Why Do We Say 'ABC'?

By Joseph Wong

A Number of friends in the Chinese churches have asked me, ‘Why do you FACE directors keep using the term ‘ABC ministry’? Why don’t you say, ‘English-speaking ministry’”? The designation “ABC,” meaning American-born Chinese, has been an offensive one to quite a few church leaders, There is also the concept that the cultural issue among Chinese should be seen as a continuum, i.e., there is not a simple, sharp demarcation between ABCs and OBCs.

First of all, let me assure you that FACE is not trying to offend Chinese church leaders. The FACE directors truly love and appreciate the many committed Chinese pastors and leaders who are serving the churches at great personal cost. We are deeply burdened and share their grief over the loss of the ABC adult children from the Chinese churches. We make personal sacrifices and extend our efforts to try and help the churches develop truly effective ministries for ABCs.

One of the primary ways FACE has sought to help is to explain why the ABCs have proven to be such a problem to the Chinese churches, It is the reason we persist in using the term “ABC,” The use of other expressions, such as “English-speaking” or “American Chinese,” usually confuses the real issue.

Language or culture?

To say “English-speaking” brings the focus onto the language difference. When I was on the East Coast visiting over 20 “English-speaking” minis-tries, I was encouraged to change my “ABC” ministry vocabulary. It began to dawn on me, after observing and speaking to over a dozen groups or their leadership, why these were called “English-speaking.” I realized that they were OBC-style minis-tries conducted in English. They were being directed and programmed like all other OBC works. The only difference was the language.

“American Chinese” puts the emphasis on geographical location. From the OBC perspective, these American Chinese are the diaspora, the truly “overseas Chinese.” They may as well be French or Brazilian Chinese. Developing a Chinese ministry in these countries would be concerned with reaching and discipling the Chinese living in a foreign country. The cultural style of these ministries would remain Chinese.

Face’s persistence in using the term “ABC” is due to the criticalness of recognizing the issue as a cultural one. To identify an individual as being born in a certain country clearly affirms the culture in which the individual has been trained and raised. This particular culturization of the ABC must guide the church in developing and executing a program that is relevant and effective.

Failing to be guided by cultural considerations will result in the continuing loss of our ABC adult children and a failure to attract other ABCs in the community. The history of the Chinese church in America has demonstrated this phenomenon.

Although the Chinese church in America has exist-ed for over a century, the presence of strong ABC Christians is small. Probably as few as 10 percent have remained in the Chinese churches. A negligible number have gone to other churches. Several generations of ABCs have already been lost. A century of efforts by the OBC leadership has proven unsuccessful, and there is no assurance that their continued leadership will change the results.

Chinese or Christian?

Perhaps OBC leaders shared the same desire Chinese parents had to preserve the Chinese thinking and ways in their children through the church’s ministry. It was easy when there was no clear designation of the cultural distinctive. The teaching of Scripture and obedience to God’s Word were seen by the ABC as having a lesser role in the program. Almost entirely absent was the teaching on being ABC Christians in the American culture. The result? ABCs abandoned the Chinese churches in droves.

I noticed another phenomenon. Those ABCs who did remain in the Chinese churches are characterized as being adaptive to the OBC thinking and ways. I think their adaptation is often for the sake of reaching and discipling their own ABCs. But their willingness to adapt is not how most ABCs would respond.

Call it like it is

“ABC” may not by a popular term. To some, it may be mistakenly viewed as being divisive, antagonistic or exclusionary, aimed at keeping non-ABCs out. It may seem that “Chinese” is an inclusionary term, but the ABCs have discovered that the Chinese church does not include them. “ABC” is the best term to use if we want to awaken pastors and church leaders to the real issue when planning programs to reach and disciple the American-born Chinese.

And so we say “ABC,” because the Chinese churches have been losing their children for a century. The leadership has not stemmed the tide. The policy that insists that ministries to ABCs be merely a language adjustment is bankrupt. The Chinese churches must be daring in designing a program that will evangelize and disciple the ABCs. I say “daring” because few Chinese churches are doing so and because successful ABC ministries are few, But, as the line in a movie goes, “Build, and we will come.”

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