Our 'ethnic' heritage is an aspect of our identity which God gives us for our good and with which we're supposed to honour him. If the new Jerusalem is full of people from every tribe and nation, the Chinese will be there. And English-speaking Chinese-background Australians will be there. And people of mixed race will be there. And we'll all be delighting in God's goodness to us, as he has expressed it to us in our particular circumstances.
Part of those circumstances will be the formation of our particular churches. Not the buildings - the communities.
If my understanding of Australian church history is correct, Chinese churches in Australia came about in one of two ways. Australian people evangelised Chinese migrants, especially during the 1800s gold rush. I think denominational churches like Chinese Presbyterian Church (CPC) Surry Hills stem from that heritage. Other churches were planted by Chinese people who migrated as Christians. And of course over time there would have been interaction between the two.
Both these traditions express, in different ways, God's mercy to Chinese people in bringing them to himself, and keeping them faithful to himself, in a 'foreign' land - in Australia. God used Australian people to bring Chinese people to himself. And he brought Chinese people to himself in China, and then brought them to Australia to worship him.
Both of those are worth celebrating. They're expressions of God's mercy to people who are 'ethnically' Chinese.
Later-generation migrants sometimes experience the dilution of their 'ethnic' identity. Many Australian-born Chinese people call themselves Aussies, not 'Chinese.' When asked where they come from, they say "Bankstown, mate." And rightly so.
Being of a particular heritage does not require replication of that ethnicity's traditional ways of life. Such replication is colonialism - it is to assume that your former 'home' is superior to your new 'home.' In fact, it assumes that the only way to be 'at home' in your new 'home' is to change it to be an expression of your former 'home.' This colonialism subconsciously expresses an attitude of ethnic superiority. It assumes that the long-term residents of your new 'home' - the 'natives' - have nothing to teach you, and that they would benefit from becoming more like you.
First-generation migrant-background churches rightly worship in their native language, according to forms of worship and discipleship resources which are sourced from their native cultural context - or at least are more comprehensible in their native context than here in Australia. Such non-English ministry demonstrates that Christianity is not 'western' colonialism. 'Native' Chinese churches exist. But they don't worship a 'Chinese' Jesus. Such a Jesus does not exist, any more than a 'white,' 'western' Jesus exists. They worship, and call all people to worship, Jesus of Nazareth (not of Beijing or Shanghai, or for that matter London or Edinburgh or Colombo), son of David (not Chan or Smith or Silibalasuriya), ruler of the whole world, saviour of all people from every tribe and nation (Matt 28:18-20, Acts 4:12, Acts 17:30-31, etc.).
On the other hand, it's equally important for migrant-background churches permit their children, who are growing up in this new home of Australia, to become bicultural, Chinese-Australian Christians. That's another, equally important, anti-colonial maneuver. It demonstrates that Christianity is not constrained by being Chinese. If it were, then to become Australian means leaving your Christianity behind. Closely linking ethnicity to Christianity has caused a 'silent exodus' from Asian-background churches. In the USA it was noticed as far back as 1996, and has been commented on by Lifeway Research and the Sola Network.
For that reason, it's essential for migrant churches to have some expression of the fact that their children are now Christians in their new home. It is theologically necessary, to expression of our belief that Jesus is lord not only of our former home but our new one. And because it is theologically right, it will be apologetically and pastorally useful.
Effective bicultural churches will challenge the usual anti-Christian trope that religion is 'western,' and the contradictory trope that Christianity is 'ethnic.' And it will instill rightful confidence in migrant-background later-generation Christians that Jesus really is Lord of all nations. It will help them be unashamed of the gospel in a time of history when it is fashionable to renounce Christianity and identify with anything - any religion, any spirituality, any sexuality - except Christianity. And a key aspect of that Christian confidence will be a delight in their ethnic heritage - the way God brought the gospel, not just to any people, but to their people - Chinese people - and through their people, their 'ethnos,' to them.
This bicultural, multi-lingual ministry can be expressed in all kinds of different ways. You can have multilingual services with live translation; multilingual services with headphones; parallel services at the same time; different services at different times of the day; Sunday services in English and small-group communities in Chinese; Sunday services in Chinese and small groups in English... take your pick. The key point is that whatever form the ministry takes, the purpose remains the same: to express that (1) the one true gospel (2) has come to this particular ethnic community (3) not just for them, but for their children and the rest of the world - for every tribe and nation.
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