By Connie Cavanaugh

The children of immigrants are "third culture kids." Young Asian Canadians are caught in the middle of a culture clash where they're not quite Canadian and not fully Chinese. In their interactions with family, fellow students, co-workers and each other they're always conscious of the divide between their Chinese roots and the mainstream of Canadian society.
During the past 10 years, 281,300 people have emigrated from mainland China to Canada. Since 1998, more people have emigrated from China to Canada than from any other country. Chinese is the third most commonly spoken language in Canada, next to English and French.

Canadian and Chinese believers are continually looking for effective ways to reach people whose Communist upbringing practically guarantees they've never heard the name of Jesus.

Norman Wang, a 40-something engineer in Calgary, returned to China for a high school reunion and while there spoke enthusiastically to an old classmate about Jesus Christ. After listening for some time, his Chinese friend interrupted Norman and asked, "What's a Jesus Christ?" Canadian Southern Baptists are trying to reach these Chinese men, women and children who so desperately need to know Jesus Christ.

ROOTS is a daughter church of Truth-a church planted to reach out to first-generation Chinese. ROOTS meets on Sunday morning in a classroom at Alberta Bible College in Calgary while Truth-literally the "parent" church-meets for worship in the chapel. Between 30 and 40 high school students gather to sing, pray and hear a Bible message. After the service the teens hang around for a few hours to play sports and eat together in the gym.

"The teens who call ROOTS home have something in common with first century slaves," says Paul Johnson, ROOT's volunteer pastor who is also on staff at the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists. "Because of the time restrictions of rigorous academic pressure, they're seldom free to assemble." Recalling that slaves in Jesus' day met early before anyone else was up, Johnson asked himself, "How do I help students who are under such tight restrictions?" Welcome to instant messenger or IM. Before getting involved with ROOTS Johnson had never used IM. Now he and the other leaders spend hours each week connecting with teens electronically and virtually assembling online. "Their world is online. I have over 80 on my IM list," he reports. "The other leaders and I counsel by IM. I email them on their birthdays," 55-year-old Johnson comments. "We even pray by chat."

Carol, a 10th grade student at ROOTS, loves God but in order to maintain her 97 percent average, rarely comes to church. She lives on five hours of sleep a night because of the sheer dogged effort required to live up to her parents' expectations of academic excellence. "This is her reality," Johnson comments. "I'll find her on IM around 10 p.m. when she comes up for air and ask her if she wants to chat/pray." She always does.

Bible studies are done online. Johnson, who travels extensively with his "day job," sets it up so that no matter where he is, each Sunday at 8 p.m. Calgary time the Bible study commences. "I cut and paste a story about Jesus from the Bible, and then I ask them questions." Using the Socratic Method, Johnson says, results in fascinating discussions with these adolescent believers, searchers and atheists who "tune in" for the study. The study always ends with prayer.

ROOTS trades in their currency

Canadian born Chinese teens are pushed from Junior High on to get a good education and land a professional career. As a result, these kids have little or no time for frivolous pursuits. Realizing that these students are always looking for volunteer projects to add to their resumes, ROOTS provides a monthly volunteer opportunity. Whether it's filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child or making sandwiches for a homeless inner-city ministry, students make time to give of themselves. It also provides a measurable benefit to unchurched parents who are more likely to allow their teens to spend time volunteering than they are to allow them just to hang out with "religious kids."

ROOTS gets personally involved

"We know their names," Johnson says. "No matter if someone is just a friend of a friend who visited one time and never returned, everyone matters."

Although "MSN.com is a poor substitute for a cell group," Johnson says, the Internet gives leaders at ROOTS access to a mission field ripe for the gospel. It also provides a medium whereby leaders can offer kids practical help with algebra or social studies as well as spiritual counsel. Johnson and other leaders think nothing of spending hours editing papers, explaining assignments or answering "life" questions such as "If Jesus is so important, why wasn't he born in China?" 

ROOTS reaches up and out

"Initially most kids were children of Truth's members, but since last spring they've begun to invite their friends," Johnson says. "It's not unusual for a student to come as a guest one week and to return the next week with a friend." On any given Sunday, less than half of the teens are Christ followers. The majority are along for the ride, just checking it out, there for the sports or looking for social interaction. Regardless of why they show up, they all hear about Jesus Christ-many for the first time.

Most ROOTS attendees don't have parents in church, so members of ROOTS and Truth hosted a Parents Appreciation Dinner that brought an amazing response. More than 100 parents attended. Diana, an adult member of Truth gave a gospel message in Mandarin to dozens of Mainland Chinese parents who heard about Jesus for the very first time. "It was almost like ROOTS was 'missionarying' Truth," Johnson recalls.

How does a church "be a church" if few of them are free to assemble? If most of them have never held a Bible or heard the name of Jesus? If they're caught between cultures? They get creative, they pray with passion, they lay down their lives, in short, they do whatever it takes.

Connie Cavanaugh is a writer living in Cochrane, Alberta.