God Met Me in Boston [Interview]

God Met Me in Boston: Interview with Cherchaela Spellen

If you’re ministering in Boston, you’re probably familiar with the well-worn “godless New England” narrative. Academic reports and popular publications have cited Boston as one of America’s most “post-Christian” cities, reinforcing this image in the national consciousness.

But there’s another reality—of today’s Boston Christian vitality—that such reports do not capture.

We sat down with Cherchaela Spellen, Lead Facilitator of the Making Youth Voices Heard initiative in Roxbury.  She shares that despite being raised in a ministry family she didn’t personally connect with God until she moved to Boston. Here are excerpts from our conversation.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and what brought you to Boston?

I’m 21. I’m from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. I grew up there. I came to Boston through a student exchange. I did a semester at UMass Boston, for my undergrad in Biology. I went back home, graduated, and was like, “Hmm, I really like Boston!” So I decided to take a risk and apply to grad school in Boston.

Tell me a little bit about your spiritual background growing up.

My grandfather started a church called Zion Assembly in St. Thomas. Honestly, I was just going to church because I sort of had to, not really because I had a personal relationship or experienced God in some sort of magnificent way.

Then my grandmother fell sick with Alzheimer’s Disease, and my mother ended up taking over the ministry, which was mind-blowing! My mom had wanted nothing to do with preaching. She was like, “I’m NOT going to be a preacher!” But she ended up taking over the ministry.

But I feel as if I really started understanding God at a better level when I came here to Boston. Christianity was always my parents’ faith. When I came to Boston, I had the freedom to choose whether I wanted to keep a relationship with God, or I wanted to explore other things. Then the Lord just moved in my life magnificently.

“I feel as if I really started understanding God at a better level when I came here to Boston.”

I had done my undergrad in Biology, but I ended up switching to social work for grad school because I felt Him calling me to do that.  Also, I had met some really cool people at CrossTown Church International. I started volunteering there, just as an administrator, and then God was telling me to do more. So I did an open mic night for the youth in the Roxbury community.

What are some challenges you’ve experienced on this journey?

There were some relationships that I’ve had to let go of, and I believe that God brought me here to make it easier, because those relationships were back home. So it was a transition state for me. I just put my full attention on Him and I was like, “Lord, lead, me, direct me, wherever you want me to go, I’ll go.”

And honestly, when I accepted BC’s package to me, I was like, “Why am I going to BC? I’m not equipped to go to BC! I’m just this island girl! I don’t even know how to talk the lingo. I know nothing about social work.”

But He was like, Trust me. And I trusted Him. I still trust Him. I have a better relationship with Him now since I’ve been here. I feel like God is using this time to minister to me, telling me to focus on Him, and get to know Him better.

What would you say is your passion?

I hope it doesn’t sound too cliche. But I feel like my passion right now is to honestly win souls for Christ. I feel like that only started like January or February of this year.

I was just reading Scripture and praying, and I was like, “You have to show me some sort of direction, Lord! I feel as if I’m just going about my life, not knowing what I’m going to do. It has to be more than a career that you have me on this earth for.”  I just heard, evangelism.

“I just really want people to give their lives to Christ. It’s the best decision I ever, ever, ever made.”

My pastor preached that we have to choose whether we’re serving Christ or we’re going to serve someone else—we can’t have two masters.

I was thinking, “Lord, I think I’ve made fear my biggest idol. I’m so fearful of what people will think of me. I don’t want to go out and say, ‘Oh, do you know Jesus?’ I know You’ve done so much for my life. But I’m the type of person who wants people to love and accept me. Not everyone loves and accepts God. So how will they embrace me if I’m outside prophesying about You, Lord?”

But that message kept ringing in my head, “You can’t serve two masters.” I want other people to experience the same joy and contentment that I have, just developing my relationship with Him. So I was like, “Ok, Lord. If they don’t like me, then that’s fine.”

Now I’m being more keen to listen to Him and who He wants me to speak to. I just really want people to give their lives to Christ. It’s the best decision I ever, ever, ever made.

Hard Steps Toward the Light: Meet Bonnie Gatchell [Interview]

Hard Steps Towards the Light: Meet Rev. Bonnie Gatchell [Interview]

Welcome to EGC's Leader Profiles, where you can get to know the unique stories of Boston area Christian leaders. Our vision is for a surprisingly well-connected Christian community across cultural, generational, and denominational lines throughout the city.

