For those of us who served in mainland China during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the memories of the “Gospel Fire” remain vivid. By God’s grace and power, we witnessed a movement in the Northeast where house churches multiplied rapidly. Yet this season also mirrored the warning of Matthew 13:24–30: where the “wheat” of the gospel grows, the “tares” of heterodoxy often follow. Without trained leaders, the movement was vulnerable to cults. It was my honor to help our organization establish the Theological Training Initiative (TTI) to prepare pastors for that specific battlefield.
Today, once again, after a season of pastoral ministry in Los Angeles, my wife and I serve with our mission organization in Paris, France. Working with diaspora Chinese over the last four years has taught us that their presence in Europe is not merely a byproduct of economic globalization. It is, in fact, a “Divine Displacement.” Like the scattering of the early church in Acts 8:4, God is using migration to plant the seeds of a new reformation in a continent missiologists have previously described as “post-Christian.”
The Big Premise: From Direct to Catalytic Mission
In traditional missions, we often focus on direct impact: What can I do to fulfill the Great Commission? However, the biblical model is more catalytic. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs Timothy to entrust the truth to “reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
This is the “multiplication effect” of the kingdom. My premise is that the Chinese diaspora in Europe is transitioning from being a “mission field” (the recipient of gospel activity) to a burgeoning “mission force” (the agent of missional change). In the greater Paris area, our organization’s team partners with over ten Chinese churches—out of more than forty evangelical congregations in the city—not just to reach them, but to co-labor with them as primary catalysts for reaching the secular European soul.
Looking Upward: The Missio Dei and the “Other”
Our starting point is the missio Dei, the mission of God. In Matthew 22:37–39, Jesus summarizes the law: love God and love your neighbor. For the Chinese diaspora, “loving the neighbor” requires a supernatural move toward the “other.”
Chinese self-identity, forged over millennia, can act as a “cultural bubble.” This is not unlike the early Jewish believers in Acts 10, who struggled to believe the gospel was for the “unclean” Gentiles. Just as Peter needed a vision to go to Cornelius, the diaspora church often needs a “visionary nudge” to see the secular Frenchman, the Middle Eastern immigrant, or the Roma refugee as a neighbor.
I witnessed this bubble burst on a small scale when we took Pastor Tang, a local Chinese partner, to North Macedonia for a vision trip. Encountering the Roma people—the “poorest of the poor”—Pastor Tang was moved to tears. He saw past ethnic barriers and led his congregation, along with like-minded congregations, to pledge over €100,000 for a Roma church building in Tetovo. This is the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) model in action: crossing the road to care for the one who looks nothing like you. Since that time, several of our partnering Chinese churches in Paris have returned to North Macedonia to help repair an orphanage there. Taken together, these moments have allowed us to witness the Chinese diaspora church in Paris beginning to see the nations as part of their own Great Commission call.
Looking Outward: Breaking the Grand Narrative
Europe suffers from a “collapse of grand narratives.” In a “post-absolutes” era, many people are skeptical of traditional institutions but remain spiritually “thirsty,” much like the woman at the well in John 4.
Within this cultural space, the Chinese church can provide a unique apologetic. Because Chinese people are generally respected for both their work ethic and “peace ethic,” they hold a high-trust platform. When a Chinese believer shares the gospel in fluent French, it creates a “holy cognitive dissonance.” Europeans often expect to meet a Buddhist or a Daoist; when they encounter a follower of Jesus instead, they are intrigued and willing to listen. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, our partnership with ten local churches led to 112 professions of faith across multiple ethnicities. The “high-trust” community of the diaspora became a bridge to the “Absolute Truth” of Christ.
Looking Inward: The Second Generation as a Prophetic Bridge
One of the most critical elements of this catalytic shift lies in the so-called second generation—the European-born Chinese (EBC). They can be described as what I call a true “Prophetic Bridge.”
1. The Daniel Model: Bicultural Excellence
Like Daniel in Babylon, these young people are fluent in the “host code.” They understand the literature, language, and logic of secular Europe, yet they carry the spiritual heritage of the evangelical Chinese church. On our team, half of us speak Mandarin to engage the first generation, while the other half focuses entirely on these second-generation Chinese in French.
2. The Koinonia Cure for Loneliness
Europe is facing a loneliness epidemic. In Acts 2:42–47, the early church thrived because of koinonia—a deep, shared life. Our team has launched Café Connect, a coffee house ministry focused on “life-on-life” evangelism. While first-generation pastors often ask, “What is the topic of the lecture?” or “What will your program look like?” the second generation knows that for their peers, relationship is the lecture. Through English corners, engaging games, or a simple cup of coffee and casual community, we are seeing the “lonely” find a home in the body of Christ.
3. Digital Engagement
The second generation is digitally native rebuilding the “walls” of faith. We use “Digital Diaspora” tools—such as QR-coded evangelical fridge magnets—that lead seekers to French-language testimonies and digital Bibles. This allows us to “digitally fence” neighborhoods like Paris’s Chinatowns, targeting the exact geographical areas where people are searching for meaning.
Conclusion: The Telos of Glory
The telos (ultimate goal) of our mission is not the size of our congregations, but the global recognition of God’s supremacy. Habakkuk 2:14 promises: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
We are not merely building a Chinese church in Europe; we are building God’s kingdom through the Chinese church. As Western partners, our role is to be like Barnabas to their Paul—encouraging, mentoring, walking alongside, and then learning when to step back as God raises up this diaspora community to help re-evangelize the post-Christian soul of Europe.
Ways to Pray
As we continue to walk alongside Chinese diaspora churches in Paris, we would be grateful for your prayers.
- For Café Connect: Pray for our team as we mentor second-generation Chinese in Paris. Pray that these “Prophetic Bridges” would grow in courage, tenderness, and wisdom as they share Christ with their secular French peers.
- For Great Commission partnerships: Pray for the ten-plus churches we currently partner with, as well as the other thirty evangelical Chinese churches in Paris. Pray that God would gently lead them from a survival “Fortress Mentality” toward an engaging “Kingdom Perspective.”
- For theological depth: Pray for our ongoing efforts in theological education among diaspora leaders. Pray that the “wheat” of the European Chinese church would be protected from the “tares” of false teaching.
- For the Divine Displacement: Pray that the 700,000 Chinese in the greater Paris area, along with those in all of Europe, would recognize their providential placement in Europe and rise as a primary mission force for the continent.
