Future for Immigrant Churches

Dear COAH, 

I was in Chicago for four days this week, teaching at my alma mater Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Ten students in the Doctor of Ministry program came together in person and online to learn how to shape an immigrant church to be healthy and missional. I expected the students to come mostly from Korean immigrant churches, but I was wrong. Except for one pastor, all other pastors minister in various ethnic and mainstream congregations. They serve Eritrean, Nigerian, Armenian, Filipino, and Chinese communities in North America or Australia. One EM pastor came from a Korean church in the New York area.

Through four days of intensive lectures and discussions, we agreed that immigrant churches face two significant problems: effectively passing down the faith to the next generation and crossing their ethnic and cultural boundaries to share the gospel with others. Now, most of these immigrant churches struggle with getting out of their ethnic ghettos. One pastor said that his ethnic congregation was dwindling in number but that his people were not willing to invite people from outside their cultural boundary. The words of Leith Anderson loom large: dying for change. Either change now to avoid impending death or continue to yearn desperately for change without seeing any change.        

Four days of discussion made it clear that all immigrant churches must have a clear purpose for their existence. Why do we exist as a church? Many were encouraged and challenged when I shared what God has been doing at our church. I was grateful to God that we had so many stories to share, those stepping out in faith and bearing witness for God.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us continue our missional vision to proclaim Christ until He comes. Let us go beyond our church walls and ethnic enclaves. 

Blessings,

Pastor Minho Song