Rev. Bonnie Gatchell is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Director of EGC’s Route One Ministry. Route One ministers to women exploited in the sex industry in Massachusetts.

Rev. Gatchell also raises awareness among Massachusetts churches about the realities and systems of sex trafficking, exploitation, and abuse, and where the Church can intervene. 

TEDx Wellesley

Interview

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.

My parents just celebrated 48 years of marriage. They live in Michigan, that’s where I grew up. My brother is my only sibling, and I’m the oldest. 

Tell me a little bit about your spiritual journey and relationship with Jesus now.

I think, “constant.”  I’m thankful, grateful, that He is constant with me. Constantly shows up, constantly forgives, constantly meets with me despite my own flawed-ness, my own wanting to be distant from Him, forgetting about Him.  So there’s this constant peace in me now of just being more honest about where I messed up the day before with Jesus. This is different than a couple years ago.

What’s a food you can’t live without?

I’ll give you two. M&Ms have always been my Achilles’ heel. Health-wise, anything avocado. I could eat it raw, I could just crack it open and sprinkle a little salt on it, make it into guacamole, mix it with some tomato, and make a salad. 

What’s your most treasured possession?

My grandmother’s journals. When I open them I read of events that happened before me, like commentary on family members and things, which is funny. Most of the people in the journals have passed away. The journals connect me to my family's past in a powerful way.

Tell me about your work in Route One Ministry.  What is your role in that?

I started the ministry. But my role now, 8 years later, is training the trainers and facilitating conversation around, What is trafficking? How are women in strip clubs trafficked? What is exploitation, what does that look like?  What would freedom look like for women who are currently working in strip clubs?

What would you say is your passion?

I think my passion is the Church. In particular, for women to have more of a voice within the Church, and more of a voice more often.

What would you say is your greatest joy in ministry?

When a light bulb comes on – and that may be in a church leader, or a volunteer, or a woman in the strip club.  It’s just this moment where you can almost watch the person’s face shift. Also, any time a woman in the club asks for any type of connection with us, like “Can you come to my daughter’s birthday party?” “Instead of you coming here, can we meet at my house for prayer?”  “Am I allowed to go to church and still work here?”

“He held me together and He whispered in my ear, “Not yet. Don’t give up yet.” And so we move on.”

What do you find challenging?

Helping the church understand that women who work in clubs are victims of exploitation—not perpetrators, not offenders—is challenging.  Getting the Church to come behind us financially can also be slow. I first have to get Christians to understand who strippers really are, and then to understand why we need their support.

What’s been the greatest lesson for you in this ministry so far?

I’m learning about longsuffering. There were so many points where I’ve wanted to throw in the towel. So many points where I thought, What are we doing again?  So many points where I thought, I’m not the right person to lead this team, or, I don’t have anything more in me to give. And yet, He held me together and He whispered in my ear, Not yet. Don’t give up yet. And so we move on. 

What’s your prayer for the people amongst who you work?

My prayer for women who are sexually exploited is that they would find healing.  I pray that they would not walk around with shame, or a jaded perspective of themselves, but that they would be able to take steps to a place of healing, self-confidence, a place of hope, light, fresh air.  

I also pray that women wouldn't suffer silently with the abuse that's happened to them, but that they’d be able to find safety—in the Church and Christian counselors—to start digging that up and handing it over to Christ.

“I pray that they would not walk around with shame, or a jaded perspective of themselves.”

My prayer for the Church would be for a shift in posture in how they understand and see women who are sexually abused and exploited and trafficked, and women experiencing domestic violence.  Sometimes we can be stingy with love, and stingy with forgiveness, and stingy with listening. But in Christ we have this endless bucket of resources. My prayer is that we draw on Christ better to bring people to healing and life.

Contact / Volunteer

Contact / Volunteer

[Video] The Power of Story: Defying the 'Godless New England' Narrative

[Video] The Power of Story: Defying the 'Godless New England' Narrative 

If you’re ministering in New England, you’re probably familiar with the well-worn “godless New England” narrative. Reports such as this one by the Barna Research Group about America’s most post-Christian cities reinforce this view. But there’s another narrative of New England spiritual vitality that a Barna report doesn't capture. 

God is on the move in New England cities. When we share our stories of God at work, we glorify God—and we build one another's faith and vision. 

Listen to this brief talk by EGC’s Stacie Mickelson and Caleb McCoy about the importance of story in Christian witness.

