Comments on: Reflections on Asian American (Youth) Ministry: Part Three

By: daniel so

daniel so — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:12:11 +0000

Pastor Bill – Thanks for stopping by & for sharing a bit of your story. I’d love engage this conversation a bit here (and, perhaps, via email if that’s more conducive to discussion).
* * *
I definitely appreciate your heart to love & minister to these Chinese American youth. As with most church ministry, I don’t think there’s a simple answer to your question about joining together the Chinese American and Caucasian students in your church.
* * *
One of the most important things, in my opinion, is to change the mentality from “us vs. them” to one that celebrates uniqueness & diversity but also the unity that we have in Jesus. From my experience, this shift must come from the majority side (a little bit more on that below). It’s more than just asking “them” to come join “us” but a genuine willingness to partner together in Christ. I’ll say this up front as well: this is going to be *a lot* of work, but it’s well worth the effort, if you’re willing to pursue it.
* * *
I’m guessing that by your use of the descriptor “American,” you’re talking about white, Caucasian folks? I think it’s important to realize that referring only to Caucasian people as “American” can contribute to the isolation/alienation that many of your Chinese American youth might be feeling already (a bit more on this here: http://headsparks.com/2008/05/05/the-long-view/). Instead of contributing to a “neither/nor” mindset, it’s better to communicate that these students are “both/and” in Christ.

By: Bill Kennedy

Bill Kennedy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:26:17 +0000

My wife and I have been ministering with students and their families from Mainland China for more than 15 years. Our ministry directors, also an American couple, started the ministry here at the University of Oklahoma in Norman about 22 years ago.
Our ministry is part of an American church; the American church has a full range of children and youth ministries from babies through college with paid and volunteer(lay) staff leading those children and youth ministries.
With regard to the Chinese children and youth all through the years we have provided separate ministries for them; that is, we don’t integrate the Chinese children and youth with the American kids. For example, with the Chinese junior and senior highers we have Americans(young couples or recent college graduates) who provide a separate Sunday school for them and on Friday nights(when we have Bible studies for the adult Chinese) those same American workers provide youth activities for the Chinese children and youth.
What I’m wondering is whether we should be integrating the Chinese kids, especially the junior and senior highers, into the American youth ministries rather than providing a separate track which essentially isolates them from the American kids.
There is no push from the Chinese youth to integrate with the Americans. They like to hang together even though at school most of them seem to have American as well as Chinese friends.
Years ago when our ministry began we had no children at all. Gradually the Chinese began having children and/or bringing children with them from China. Now we have 25-30 children from babies to high schoolers. Many of the kids came with their parents when they were pre-school age but now they are in junior or senior high.
My question is: Should we integrate the Chinese children into the American children and youth ministries right from the beginning rather than provide separate elementary/junior high/senior high ministries for them?
One concern I have about our separate programs for the youth is that they never are in a worship service. The American youth on Sunday morning have their Sunday school hour and then go to the American worship service with the adults. But we provide our Chinese youth Sunday School ministry during the American worship service hour.
Are we making a mistake by not having the Chinese youth experience worship? Should we integrate the Chinese youth into the American youth ministry rather than providing the separate ministry we have been providing?

Thanks for your input.

Pastor Bill Kennedy

By: daniel so

daniel so — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:16:37 +0000

Dave — Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I do believe that many of the core issues at work in Asian American youth and youth ministry are relevant in other settings as well. Certainly, the search for identity and learning to navigate different cultures are issues that all adolescents will face.

I am aware of a couple of examples of Caucasian people who have led Asian American student ministries, but I am not sure they have dealt with these issues.

I agree that there are powerful connections between ministry to youth and ministry across different cultures. Danny Kwon has a great article archived over at Youth Specialties on this topic. A quote from his article: “Youth ministry, by definition, is a ministry across culture.”

By: Dave Wells

Dave Wells — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:42:43 +0000

I have read all three of your reflections on Asian American churches and youth ministries, very interesting. Perhaps the thing that continues to surprise me about this whole discussion (and I have it often with my students) is that the issues are not so different from European youth ministries. Disconnection between generations, inability to integrate, un-matched expectations between various sectors of the church with regard to youth ministry, different rules for acceptable conduct (dress, language) etc etc the list goes on. It seems to me that some of the outworking may be different but there are similarities in this area with many youth ministry contexts that aren’t AA, not at all minimalising the issues that AA congregations and youth ministries face.

I don’t really have any soltions but I have often wondered if any Europeans have attempted to minister to youth in an AA congregation, do you kinow any working examples? (I am from N.Z. so the term AA is not used here).

This discussion in N.Z. is much wider than youth ministry and much wider than Asian churches also. The missions department here at work are engaging in this conversation around 2nd gen imigrants and the issues of identity formation etc with regard to Pacific Island congregations and some African congregations in Auckland and other N.Z. cities. And this is clearly a missions issue, I think there is a lot more cross-fertalisation to be done between youth ministry and missiologists, we have a lot to learn from each other.

I particularly liked your description of teenagers who change interpretive lenses for reading their world. The perspective/lens change between their European school setting and their Asian home setting needs much more exploration. However we must not make the mistake of thinking this is only a 2nd gen issue. I remember a similar shift in my own teenage years where at home and church my lens was one of Christendom and modernity and influence (I was raised in a Christian family with lots of local church influence) where I was respected and listened to, however at school I was a marginalised teen who struggled to interact with his peers in any meanigful way, ths created a very different lens, the result was two diferent views of self. I suspect we have many young Christians of all cultures and in many different church settings who struggle with similar issues.

In saying that the extent of this scenario for 2nd gen youth is perhaps one of the more difficult things for non-second geners to understand, and perhaps one of the more important.

Am encouraged to see people thinking about this, love reading an insiders/outsiders perspective. Thanks very much for your engaging thoughts.

By: daniel so

daniel so — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:18:31 +0000

Joey – I appreciate your thinking on these issues. I think the idea of service being a universal language of the church would not only bridge cultural/generational gaps, but it reminds us to look outward. It is so easy to become an insular community centered around our own (very pressing) needs.

I have seen first-hand how cross-generational mission trips and service events have been incredibly effective in bridging these gaps. Our theology must become praxis — deep reflection on our faith in Christ should naturally lead to the active practice of Christ-like living.

By: Joey Chen

Joey Chen — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:19:19 +0000

Daniel, thanks for your posts with regards to asian youth ministry. I have been working in the chinese church for a number of years and feel the burden for these same issues.

I was wondering what you meant by “integrate a holistic sense of cross-generational ministry.”

Also, with regards to intergenerational efforts i think we need to think in terms of “universal languages.” I grew up playing soccer and realized its power when i go to play with kids in the city who didn’t speak english. Soccer is a universal language for the world.

It is possible that one language that the immigrant church has as its universal is service. I’ve seen service in the community done by a church which included parents, youth, english speaking, chinese speaking.

basically, we need to reflect on what other areas of church are universal. Service in many waysis one way of doing that.

we also need to do a lot of defining with regards to “unity.” Everyone seems to agree with it theologically. It’s a part of our implicit theology, but what we do (explicitly) shows nothing of the sort.

By: L2 Foundation Blog

L2 Foundation Blog — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 21:13:54 +0000

talking about church salary

Daniel So met up with YS President Mark Oestreicher to further dialogue about race, reconciliation, and church. Daniel is blogging on his initial reflections on Mark’s review of the L2’s Asian American Youth Ministry book. He breaches the t…