As I mentioned in previous posts, there are lots of Chinese people in the South, especially in Hurstville. And the vast majority of them are non-Christians. Which means we need lots of churches in the area to be active in reaching out with the gospel.

So how many churches are there in the South?

As far as I know (which admittedly is limited), there are 17 churches in the area that have a ministry to Chinese people (though they are not necessarily a Chinese church). Here is a map of where they are, superimposed on top of the previous map of where Chinese people live (click on the image for a larger version):


It's good to see that most of the churches are located in places where more Chinese people live. One of the exceptions is actually my church in Mortdale. We really want to be in Hurstville, but being a small church we can't afford to rent much (yet).

Now 17 churches may sound like a lot. But some of those churches only cater for one language group. Some of them have no English pastor (or no pastors at all). And each of these churches would need to reach over 12,700 Chinese people! That's a lot of people!

Pray that God would send more pastors and church planters to make disciples and equip Christians in this area. Pray also for my church that we can find a more suitable location to do ministry.

Here's how things went today:

Spent the whole morning working on my talk. Much of the time was just on packaging since the actual content was stuff I've done before. But because it was packaging, I kept chopping and changing. It was like decorating your house. I would arrange the furniture and move things around. But when I stepped back and had another look, I decided I didn't like it after all. So then I would move things around again...and the cycle continued like that for awhile, until...

...it was 15 mins before it started! I quickly hit the print button, saying a quick prayer under my breath hoping that it was good enough.

I planned to show a short video at the start to introduce the topic. I had already packed into the car a few days earlier the data projector, extension cord and power board. I made sure I remembered to grab the PC speakers from my office.

I jumped in the car and quickly drove off. 10 mins to go! I was about half way there when I realised I forgot a most crucial piece of equipment - my laptop with the video file!!!

My instant reaction was to turn around and go get it. But after a brief attempt at going back, I had to admit that I wouldn't make it in time. So with less than 5 mins to go I quickly continued my way to the school, berating myself for my forgetfulness.

Got there a tiny bit late. No worries - the first 10 mins is just eating and socialising. But walking into the school, the place seemed really empty. There were only a few people around, not the usual crowds you get at lunch time.

I found the classroom and went inside. There were less than 10 people there - half of our usual numbers. It turns out that today was the start of exams, and those who don't have exams don't have to come to school. That kind of changed things, as I had hoped to do some group interaction. But with so few people it wouldn't really work.

So I quickly made some changes on the spot and got started. The students seemed (at least to me) to be listening, and they answered my questions with "safe" answers. The time goes quickly, and before I know it, the end-of-lunch bell had gone. I didn't finish all my material, but I had to wrap it up anyways.

All in all, it could've been better, but it wasn't a wipe-out either. I learnt a few things for next time, and hopefully the students did too.

Thank God for helping me to get everything together and speak clearly today, even though I was nervous and flustered. Pray that the students would not be like the man who looks at the mirror but immediately forgets what he looks like.

One of the things I've been involved with this year is the lunch time ISCF group at one of the local high schools. The group is made up of mainly Aussies. And it's made me realised just how Chinese I am - I don't know how to relate to them at all! It's a bit better with other non-Aussie students, but there's not many of them at this group.

As far as I can tell, most of the students are not Christians, and they come because there's free food. In term 1, I was simplying observing while the regular leaders gave a talk/Bible study. But this term I am trying to get more involved. Tomorrow I will be leading for the first time, and I'm a bit worried about how it'll go, given my inability to relate to them.

Please pray that I will be able to prepare well and engage the students. Pray also that they will listen and be challenged by God's Word.

One of the most obvious statistics to look at is of course the religious affiliation of Chinese people in the South. Here is the breakdown (click on the pie chart for a larger image):


A number of observations & reflections:

1. 50% of Chinese people identify themselves as having no religion. That's not surprising given the background of communist China.
   
2. But from my experience, these Chinese people are not atheists (certainly nothing like Richard Dawkins). They don't necessarily believe in no god(s). They just don't subscribe to an established religion. I find that they are a mix of Taoist beliefs, Confucius mindset and Chinese mythology/animism.
   
