if one were to glean any insights from this study, it would ultimately come down first to one’s own understanding of one’s local church he or she is presently serving. As the Senior Pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco for the past ten years, I know that what worked in our church might very well be foreign and unworkable in yours. Taking time and expending the energy to become knowledgeable about the life and history of your church, the leaders and shakers in the congregation, the needs and fears of people, as well as their hopes and dreams of living out one’s faith in the world are just the beginning of becoming a humble servant for Christ.
As one pastor to another, I hope and pray that you are encouraged by this study to continue to serve the Chinese church whether it’s in the Bay Area or wherever God has called Chinese in Christ!
Donald Ng is the Senior Pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco, an American Baptist church founded in 1880. Previously, he served in Christian education and leader development with the American Baptist Churches in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Rev. Ng is involved in advocacy for ministers, community development, and enabling Asian American ministries.