For my last post, (12.10.2012) I wrote about the Missional Transnationals: Coming Full Circle. In that article I defined and described who they are, and what they contribute to missions that are seemingly unnoticed by the church in general. Missional transnationals are a 21st Century force to world missions.

Now, let me shift the lenses to a specific group of transnationals — the Chinese transnationals!

I live in Millwoods, or in the south-east quadrant of Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). Millwoods is fast becoming a hub of new immigrants and contract workers from all over the globe who have come to work in the oil sands of Canada. Notably, in recent years, Millwoods has become host to hundreds of Chinese families who have moved from their traditional enclaves such as Chinatown. In Millwoods now, we find Chinese temples, churches and restaurants. Evidently, these are indicators that the Chinese community has planted their roots deeper in the community and neighbourhood. This growing community has also invested in real estate, claiming huge parcel of lands. Today, there is a Chinese bilingual school operated by the Edmonton Public School Board in partnership with the Edmonton Chinese Bilingual Education Association (ECBEA).

The Chinese Bilingual program at this school attracts Canadian-born students of Chinese descent, Chinese immigrants, Chinese foreign students, and even non-Chinese Canadians. The Chinese program teachers work with the English program teachers to support Mandarin language acquisition, and English language mastery. There are even partnerships with the Chinese government to provide the library with up to date Chinese children’s literature. It is an incredible program for a multi-cultural city. 

My grandson attended kindergarten at this school. There he learned how to count, to greet, to ask questions, and to write in Chinese. He used chopsticks, sang Chinese nursery songs, and went by a Chinese name. While most of my grandson’s classmates were Canadian born, he had a few classmates who were “only studying” in Canada (at Kindergarten!), and a few more from China who had just arrived.

I asked my daughter and son-in-law why their son was studying Mandarin in a Chinese bilingual school. Their response was simple — “we are preparing him to interact with the Chinese in his generation.” The Chinese, in my children’s belief, will someday not only dominate the global economy but their influence will mark the culture of modern life! Hence, it is important to them to prepare their son for this future! In other words, this decision was carefully thought of and was deliberately made to position their son in his community 25 years from now.

Chinese transnationals are right here in my neighbourhood! I wonder how many Evangelical community churches notice the Chinese, and I wonder what evangelism strategies they have used to reach them? Again, when we talk about missions to Chinese we think of Taiwan, Macau, Tibet, Hong Kong, and the rest of mainland China.  My daughter would tell me of interesting encounters with the other mothers who would ask her in sincere interest if she was a Christian (she wore a cross on a chain), and why, and what activities they could participate in to learn more about Christians. Are the Chinese in Millwoods very much different from the Chinese “over there”?

Millwoods is also a hub of other migrants such as Arabs, South Asians, Somalis, Filipinos, and Latinos. But that is another story for another day.

Reaching out to the Chinese transnationals has implications to the discipleship and church growth in China. Imagine, these transnationals who would be ushered into the Kingdom while they live in Canada?

Diaspora Missiology is “a missiological framework for understanding and participating in God’s redemptive mission among people living outside their place of origin” (The Lausanne Seoul Declaration).

The Cape Town Commitment calls Christians to reach out to scattered peoples, and encourages “Church and mission leaders to recognize and respond to the missional opportunities presented by global migration and diaspora communities, in strategic planning, and in focused training and resourcing of those called to work among them.”

The Lausanne Movement is committed to proclaim the Whole Gospel by the Whole Church to all transnationals living on all the continents of the globe.

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Sadiri Joy Tira (D.Min., D.Miss.) is the LCWE Senior Associate for Diasporas; Vice President for Diaspora Missions at Advancing Indigenous Missions (AIM); Director of the Institute of Diaspora Missiology at Alliance Graduate School (Philippines); and Diaspora Missiology Specialist at the Jaffray Centre for Global Initiatives at Ambrose University College (Canada).  

 

*Photo: flickr:sabel