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Since 1983 we have felt led of the Lord to take care of the Chinese-speaking work in the United States and in Canada. When I first came to the United States, I had a clear feeling that I should not spend much time with the Chinese-speaking work in order to concentrate the work for the recovery among the English-speaking saints. We all have seen that this work was very much under the Lord’s blessing. In 1967, though, the United States immigration law was renewed, giving a quota of twenty thousand immigrants to the Chinese people yearly. This means that from 1967 until today, twenty thousand Chinese people have come to the United States every year. By 1982, approximately three hundred thousand Chinese people had come to the United States. Beginning in 1982, the United States government added another twenty thousand to the quota of Chinese immigrants. This was mainly due to the United States’ relationship with Communist China. Therefore, from 1982 forty thousand Chinese immigrants have been coming to the United States every year.
Some of these Chinese immigrants are students who are studying to attain a high degree. Many of these immigrants already have their master’s degree or their Ph.D., and they all have a high rank in their jobs. Other immigrants include the direct relatives of these college graduates, such as parents, wives, brothers, or sisters. Still other immigrants are rich people who could afford to make some investment in the United States. I have considered that this situation is an answer of the Lord to the prayers of so many dear saints, including those good missionaries who went to China. Their prayers for China are now being answered. China was closed to the gospel for many, many years. So much prayer has been offered to the Lord by His faithful saints that today on this earth, the Chinese are easy to bring to the Lord. This is especially true in the educational circles — the universities, including the graduate schools. This is true not only in one country but everywhere on this earth. Even the rich Chinese people are easy to bring to the Lord.
I have been observing the situation among the Chinese-speaking people since I came to the United States. Immediately after the new immigration law was put into force in 1967, I noticed something among the Chinese-speaking citizens, or residents, in this country. However, I still did not have a clear view that I would be spending some time to take care of this part of the work. Then in 1980 a Chinese-speaking meeting was begun in Anaheim. In 1983 I began to feel led of the Lord that we should not miss the chance to work on these Chinese students on their campuses and also on the Chinese community. At the present time in the United States, there are approximately one and a half million Chinese people. In California the total number of Chinese immigrants is approximately three hundred thousand, which is one-fifth of the total Chinese population in this country. Approximately one hundred fifty thousand of these immigrants live around Los Angeles. Also, a large number of these have settled in the Orange County, California, area. This is why there are many “Chinese churches” in the Southern California area.
Throughout the years we have not done much work among the Chinese-speaking people. Due to this, we have lost a number of them. Among these Chinese immigrants over the years, a good number were saints who were among us in Taiwan and in Hong Kong. When they came to this country, they got scattered. Because we did not do much to take care of them, they were lost. All the young ones among them, who were studying in the schools, became very prevailing factors among the scattered Chinese Christian groups. We must realize that nearly everywhere in the United States on the campuses there are Chinese students and Chinese Christian fellowships, which are in the Chinese language. Wherever there are a number of Chinese on a certain campus, there is a Chinese Christian fellowship. In these fellowships many of the speaking ones and leading ones are products of the churches in Taiwan and of the church in Hong Kong. This means that they went out from us. A few of these are dissenting, but most of them are still for the Lord’s recovery.
This situation led us to reconsider our attitude. Beginning in 1983, we felt that we could not go on any further without paying adequate attention to this part of the work. Otherwise, we would suffer much. Within the past year we have had two Chinese-speaking conferences with about eleven hundred attendants for the first conference and twelve hundred to thirteen hundred attendants for the second conference. Within one year’s time, from 1983 to 1984, twenty-nine Chinese-speaking meetings have been raised up in the local churches. The number of people in these Chinese-speaking meetings is also increasing. A number of the churches can testify how the Lord has blessed this and how this has become a help to the church in their locality.
I feel that our cooperation with the Lord in this work is very crucial. Of course, this is not a direct work with the English-speaking people. However, I believe that since most of the young generation of these Chinese immigrants are graduates with master’s degrees and Ph.D. degrees, when they get saved, gained by the Lord, and trained with the New Testament economy, the truth of the recovery will be channeled through them to the English-speaking people. The present situation among us is that the Chinese-speaking people, the community at large and the students, are very open to the gospel. Also, a number of Chinese Christian fellowships use our materials and have our books. We have to follow the Lord’s sovereign arrangement. This situation is something sovereign of the Lord. This does not mean, however, that we are going to establish Chinese churches. This means that we are establishing the local churches with all races.
We need the Chinese-speaking meeting because a number of the immigrants who are the relatives and the parents of the young graduates do not know much English. They may be able to speak enough English to get by in their business, but they have a real problem listening to a message in a Christian meeting. They also have a hard time listening to the testimonies, and they cannot praise or pray, uttering their feelings to the Lord freely. Because of this situation, these Chinese Christians have suffered greatly. As a result, they went somewhere else to a Chinese meeting. Some of their children are coming to our meetings, but they will not come, because they cannot understand anything. They are forced to go to others’ Chinese Christian meetings. This shows us that there is the need of meeting the problem of this language barrier.
