Are ABC Ministries Essential for OBC Churches?

By Wayland Wong

Asking if ABC ministries are essential in OBC churches is tantamount to asking if we care about the next generation. Will the Chinese church always remain a first-generation OBC church which is dependent upon immigration to fill its ranks? If we answer yes, how then do the children of the church fit into its future? If the answer is no, and we expect the next generation, presumably ABCs, to ramain and grow in the context of the Chinese church, what are we doing to meet their needs?

Scripture says that God’s blessing is to the third and fourth generations. Yes, there is no doubt that we do care about our children, but the Chinese churches do not show it. Many Christian parents have suffered great pain in seeing their children reject the gospel and leave the church. Why do they leave? Why are we losing generation after generation of ABCs from our churches?

Satan is winning the battle for the next generation. There is a real spiritual battle going on for the hearts and minds of the ABCs. 95% of the 1,000,000 ABCs are still outside the church. The Chinese churches are having a hard time keeping the ABCs that they do have, much less reaching the unchurched.

What is the problem? There is a complexity of issues with no easy answers.

Look at the Chinese church.

Most Chinese churches are still immigrant churches, essentially trasplants from Asia. Not only are the people from Asia, but they bring with them and establish here Asian forms both of church life and of leadership. These churches are very traditional in culture and language. The congregation, the leadership, and the pastors are mainly OBCs. With this is a very distinct Chinese way of doing things. Being very ethnocentric as the Chinese are, the leaders have the usual mindset and attitude that the ABCs are not Chinese enough. Many of them feel that the church is the last bastion in America to preserve and perpetuate the Chinese culture.

Look at the ABC population.

ABCs are a very complex group. They are not just bananas or peaches or marginal people but a unique breed with their own unique culture. The spectrum of differences among them is very broad: from the first generation, many of whom are very Chinese culturally, to the third and fourth generations who don’t feel that they are Chinese at all; from those raised in Chinatown to those who grew up in white suburbia without Chinese friends; from those who grew up in the ‘30s and ‘40s to today’s boomers, busters, and Xers; from blue collars to professionals.

The Great Divide.

With such a great chasm existing between the two, can the Chinese church minister to the ABCs? Yes, we can and must! If we don’t bother to reach our own people, who will? For the most part, the Anglo and community churches don’t even know who the ABCs are, much less what their needs are. The Asian-American churches (churches that have people other than ethnic Chinese), which are very few in number, can touch only a very small minority of interested ABCs.

Therefore, if the Chinese churches do not have ABC ministries or they view such work as secondary, we are essentially telling the ABCs that they will have to go elsewhere for their spiritual nurture. Or even worse, we are telling them that their needs are not as important as those of the OBCs. Do we care for our children or are we as parents and church leaders rejecting our own children by not acknowledging their individuality and unique needs?

Can we overcome this Great Divide and bridge the differences? Can ABC and OBC ministries coexist and thrive? Yes, they can - and yes, they must!

Where do we start?

Understanding and realizing is always the first step. Both the OBCs and the ABCs have allowed their cultural views and biases to overshadow their Christian faith. The Bible calls us to be one church and one body in Christ. Yet, we stand more on cultural prejudices than on Christian love. The OBCs demand more authority and respect while the ABCs want more independence and freedom. Each wants their own way of doing things, in attitudes, in relationships, and in form.

There is a need for a radical change in mindset. Just as missionaries must identify and adapt to a new culture in order to reach their target group, the Chinese churches must have a mis-knowledge and respect the cultural differences and needs is a form of blindness. Trying to keep the ABCs in a Chinese mold or in a bilingual service is really forcing them out; The goal of a mission movement is to see an independent church become spiritually mature, with its own leadership, with its own indigenous form of worship and music, winning their own friends and relatives, and with a burden to fulfill the Great Commission.

The Chinese church ought to experiment with different options in developing ABC ministries. It should encourage and support these programs rather than view them as a rival or a threat, FACE has advocated parallel ministries over the years. This means that within a given church, OBCs and ABCs freely develop and expand their own ministries, yet at the same time acknowledging the kinship ties and their need for each other. We are interdependent. There are areas of ministry that cross over, like in children’s work, youth groups, and possibly missions. Being in America, the Chinese church will automatically feed their children and youth into the ABC ministry, That should not be a threat or a loss of face. Praise God for the continuity that an ABC can develop within a church home from childhood to maturity. We need to see this as cooperation, not competition.

God calls us, the body of Christ, to be one church with all of our uniqueness and diversity. We should be loving each other and living in such a way that the world can see that Christ is the head of the body and the church; and that each person, whether ABC or OBC, is unique and special and loved by our Lord.

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