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.