3. Although 24% of Chinese people identify themselves as Christians, you can see that this is a very broad category that includes cults like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.
   
4. If we leave out the cults, and separate the Catholics into a separate category (for reasons I'll leave for discussion at another time), we are left with 4,620 Christians (13.77%).
   
5. From my contact with churches in the area, I estimate that there are around 2,500 Chinese people who regularly meet with Christians on a weekly basis. Of course, that includes non-Christians and nominal Christians. So I would say that a more realistic estimate is probably around 7% Christians.

Pray for the many who are trapped in Taoism, Confucianism and animism, that the gospel will break through these barriers and speak into their lives.

Pray for the Christians in the South that we may be active in reaching out with the gospel, and also live in such a way that makes people take notice.

Thank you to those who have been praying for us as we deal with the recent events. Let me give you some updates.

Firstly, regarding Carmen's injury. She needs to have a minor surgery done next week which shouldn't be any problems. Mentally and emotionally she's a bit better now, though that may resurface again after the surgery. There's a chance that the medical costs will be covered by the church's public liability insurance. But if not, it'll be a big chunk out of our wallet. Either way, there will also be expensive ongoing medical costs for the rest of her life as well.

Give thanks that there are good medical professionals who are able to help us. Pray that the surgery will go smoothly, and ask that God will provide for our finances (either through insurance or other means).

Secondly, regarding the girl (H) who decided to leave last week (I'll refer to people using first name initial). She plans to keep on coming to youth group on Friday nights. I also hope to continue to disciple her 1-on-2 with the girl (W) who recently became a Christian (though that is not 100% confirmed yet).

Give thanks that H can continue to meet with Christians and get spiritual input on Friday. Pray for me as I disciple H and W that it will be an encouraging and fruitful time. Pray also for me as I continue to deal with ongoing issues in the church.

We have seen that there are many Chinese people living in Hurstville and in the South. In future posts, I will take a closer look at what these Chinese people are like.

Here is the age breakdown in each region (click on the graph for a larger image):

Here's another version with the bars stacked on top of each other (again, click on the graph for a larger image):

As you can see, there aren't many people in the 60+ age range (only 10%). Many of the people are in the 20-29 and 40-49 age bracket (almost 40%). Yet I have none of those age groups in my congregation. I suppose most of those in the 40-49 bracket would probably prefer to speak Cantonese or Mandarin (I will do a post later about language). But I would really like to reach those in the 20-29 bracket.

Any ideas on how to reach this group?

Pray for wisdom as I think about how to broaden the age spread in my congregation by reaching out into the local community.

Yesterday, another person in my congregation decided to leave our church because of rumours and gossip in the Cantonese congregation. I've really seen the damaging effects of the tongue lately and feeling quite frustrated, disappointed and helpless. Together with what happened last Friday, I've been a bit down in the dumps and worn out.

This morning I was struggling to pray, so I spent some time mediating on Scripture and using it as stimulus for prayer. It's helped a bit, but I would very much value your prayers for us at this time.

Pray that I can find comfort and refuge in God at this time. Pray against Satan that he may not hinder the work of the gospel but that the Holy Spirit will do a wonderful work of refining me.

Haven't had a chance to blog about this until now, but last Friday at youth group, Carmen fell and was injured while playing a game. She's mostly ok, though there are a couple of things we have to do to make sure everything's fine. It's a bit of a hassle, and there will be ongoing medical costs, but we're thankful that her injury wasn't worse (it could have been much worse).

Give thanks that Carmen's injury was relatively minor and that we were able to get help for her very quickly. Pray for her as she recovers not only physically but also mentally and emotionally from the shock and the stress.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for my sermon on Saturday. I was so nervous that I had sweaty palms beforehand! But as far as I can tell from a human point of view, it seemed to have gone alright. In my preparation, I struggled to find a good balance between an evangelistic sermon (which the couple wanted) and a wedding sermon. In the end I was happy with the final script, and I think the delivery was what I wanted as well.

In hindsight, I think I found it easier than preaching at my normal church service. With a larger congregation, there's always someone who will laugh at your jokes. Whereas those same jokes may not have gotten to same response on Sunday, I imagine.

