Outreach to Asian people: the opportunity

Millions of people with an Asian background live in the UK. Some have only recently arrived, others have lived in Europe, North America and Australasia for many generations. Their coming has enriched our culture enormously with food, clothing, art and cinema blending into national life. Asians may have family roots from India and Pakistan, Hong Kong, China, Japan or Korea. But one thing is certain - Asian people are often more open to talking about spiritual things than longer-established residents of the Western world. There is a huge mission field on our doorstep!

How can one resource speak to such a diverse group of people?

It might seem strange to create a set of resources that tries to speak to people with such a diverse range of beliefs and cultural backgrounds. What could be more different than Buddhism and Islam? How similar in outlook are Vietnamese people and Bangladeshi people?

But Asian people of all kinds share many attitudes in common: an openness to talking about spiritual things; a feeling that they must live up to family expectations; a sense of honour. But most of all, they share the view that Christianity is a western religion. They have questions and sometimes misunderstandings about the nature of Christian faith and believing that are quite distinct from those that are asked by others.

I live in New Malden, South West London, which is home to a large community from South Korea. Because I had spent years being cautious talking to others about the gospel, I did not understand how open Koreans are to spiritual discussion until a friend helped me get over my natural reticence. "Are you a Buddhist, or a Christian?" he asked the waitress as we sat at lunch one day, enjoying Kimchi at a local Korean restaurant. I was astonished at the friendly reply, and the conversation that opened up.

And that is where this course starts. The outreach booklet Jesus through Asian eyes is built around sixteen commonly asked questions that people from Asian non-Christian cultures have about Jesus, the Bible and the Christian faith. The course picks up on these common cultural ways of thinking to present the good news about Jesus in a way that is open, friendly and appealing.

And this is where your outreach could start. Using this colourful, beautifully designed booklet, you can have a conversation with a neighbour, friend, work colleague or the waiter at your local Chinese or Indian restaurant, and present it to them as a gift. "Do you think Christianity is a western religion?" They may be surprised to discover that it is not...