Mobilizing Cantonese speaking young adults into missional disciples in a North American attractional Chinese immigrant church by stories in gathered and scattered worship

2017·6.1 MB·English

by  Wong, Chi Man (Julian)

MOBILIZING CANTONESE SPEAKING YOUNG ADULTS INTO MISSIONAL DISCIPLES IN A
NORTH AMERICAN ATTRACTIONAL CHINESE IMMIGRANT CHURCH BY STORIES IN
GATHERED AND SCATTERED WORSHIP

A THESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY
CHI MAN WONG
MAY 2017
Copyright ©2017 by Chi Man Wong. All Rights Reserved.
To Jennifer,
my amazing wife, companion and cheerleader,
whose sacrificial care for me and our children, Jocelyn and Jasmine,
made it possible for me to complete this thesis.
Missions Exists Because Worship Doesn’t. ― John Piper
CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x
ABSTRACT xi
Chapter
1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1
2. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 21
3. LITERATURE REVIEW 49
4. PROJECT DESIGN AND OUTCOMES 77
5. IMPLICATIONS 109
Appendix
A. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. SERIES SERMON OULTINES 126
B. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. WORKBOOK (ENGLISH) 137
C. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. WORKBOOK (CHINESE) 193
D. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. DEVOTION THEMES AND THEIR PASSAGES 245
E. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. SERMON DISCUSSION OUTLINE 246
F. WEEKLY PRAYER ITEMS BEFORE THE JOURNEY 247
G. THEME SONGS MUSIC SCORE SHEETS 254
H. PRAYER MEETINGS DURING CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. JOURNEY 258
I. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. SURVEY QUESTIONS 260
J. CALLED TO B.L.E.S.S. POST JOURNEY ADDITIONAL SURVEY QUESTIONS 272
v
K. ANALYSIS RESULTS 274
L. SUB-GROUP ANALYSIS ON SELECTED SURVEY QUESTIONS 290
BIBLIOGRAPHY 297
VITA 302

vi
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
1. Called to B.L.E.S.S. Journey Timeline 85
2. On Worship (Mean Score) – Before and After Journey 96
3. On Prayer (Mean Score) – Before and After Journey 98
4. On Others’ Needs (Mean Score) – Before and After Journey 101
5. On Stories Sharing (Mean Score) – Before and After Journey 104
6. Number of people you shared the gospel message with in the past 2 106
months
7. Number of unbelievers that you have witnessed to in the past two months 107
8. Transformation Sweet Spot 122

Tables
1. How God Works in our Lives through Stories 47
2. Summary of Mean Score Change (Post-Score minus Pre-Score) on 94
Questions in the “Called to B.L.E.S.S.” Questionnaire

vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
How gracious is God to have called Richmond Hill Christian Community Church to
serve Him as one body in Christ! I have truly experienced God’s amazing guidance in
inspiring and unifying our team. Without their support, this thesis-project – “Called to
B.L.E.S.S.” learning journey, could not have materialized. My heartfelt appreciation goes
to the following teams:
• our pastors for their valuable contributions to the content and revision of the
workbook, as well as preaching this sermon series
• our curriculum team for developing the Bible studies and “Life Discovery”
Exercise materials
• our translation and editorial teams for their diligence in meeting the tight
timeline,
• our publishing team for putting together the beautifully designed workbook
• our Celebration department for composing two theme songs to
accompany and reflectively inspire us on this journey
• our promotion and decoration team for their creative ideas in rallying our
brothers and sisters to get excited about this journey
• our prayer team for their unceasing prayer support throughout this journey. I
believe that nothing is possible without prayers!
I would like to acknowledge the support of two external sources. This thesis-
project framework is adapted from the book “Discover Your Mission Now” by Pastor
Dave Ferguson, who is the lead pastor of the Community Christian Church in Chicago, IL.
viii
I would like to give special thank for his generosity in granting RHCCC the rights to adapt
his book for our journey. I would also like to thank the Centre for Christian Leadership
at the Dallas Theological Seminary for granting us their permission to use the "Life
Story" framework that is found in “Community – Discovering Who We Are Together” for
our “Life Discovery” exercise.
A special thanks goes to Dr. Ambrose Kwok and Dr. Spike Lee for their expert
advice on the survey design of the questionnaire as well as Dr. Ambrose Kwok for his
help on statistical analysis.
A special thanks goes to my editor Justin Tsui, whom I have known since my first
year of seminary studies at Tyndale. His relentless effort to edit this thesis is very much
appreciated.
My heartfelt appreciation to my mentors Rev. Dr. Paul Detterman and Rev. Dr.
Jim Singleton, who made every step possible for me to get my thesis done in a timely
fashion. Their infinite patience, prayer, affirmation and coaching encouraged me to
think deeper theologically and pastor with a loving heart.
Last, but not least, may all glory go to our Heavenly Father who has graciously
called us together to serve Him and to experience Him in a deeper way!

ix
ABBREVIATIONS

ACEM Association of Christian Evangelical Ministries
CTB Called to B.L.E.S.S.
RHCCC Richmond Hill Christian Community Church
TSS Transformation Sweet Spot

x