Not that humour is the measure of the quality of a sermon. But when people laugh at your jokes, you feel more relaxed as a preacher because you know that the congregation is on the same wave length as you and are therefore following your train of thoughts. Whereas if a joke falls flat, you think, "How can they understand my exposition if they can't even understand my jokes?"

Give thanks to God who enabled me to prepare a clear message which was able to engage the congregation as well as speak to the newlyweds. Pray for the non-Christians (especially the father of the groom) who heard the gospel that God will use that to stir their hearts to seek him.

I am preaching my first wedding sermon tomorrow. It's for a good friend, so I'm a bit nervous!

Pray that I will speak clear and faithfully from the Scriptures, and that the message will be relevant to both Christians, non-Christians and the couple getting married.

Pray also for the newlyweds that their love for each other would be modeled on the love between Christ and the church.

This is something my church is organising for students in Year 11 & 12 and their parents. It's not a Christian event (though all the presenters are Christians), but simply an opportunity to contribute something to the community.

Pray for the presenters that the seminars will be helpful to students who are anxious about their HSC. Pray also that this event will help raise the profile/awareness of our church in the community, and that in the midst of helping people with their earthly problems that there may be opportunities to deal with deeper spiritual problems.

One week to go! Registrations close this Sunday.

In my previous post, we saw that many Chinese people live in the South, particularly in Hurstville. In fact, there are more Chinese people living in suburb of Hurstville than anywhere else in Australia. Here is the breakdown of the top 10 suburbs populated by Chinese people in NSW (click the image for a larger version):


As you can see, Hurstville is way out on top by a large margin! And on top of that, Chinese people make up a staggering 44% (10,269 out of 23,333 people) of the population in Hurstville! - even higher than Haymarket.


And not only is Hurstville full of Chinese people who live there, but it is also the gathering place for Chinese people. I have no official statistics to prove this, but walk through the main road on any day of the week and you can see that's where lots of Chinese people of all ages gather. It's the real Chinatown of Australia!!

Hurstville also has good public transport (at least by Australian standards). On weekdays, there are trains to the City on average every 4 mins in peak hour and every 8 mins in off-peak time. Plus there are 18 bus routes that services this suburb.

Add all that together and you can see that Hurstville is a great place to do ministry!

Pray for the many Chinese people who live in this suburb and the surrounding areas that God may have mercy upon them. Pray that their hearts will be prepared to hear the gospel and that God may bring them into contact with Christians who will introduce them to Jesus.

PS Andrew Hong had already posted these same statistics a few months back. But I thought it'd be good to do it again since it's directly relevant to my ministry.

Had an "interesting" day at church yesterday.

UP: Found out one of my youth group girls became a Christian on Saturday night at the Yeah Show. Everyone was very happy to hear the news and welcomed her into the family.

Praise God for bringing her to a saving knowledge of his Son Jesus. Pray that she will crave spiritual milk as a newborn and that we as a church community will help her to grow and mature as she begins her new life.

DOWN: There has been a number of rumours in the Cantonese congregation stemming from money issues that has caused a division in the church and one family to leave us. There was a meeting yesterday and what I hope was the start of a peaceful resolution.

Pray for a spirit of unity amongst all the members such that the gates of Hades may not prevail against it. Pray that we will entrust our worries about money to God who richly provides us with everything we need. Pray also for the pastors and leaders as we seek to heal the hurt and find a way forward.

Here are some interesting statistics from the 2006 census that I found on the Australian Bureau of Statistics(ABS) website:

• There were 4 million people living in Sydney in 2006.
• 6.8% (281,305) of those were Chinese.
• 15.4% (33,568) of those live in the St. George Region (SGR) - what I call 'the South' (sorry Shire friends).

The ABS census collects data in 3 regions (technically called Statistical Local Areas): Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale. Don't confuse these regions with the suburbs. This is how many Chinese people live in each region (click for larger image):

Hurstville Region: 15,169	Kogarah Region: 9,221
Rockdale Region: 9,178

Here is a composite image:

As you can see, many of them live in the suburb of Hurstville. More on this later.

Pray for this rich harvest field that there would be more workers sent out to preach the good news.