Stacie Mickelson and Caleb McCoy of Emmanuel Gospel Center, GO Conference, Springfield, MA, February 17, 2018.

Hidden Treasures: Celebrating Refugee Stories [photojournal]

Hidden Treasures: Celebrating Refugee Stories

by the GBRM Team

Refugees are hidden treasures in our midst. At Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church in West Roxbury, the Greater Boston Refugee Ministry’s third annual fundraiser on November 18th honored refugees with a themed event, "Hidden Treasures at Home & Work".

We designed an evening where guests could encounter the richness of gifts, talents, and stories of Boston area refugees that we’re blessed to know.

Guests enjoyed catering stations hosted by refugee entrepreneurs, as well as stories, panels, and videos. Each shared activity offered new ways to explore:

• What are refugee’s life dreams?

• How can the Christian community come alongside them?

• How might the Christian community innovate to better address refugees’ needs in resettlement (i.e., housing)?

““GBRM lit the candle of hope to my world by supporting me to share my future dream. GBRM is there if you are a dreamer or a [hoper].” ”

— refugee attender

Cultural Journeys

Diverse catering stations let guests sample and learn about the cuisine and geography of refugees' countries of origin, as they captivated guests with the stories behind their food. As guests went on a cultural journey through the stations, refugee entrepreneurs also chatted about their life experiences, unique gifts, and growing businesses.

““I was struck by how talented the refugees are...and how creative! [They were] not just thinking about ‘How can I make it here?’ but ‘How can I help others?’””

— guest

This multifaceted experience was a rare learning space for guests, opening their eyes to the hidden treasures that are the refugee community. Local refugee businesses also got new exposure to people potentially interested in supporting their work.

A New Lens on Refugees

The fundraiser debuted three videos, two produced by EGC Films, and a third by Park Street Film. Saffron and The Mechanic are stories of aspiring refugee entrepreneurs. The third, Kataluma House, shares our vision for a refugee hospitality house.  

After viewing Saffron, one guest responded, “I saw a parallel between the [saffron] flower and the wealth inside—the hidden beauty.  It’s great to see the potential refugees have and the contribution they make."

These short pieces capture the essence of our work. We invite you to view them here.

Saffron, by EGC Films, 2017.

The Mechanic, by EGC Films, 2017.

Kataluma House, a Luke Zvara film, Park Street Films, 2017.

With Appreciation

We'd like to highlight the following businesses connected with the refugee community in New England. Some are refugee owned, others employ refugees. All contributed to the evening with product displays.

Carina’s Dolce

Bintimani Restaurant

Authentic Iraqi Family Food by Lubna

Blue Nile Ethiopian Cuisine

Beautiful Day 

Makomas 

Prosperity Candle 

Threads By Nomad

Connect with GBRM

Connect with GBRM

Churches Engaging Race Issues: Not Perfect but Taking Strides

Churches Engaging Race Issues: Not Perfect but Taking Strides

by Casey Lauren Johnson, Summer 2017 BETA Associate with Race & Christian Community

In March, 2017, Megan Lietz, Director of the new Race & Christian Community Initiative at EGC, released a call to action for White evangelicals to engage in issues of race. As we challenge White evangelicals to engage, we also want to celebrate those who are already doing so, and hold them up as an example for others. In this post we highlight the stories of three local congregations engaging in issues of race. We hope they will inspire you—and encourage you to action.

A Church Awakening to RACE ISSUES

River of Life Church, Boston, MA

There was a long, slow build of momentum as River of Life Church—a predominantly White congregation in Jamaica Plain—began to address the issue of not just racial diversity but racial equality. 

It started with the voice of one individual, Ellen Bass, who had been involved with racial reconciliation for some time and wanted to see her congregation join in. Not everyone was on board, but there was enough support within the senior leadership to get some momentum going.  

Their efforts began in earnest about two years ago with the formation of a Racial Equity Team. The team strategized about how best to address the issue of race within their congregation. They began with a four-week seminar series on issues of race for the entire congregation in place of worship services.  

A few months later, River of Life followed up with a training for their leadership. This culminated more recently with a church retreat, where race was one of the topics addressed.

One of the biggest challenges they faced was that people were at different places on their racial awareness journeys. Some people had no idea that racial inequality was still an issue, while others were actively involved in racial justice efforts.  

