From Here to Eternity | EMS | Suffering in Chinese Missions

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024

Daniel Low, Christian Witness Theological Seminary

To the Ends of the Earth: Suffering and Other Key Markers in Chinese Missions

A pervasive marker of the Chinese church, particularly in embodying the Gospel through missions, is suffering (Ahern, 2022). Conceptually to “suffer” in Chinese is to “eat suffering” (吃苦 chi ku) or to “accept suffering” (受苦 shou ku). For a Chinese Christian, to be called to participate in missions (local or global) is to serve without regard for her/his life and die, if necessary. Thus, to stoically suffer is the “ordination of the gospel worker’s testimony in a Chinese context” (Ahern, 2022, 5) and “an occasion to demonstrate their loyalty to Christ within … non-Christian [societies]” (Chow and Wong, 2023, 16).

Among the Chinese pastors and lay leaders in the Bay Area and Chinese students completing their training at a local Chinese seminary, is this marker pertinent to encourage their congregations to participate in missions? What are the characteristics and limitations of this marker in missions? What are the other pertinent markers that the leaders (both pastors and lay leaders) seek to encourage and teach congregations to encourage participation in missions?

This paper seeks to assess (a) the perceptions, characteristics, and limitations of suffering for Christ as a key marker for Chinese missions; (b) the other pertinent markers and their characteristics for Chinese missions; and (c) the narratives (e.g., examples from Scripture and lives of missionaries) that are used to teach these markers and characteristics. Hopefully these distinctives, through interviewing pastors, lay leaders and Chinese seminary student, will add to the dynamic and creative missional expressions of the global Church.