By Elaine Phillips
CALGARY, AB— ROOTS is an adjunct to Truth, a Mandarin-speaking Chinese church in Calgary. In 2002, the leaders realized they would need an English service for their teenagers; the first leader was seminary student, Nathan Vedoya (who moved to Edmonton in December 2004).
Paul Johnson, CNBC Share Team leader, volunteered to help find speakers and keep the worship going for three months. Now, four years later, he’s firmly embedded in the growing ROOTS community. Initially a youth group, ROOTS has slowly transitioned to a student church (junior/senior high and university); in the future it may become a multi-generational English congregation.
Several factors set ROOTS apart. It is customary for a third or more non-Christians to attend—that’s a high ratio for a worship service. The students are primarily Mandarin-speaking immigrants and services are interactive and dynamic—the leaders use video, YouTube, group time, and improv.
Most often the students have a materialistic worldview and no belief in God at all; many have never been to church, never had a Bible, never heard about God. There is very little “Bible memory” in the room; most of the Christian youth attending are first-generation, with no childhood memories of the Bible, so prior knowledge cannot be assumed.
“Perhaps both students and leaders have had less practice in resisting the Holy Spirit, an element present in many North American churches,” says Johnson. Each Sunday those who gather say the Great Commission and Great Commandment together, and ask for stories.
Another characteristic is that these students are part of the emperor generation—the result of the one-child policy in China; almost without exception each ROOTS student is the only child in their family.
This has an interesting dynamic sociologically. Students come from professional, highly educated families; their parents are motivated to have their children achieve. There are many potential future leaders in ROOTS who are already building disciplines of critical thinking and good study habits; they will be professionals in their careers and, if properly discipled, could have a strong impact in the world.
The ROOTS motto? This church is “a safe place to search and s-t-r-e-t-c-h and give ourselves away.”
Leaders recognize that many students come with no knowledge of the Bible and no “church culture” background, so they work hard to make it a safe place for them to explore; leaders do their best to demonstrate love to the students so that they will experience God’s love.
Sermons contain an apologetic aspect because students are still grappling with questions such as, “Is there a God”; “If so, what is He like?”
Students are highly academic and busy with studies; this means leaders have limited time with them; they use emails and msn-chats to stay in contact. Johnson sends out a ROOTS “verse-of-the-day” to help them connect with and talk to God during the week. They take the s-t-r-e-t-c-h aspect of their motto seriously, and frequently have themes on character development and friendship-building.
There is no full-time or paid staff; all leaders are busy volunteers: gifts from God. ROOTS has been given many high quality leaders in answer to persistent prayer. The most recent are parents of ROOTS students who have a vested interest in helping because of the impact on their own child.
Often it’s difficult to meet with potential leaders because immigrant families are focused on adaptation to a new culture, language acquisition and job training.
Three mothers—Xiaoxia, Xiaoyan and Joyce—are responsible for specific areas of leadership. They lack confidence in functioning as Christian leaders, first because of cultural expectations (in the Chinese culture a leader is often expected to be highly educated in a given discipline) and because of their limited experience and knowledge of the Bible. Communication is by email, with frequent contact to inform and encourage.
Student leaders, too, are emerging—and two of these are now considering summer missions. One young student, when asked what she liked about ROOTS, answered, “It is a safe place where I can ask questions. I can talk about Jesus in a way that’s not possible at school. I can learn and grow in my relationship with God, and meet new friends. I am accepted and loved.”
Leaders and students alike appreciate the informality of worship; the challenge of cross-cultural communications; the personal friendships developing between them; the beauty of transformed lives.
“I love the privilege of investing in first generation Christians,” says Johnson. “I love to work with students while they are forming their worldview and making major decisions. I love visiting their families and answering their questions; I love the challenge ... to see hundreds of students and parents find God and follow Jesus in Calgary, Canada and China; I love to be able to use my experience and knowledge to help those who’ve never heard, hear and respond.
“Finally, I love the food!”