Emily and Rob Surratt, the leaders of the racial equity team, humbly admit they still have a lot to learn about racial reconciliation. While Rob had a deeper understanding of racial dynamics before taking leadership, Emily felt she didn’t know much, even as she volunteered to lead. In choosing to do so, she wasn’t confident in her own ability to engage issues of race, but was committed to learning more with the support of the community.

“[Emily] wasn’t confident in her own ability to engage issues of race, but was committed to learning more with the support of the community.”

River of Life knows that starting this conversation does not mean they have “arrived.” They want to encourage people by acknowledging that we all have work to do. We can all start where we are and make progress one step at a time.

Though the church views itself at the beginning of a sometimes frustrating and difficult process, they have high hopes for the future. They are eager to see what the Lord will do by his grace.

A Church Responding to Increasing Diversity

Grace Chapel, Multisite in Greater Boston

Grace Chapel—a multi-ethnic, multi-campus church—began addressing its increasingly diverse congregation in 1995. They started with efforts which simply celebrated the diverse expressions of culture within the congregation through luncheons they called the Grace International Fellowship. 

Over the course of years, their efforts grew to include ESOL classes, an International Student Ministry Team, and a Cultural and Urban Awareness Weekend. These ministries not only serve the diverse population within their midst, but also help the rest of the congregation learn from diverse perspectives among them.  

From these efforts, a Multicultural Initiative was created. Goals include recruiting diverse leadership, facilitating healthy multicultural relationships, creating a visible multicultural environment, and a commitment to ongoing education in these areas.  

Grace Chapel recognizes this process as a “marathon and not a sprint.” Creating and committing to these goals has been at times frustratingly slow, but ultimately rewarding.  

Grace Chapel's progress on multicultural issues has continued through a consulting engagement with the Interaction Institute for Social Change. They helped the church not only diversify its leadership, but create systems where people of color and people of non-majority cultures have a space at the table where they can share their voice.  

“Grace Chapel recognizes this process as a “marathon and not a sprint.””

Dana Baker, the Pastor of Social Justice and Multicultural Ministry, celebrates the fact that Grace Chapel has now successfully planted a campus with no majority culture—a distinct accomplishment for churches who wish to reflect the diversity present in the Body of Christ within their congregations. 

Joelinda Johnson, who grew up in the congregation and has served on staff at Grace Chapel, says the church became a completely different place during the years she was away at college from 2007-2012. She saw her church go from having a “pocket of diversity” to having people of color in several areas of leadership. She comments, however, while there are a larger number of people of color serving in lay leadership, there is still a ways to go in hiring staff staff of color. 

Grace Chapel is glad for the work God has done and excited for what he will continue to do as they seek to serve the racially diverse communities of Greater Boston. 

Churches Forming Friendships Across Racial Lines

North River Community Church, Pembroke, MA & People’s Baptist Church, Boston, MA

For pastors Rev. Dr. Wesley Roberts of People’s Baptist Church (a historically Black congregation) and Paul Atwater of North River Community Church (a predominantly White congregation), racial difference was a reality, but not a motivating factor for their relationship. 

An informal connection between the two leaders, while serving on the Congress Committee for Vision New England in 2005, grew into a fruitful “Urban-Suburban Partnership.” They didn’t begin with racial reconciliation in mind—and yet they’ve developed the type of healthy, cross-racial partnership for which many people strive.  

Rather than focusing on their differences, the pastors built their relationship on common ground. They connected over shared theology and values. They united in their shared goal to bring the gospel first to the city then to the ends of the earth. 

In 2010, that goal began to be realized through their congregations teaming up to serve schools in Roxbury. This partnership allowed their congregants unique opportunities to serve the city of Boston while developing friendships across racial lines. 

Both congregations have been able to develop a deep appreciation not only for the strengths, but also for the differences between their congregations. In fact, recognizing and addressing their different approaches to congregational leadership was an integral step in developing their partnership. 

The pastors admit they didn’t know just what they were getting into when their partnership began. But they and their congregations have been mutually blessed. Rev. Dr. Roberts and Pastor Atwater hope to see more partnerships between urban and suburban churches, which they believe can happen when pastors simply get to know and appreciate one another.

LEADER TIP

For church leaders looking to develop relationships with leaders from other churches, Kelly Steinhaus of UniteBoston recommends choosing a leader from another church in the same geographical area as yours. You’ll have common ground (literally) as you reach across a dividing line or two and share your common love for Jesus and your city.