In addition to this, even the younger generation who graduated from the schools in the United States still have a problem with the language. They also can function with the English language adequately in their business or in their school, but it is difficult for them to listen to a message. It is also difficult for them to utter something in prayer or in praise. Because they feel awkward, this becomes a frustration to them. Once a Chinese-speaking meeting begins, they immediately become happy and released. Even the ones who graduated from the universities in the United States are really happy and feel released. They can utter everything in their prayer, praise, and testimonies. Some of the English-speaking saints who have come to the Chinese-speaking conferences and who have had to use the earphones for translation have learned to sympathize with the Chinese. They know what a suffering it is to wear the earphones, and now they understand more of the problem. These English-speaking saints testified that they are now qualified to sympathize with so many Chinese who must wear the earphones in the meeting for translation. This is really a suffering. Again, we can see that the need is here.
We must realize that we are not setting up Chinese churches. These Chinese-speaking meetings are a part of the local church, and these meetings are still under the one eldership. This is absolutely a part of the local church and not an independent church. In some places the saints may feel awkward concerning this. They may feel that this would begin to make the church in their locality Chinese. Also, some of the saints may not be happy to see that in one building a Chinese-speaking Lord’s table is going on upstairs, and an English-speaking Lord’s table is going on downstairs. They may not understand how one church can have two kinds of Lord’s tables at one time. This may become a bothering to certain saints.
The elders should do their best to make this situation understandable to the saints. This is entirely for the Lord’s interest. All the churches can testify that the Chinese-speaking saints have really been a strengthening to the local churches. The Chinese-speaking meeting has always been a positive thing and a strengthening to the church. This is not only a help to the Chinese-speaking side of the church but also an indirect help to the English-speaking side of the church. This is a plus to the church in the increase, in the financial support, and in the functioning of all the members. This has been and still is a real help to the Lord’s recovery. Perhaps it would be better to have a joint Lord’s table once a month in a locality for the English-speaking saints and for the Chinese-speaking saints. Thus, at least once a month all would come together in order to keep a “mingled” atmosphere. This may also be quite profitable.
When we use the term Chinese-speaking meeting, we stress the word speaking. We do not consider that it is a Chinese meeting, based upon the race. This meeting is based upon the language. We have made it clear that anyone who can manage the English language for the purpose of the meeting must go to the English-speaking meeting. The Chinese-speaking meeting does not depend upon race but upon your language. If anyone can manage the Chinese language, he is free to come to the Chinese-speaking meeting.
We are hoping that the Lord can raise up a number of young people who are bilingual to go full time. These ones would be useful to go and visit all the campuses. Also, if the Lord wills, we will have summer conferences and training centers. The full-time ones could go to visit the campuses to work on the “farms.” When summer comes, the school terms will be over. Then all these ones who are reaped will probably be able to give two weeks to attend a conference plus a training concerning the Christian life. These would then go back to the campuses as seeds, which are sown to grow into another harvest. We also hope that we could have a long period of training of maybe two or three months to train the ones who are willing to bear some responsibility in the Chinese-speaking work and in the Chinese-speaking meetings. Also, all the full-timers need this kind of training.
Because of this situation, we felt that it might be very profitable to have some houses close to the major campuses. We could call a certain house near a campus “the Chinese student center.” We do not need to use the word Christian in referring to the student center, because we accept the unbelievers. This kind of Chinese student center would help the new ones coming from Hong Kong and mostly from Taiwan. They are new in the United States, and they do not know where to go or what to do practically. With such a center near a campus, we will have some way to help them and to lodge them. Spontaneously, the host of this house would be able to render some help to them in the gospel. This will give the Lord a way to reap many. I feel that this is a golden time for us to go on with the Lord in this matter. Then we could do something for His move today on this earth. This work will also exercise a great effect on the English-speaking community. We all need to pray for this.
The Lord is sovereign in the world situation. Due to the political change in mainland China, a number of Chinese fled to Taiwan, and we were among them. The Lord did a marvelous work on that island. Within ten years the Lord gained about fifty thousand. The reason we could have over one thousand Chinese-speaking saints in a conference is because of this source of Taiwan. The fact that the number of Chinese immigrants to the United States has been increased from twenty thousand to forty thousand is another factor for the Lord’s move. This is all sovereign of the Lord. Many Chinese come yearly to the United States, and among these are many of the dear saints. The Lord has sovereignly prepared these ones for coming to the United States. I believe that one by one they all will become a strengthening to the Lord’s recovery in the United States. Again, this is something sovereign of the Lord.
Among the Chinese immigrants who are living in the United States, quite a few thousand came from the source of the local churches. Among these, only about two thousand are now in the local churches in the United States and Canada. We are hoping that through this Chinese-speaking work, many of them will be brought back to the Lord’s recovery. Some have already come back within this past year. This is also something for which we need to pray.
