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Wherever There's a Chinese Restaurant ...
by Rev. Dr. James Ha, SIM East Asia
15 May 2009
Ah Tin came to Christ in China. He was taught in church that wherever one goes, one must never forget to share the Good News of Jesus with others. Six years ago, Ah Tin was forced to leave China after a business partnership went badly for him, so he moved to Lagos, Nigeria, to start a new chapter in his life. In April 2008, I visited Lagos with Dr. Stanley Ling, Regional Director of SIM East Asia, to explore the possibility of ministering among the 40,000 migrant Chinese there who have not yet heard the Gospel. As we (along with SIM missionary Dr. Kelvin Chen and ECWA representative Rev. Olaniru) visited Lagos' "China Town" and shared the Good News of Jesus with shop owners, we quickly discovered that there was a committed Christian who led a "holy life" and was always kind and helpful towards others. One of the shopkeepers brought us to meet this special man, Ah Tin. Ah Tin was thrilled to meet us, and we talked together for hours! He shared his prayer and desire to see a church planted in Lagos. Unfortunately, due to lack of co-laborers and leaders, his dream had not yet come true. As we continued our conversation over lunch at a Chinese restaurant, he told us he believed that God had sent us to Lagos and was excited that planting the first church among the migrant Chinese could be realized. A big visionDo you know that one fifth of the world’s population is Chinese? Or that the Chinese Diaspora can be found on every continent? This is why Asia is one of SIM’s top ministry priority areas. There are literally millions of migrant Chinese who have moved outside Mainland China for studies, work, or emigration. Many of these migrant Chinese are ready to learn about and ultimately follow Jesus Christ. Our vision is to see: a Chinese church wherever there is a Chinese restaurant and Chinese missionaries serving with missionaries of other nationalities wherever there is a mission field. This is a big vision, and it is why SIM East Asia has established the Chinese Ministry Centre to strategize and coordinate this exciting church-planting work among the Diaspora Chinese. Answering the callFrank and Ada Tuan, overseas Chinese from Taiwan, have served as SIM missionaries in Johannesburg, South Africa for 17 years. They have planted two churches among the estimated half-million Chinese immigrants in South Africa today. They have also organized many mission and vision trips for interested overseas Chinese churches and individuals to visit immigrant Chinese living and working in other cities in Africa. The Tuans told me, "We noticed there were great needs among [the Chinese immigrants] yet there were no workers. Workers with the same cultural background who speak their language were in urgent need. So, our family began to be involved in this ministry." Though there are more than 1.3 million overseas Chinese believers and about 10,000 churches set up by them, the number of missionaries sent out by overseas Chinese churches is less than 2,000. These are people who are gifted to be messengers of the Gospel, having lived in cross-cultural environments, where they learned different languages. We want to mobilize more overseas Chinese Christians to partner in the Great Commission. Editor’s note: After the initial fact-finding trip, Rev. Ha and his wife returned to Lagos for three months to minister to the migrant Chinese there, with a view to planting a church among them. They started a Bible study for 20 men and women, which now meets in a Chinese restaurant. In August 2008 seven came to Christ, and three of them were baptized. Praise God! 
 
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