“The pastors built their relationship on common ground.”

One of the most rewarding parts of their relationship has been the realization that friendships created between the two congregations will far outlast any formal partnership. These congregations serve as examples of God meeting people where they are and performing the work of reconciliation in hearts and minds. 

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About Internships

About Internships

Casey Johnson is pursuing a Master of Arts in Religion at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and served as a summer 2017 EGC Intern with the Race and Christian Community Initiative.  She first became interested in racial reconciliation efforts as a result of missions in Tijuana, Mexico, and service at an urban youth organization through the AmeriCorps.  As a White evangelical, she wants to use the unique cross-racial opportunities and relationships she has experienced to help others engage issues of race in meaningful ways.  

How Are We Doing?

The Chinese Church in Greater Boston

The Chinese Church in Greater Boston

by Dan Johnson, Ph.D., and Kaye Cook, Ph.D., with Rev. T. K. Chuang, Ph.D.

From just two Chinese churches in greater Boston 50 years ago, the number has grown to more than 25 congregations serving an expanding Chinese population. The growth of the Chinese church in and around the Boston area is something to celebrate. Its strength and integrity, and the quality of its network—unified for prayer, for youth and college ministry, and for international missions, among others—stand as a model for other immigrant churches and indeed for other indigenous churches as well.

Click to open interactive map

What does the Chinese church in Boston look like? What are the strengths and weaknesses as well as the clear opportunities and threats that face these churches at the start of the 21st century?

Students and immigration

In 2016, as many as 350,000 students and visiting scholars from China were actively working in the U.S., a population that dwarfed the number who came from Taiwan and Hong Kong. Over 30% of all international students studying in the U.S. are from China, according to the Institute of International Education (www.iie.org). Not surprisingly, thousands of these are regularly drawn toward Boston-area colleges and universities, as well as to the opportunities available to them in the region’s “knowledge economy.” The 2010 U.S. Census found that the Chinese population of the greater Boston area numbered nearly 123,000, some two and one-half times as many as were present just 20 years before.

Of these, it is estimated somewhere between 5% and 8% identify as Christian. Many of the Chinese newcomers to the area each year are already Christian when they arrive, in which case the Chinese church provides them a primary community to ease the transition to life in a new place. The others are generally quite open to the Christian message. Indeed, to this day Chinese students are routinely found to be the most receptive group to Christian outreach efforts on local campuses. As a consequence, this influx of new immigrants and students from China has brought significant numeric growth to the Chinese church over the last 25 years. Most notably, most of the established Mandarin-speaking congregations experienced 20-80% growth over the decade of the 1990s. Such growth has generally plateaued since then, but new church plants have continued apace.

Church planting

Chinese Church of Greater Boston

Since 1990, more than fifteen new Chinese churches have been planted, mostly Mandarin-speaking, and mostly serving small, geographically distinct communities and congregations. From a mere two Chinese churches in the entire region 50 years ago, today the Chinese church in the greater Boston area includes more than 25 separate congregations. The steady stream of newcomers from mainland China has also reshaped the character of the Chinese church in the region. The most obvious change is the shift from predominantly Cantonese-speaking congregations to predominantly Mandarin-speaking ones.

As noted, most Chinese church plants over the last 25 years have been established to serve newly settled Mandarin-speaking communities. In a few other instances, older churches that originally served Cantonese-speakers have seen their ministries to the Mandarin-speaking community expand dramatically while their Cantonese populations have dwindled or disappeared altogether. This transformation is more than just linguistic in nature. The Mandarin-speaking newcomers from mainland China are mostly first-generation Christians and new converts. Their formative experiences were generally in a more materialist, atheistic culture, and they often identify primarily with the values and orientations of the academic and professional cultures in which they are immersed. This general lack of church experience has made basic biblical education and discipleship a more pressing need in the congregations that serve them. The fact that very few are ready to step into leadership and ministry roles in the church also creates a gulf between the new generation of Chinese Christians and the established church leadership. By virtue of their formal theological training, deep spiritual commitments, and long habituation in the relatively more developed Christian communities of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States, church leaders in Boston’s Chinese communities often find it harder to connect with the felt needs and mentality of their newest congregants. The challenge is made even more difficult by the fact that many of Boston’s second-generation Chinese Christians, who might otherwise be there to welcome these newcomers into the Chinese church, have chosen instead to become members of American or Asian-American churches.

