Their Chinese pastor prayed and shared pulpits with Black and white pastors and volunteered to deliver packages to know the multicultural surroundings better.
Chinese churches scattered across the globe hold immense potential within the universal Christian mission, but that potential often remains untapped. One persistent challenge is the deep-seated racial discrimination prevalent among Chinese people, as well as their indifference to, or even their tendency to avoid, the diverse races, cultures, and language groups that surround them.
In May 2023, pastor David Doong, general director of the Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism (CCCOWE) and host of the Missional Discipleship podcast, conducted an interview in Mandarin with pastor Qian Bin of the Evangelical Chinese Church of Seattle (ECCS). What follows is a translated and edited excerpt from that conversation.
David Doong: In the United States, racial issues are a sensitive topic. It’s no longer just a Black-and-white issue; all ethnic groups seem to be drawn into the fray. As a Chinese church pastor in Seattle, when did you begin to take notice of racial issues?
Qian Bin: When our church was established in 1960, the congregation consisted primarily of ethnically Chinese individuals from Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, with shifts in immigration patterns, immigrant families from China, Southeast Asia, North America, and even Europe gradually became part of our congregation. Consequently, our church has become a melting pot of multiple languages, multicultural backgrounds, and diverse traditions. We even have multiple congregations, all shepherded by the same group of pastors and elders.
Our church comprises Mandarin-, English-, and Cantonese-speaking congregations, each with significant cultural and background differences (they are from different places geographically). Everyone within the same church must confront …