These social dynamics provide the backdrop for the analysis that follows of the current state of the Chinese Christian church in the greater Boston area. Beyond its identifiable strengths and weaknesses, and the clear opportunities and threats that it faces, is the simple realization that this is a seventy-year-old church undergoing a significant growth-induced transformation.

STRENGTHS

Interchurch collaboration

One of the greatest strengths of the Chinese church in the Boston area is that the various churches that comprise it mostly get along and have forged important collaborative relationships. The largely non-denominational character of the churches has minimized theological frictions between them, and the numerous personal ties between individuals across congregations—often forged in common spaces, such as the Boston Chinese Bible Study Group at MIT—help to smooth inter-congregational relationships more generally. The collaborative efforts that have resulted include regular prayer gatherings, shared missions programs, joint sponsorship of career missionaries, evangelistic meetings, and a gospel camp. Such programs are often initiated and organized by individual churches and then opened up to other area churches, as the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston (Lexington) did for many years with its annual gospel camp. The fact that even the largest churches in the community (including the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church and CBCGB) have been willing to sponsor and participate in such joint efforts has gone a long way toward ensuring their success.

Cultural centers

The Chinese church also serves as a primary reference group for many newcomers to the area, as they have become some of the most active and well-organized social institutions within the Chinese community. Many new immigrants naturally turn to the church for help. The familiar language, cultural references, and social structures they encounter in the church are key factors in securing their sense of identity when all else around them is unsettled. The larger churches’ programs for children and youth also attract immigrant families.

An ethic of evangelism

Another strength of the Chinese church in the area is the ethic of active evangelism that has long been cultivated in its constituent congregations. For many years, this ethic has animated large-scale, seeker sensitive programs that have encouraged and enabled church members to put it into practice, aggressively evangelizing their kinspeople. Many of these programs—such as the CBCGB’s annual gospel camp—have since disappeared, and it remains an open question whether the evangelistic focus of the church can be sustained in their absence. Nonetheless, the inspiring heritage of evangelistic activity is itself a strength of the Chinese church in and around Boston.

A place for Mandarin-speaking immigrants

Lastly, the very fact that so many Chinese churches in the area were either founded to serve Mandarin speakers or have since developed vibrant ministries for the Mandarin community is a significant strength. Not every Chinese community around the world is so prepared to welcome and minister to the steady stream of Chinese immigrants from the mainland that inundates them today. The Boston area’s dense network of Mandarin-speaking churches marked by an intellectual richness and a strong professional class leaves it well positioned to meet the needs of the future church in Boston.

WEAKNESSES

Cultural Isolation

Historically, a lack of interaction with people who are not Chinese has probably been the most significant weakness in the Chinese church in and around Boston. The founding members of the most established churches have minimal contact, if any, with the non-Chinese community. Moreover, Chinese churches have rarely tried to hold joint events with other groups, with CBCGB being the one noteworthy exception. Such isolation from the surrounding society has been an obvious problem for the further development of the Chinese churches. This problem has abated somewhat, however, with the infusion of a larger professional class into the church over the last 25 years. This population generally has stronger ties to the secular professional networks in which they are immersed than to the ethnically-rooted churches they happen to attend.

Yet with this more worldly orientation comes the other problem of a widespread shallowness in the understanding of and commitment to the historic Christian faith. The church is in dire need of addressing this problem through basic Christian education and discipleship.

The generational divide

Another weakness besetting the established Chinese church is the deepening of the generational divides that separate older from younger Christians, first-generation immigrants from second-generation, and so on. While such divides have always been present, in recent years they have grown in ways that lead to the exodus from the Chinese church of those who were brought up in it. As noted, many of those who leave find their way to American churches that seem to address their needs more effectively. Many others, however, end up leaving the church altogether.

Small churches

Lastly, the problem of small congregational sizes hampered by resource constraints remains as prevalent today as ever. While the explosive growth of the last 25 years clearly benefited a handful of churches, the emergence of smaller congregations with an emphasis on ministry to their particular local communities has left many vulnerable. More than half of the Chinese congregations have less than 100 attendees, and these struggle financially with limited personnel. Many of them face such problems as a lack of volunteer workers, limited or no youth and children’s programs, and the difficulty of reaching a minimum threshold size to sustain growth. For some, it is challenging enough to remain viable. In this respect, a revival of the spirit of collaboration among the Chinese churches, with conscientious participation by the larger churches in the area, may be a key to the continued survival of these vital congregations.

OPPORTUNITY

Immigration continues

The steady and deepening stream of Chinese immigration from the mainland shows no signs of slowing in the coming years. The educational environment and the high-tech job market in the area will continue to attract many, providing an ongoing inflow of immigrants. Some of these newcomers are eager to attend a church, but many are not. Given the numbers, the proliferation of Chinese churches over the last few decades may continue, but careful observation and strategic planning will be needed to identify emerging pockets of Chinese newcomers who could be well served by a local Chinese church.

Changing cultures and thought systems

The arrival of more recent groups of graduate school students, scholars, and other professionals pose new challenges based on their distinctive generational experience and worldview. The factors that led many Chinese radicals of an earlier generation to explore and embrace Christianity—namely, the simple impulse to distance oneself from Maoism and communism, or the desire to secure an identity and existential anchor by identifying with “Western” institutions and thought systems, or even the hope of getting ahead in the modern world by adopting ways of thinking that are more prevalent outside China—have all been undermined in various ways.

The Chinese immigrants of today have grown up in a consumerist society that understands itself to have arrived, fully modern and ready to conquer the world. To the extent that such a mindset generates less of a felt need to turn to God, we might expect the boom in Chinese conversions to Christianity in the years following the Cultural Revolution and the massacre in Tienanmen Square will slow. Yet the Chinese church should seize it as an opportunity to develop new ways of sharing the Gospel so that it will be heard by those who have new ears.

Collaborative missions and outreach

Finally, the opportunity still remains for the Chinese church in greater Boston to develop a more aggressive, coordinated missions strategy that reaches beyond New England. These churches have a history of joining together for small-scale, collaborative missions programs, both short-term and long-term. Their initiatives include the now 20-year-old “Boston to Beijing” program for sending teams to teach English in mainland China, short-term missions/outreach groups working in England, and the joint sponsorship of career missionaries by multiple congregations. While all of this represents a good start, more can be done. Especially in light of the common passion of new converts to share their faith with others, a more deliberate mobilization of the Chinese churches to engage missions efforts in China and among the Chinese diaspora could help to draw those new converts more deeply into the activities of the church. Of course, when it comes to engaging in missions work or establishing relationships with churches in communist China, the larger the effort the more carefully its participants must tread. Even so, the opportunities for mutual support, growth, and understanding are too significant to pass up.

THREATS

Curiously, the most significant threats facing the Chinese church in the Boston area may be those imported from mainland China. The general lack of theological training within the Chinese house church movement and the prevalence of Buddhist, Taoist and folk religious traditions in most areas served by the house church make it a potential breeding ground for syncretistic beliefs and practices that can lead their followers away from the historic Christian faith. Insofar as many immigrant Christians from house churches on the Chinese mainland are incorporated into local congregations, the potential exists for such problematic religious understandings to gain a foothold here. While the generally high level of education in the Boston Chinese church of today perhaps mitigates this possibility, it is nonetheless a matter that warrants vigilance.

CONCLUSION

The growth of the Chinese church in and around the Boston area is something to celebrate. Its strength and integrity, and the quality of its network—unified for prayer, for youth and college ministry, and for international missions, among others—stand as a model for other immigrant churches and indeed for other indigenous churches as well. Although the Chinese church is relatively isolated from those around it, its impact is significant. Its unique history in a world educational hub and key center of the early evangelical missions movement has meant mature leadership in a world-wide Chinese church that is relatively young and whose leadership is often relatively untrained. Its extensive growth out of local campus Bible study groups gives it access to a more professional population that poses unique challenges but also unique opportunities. Add in the fact that it has unparalleled opportunities to reach with the necessary care and discretion into mainland China—one of the largest and most receptive populations for evangelical outreach today—and it is clear that the Chinese church in the greater Boston area is poised to play an outsized role in shaping the future of the church world-wide.

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by Dan Johnson, Ph.D., and Kaye Cook, Ph.D., both of Gordon College, with T. K. Chuang, Ph.D., former senior pastor, Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston. This chapter was originally written by T. K. Chuang and published as part of Emmanuel Gospel Center’s New England’s Book of Acts (2007). Extensively updated in 2016 by Dan Johnson and Kaye Cook in conversation with Rev. Dr. Chuang.

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More resources:

Map. For an interactive map of Chinese churches in Greater Boston, click here.

Church listing. For a listing of Chinese churches in Greater Boston, click here.