Last year, when ChinaSource hosted a lecture in my city, I made the mistake of attending by myself. As the evening got underway, I remember wishing so badly that I had brought some of my Chinese student friends along. The event would have been a perfect conversation starter. Instead, I drove home feeling like I had missed an opportunity.
Creating Bridges for Chinese Students
I work with international students from China. Like a lot of other people in this context, we try to create a community for students through fun social events and weekly Bible studies. Sometimes, though, people need engaging events that bridge the gap between the two. One of our “bridge” events is called Table Talk, a shared meal that stops short of a Bible study but always pushes us into the realm of meaningful ideas.
This Time, I Brought Friends
This past March, I was so excited to find that our Table Talk lined up perfectly with another ChinaSource lecture to be held in my city, titled “China’s Earliest Christians: Who Were They and What Can We Learn from Them?” I made plans to attend again, and this time, I was determined to take some students along with me.
A Lecture That Sparked Deeper Conversation
This in-person event proved to be yet another expression of the high level of excellence that I have come to expect from ChinaSource. The topic was fascinating, and the presenter, Dr. Glen Thompson, was concise and engaging. The lecture served as the perfect launching point for our group discussion afterwards as we shared pizza together at a local restaurant. Our students and volunteers had three main takeaways from that evening.
Realizing Christianity Is Not Foreign
First, learning that Christian concepts and ideas were present in China as early as the seventh century AD had a profound impact on our Chinese student friends. It was as if, suddenly, the prospect of becoming a follower of Christ didn’t seem quite so foreign. The timeline of historical events shifted for them and, as a result, they became connected to the story of the Gospel in a whole new way. Their country and their people were a part of the natural spread of the gospel around the globe and that makes a difference, because it means this story is their story.
Reframing the Western Narrative
A second related revelation for students was the disruption of the narrative that Christianity is in some way Western (North American or European) at its core. Placing Christianity into a “Western box” makes it easier to dismiss as one item on a list of Western influences that China has been resisting for centuries. But the whole story of Christianity in China cannot be contained in a Western box. This simple fact struck a chord with our Chinese student friends as they realized that the seeds of Christianity were planted deep in China nearly a thousand years before America was even a distant shore in a settler’s dream.
A Welcoming Space in a Hostile World
Finally, in our work with students, there are plenty of intellectual barriers to faith, but there are also emotional hurdles to overcome. By hosting this event, ChinaSource created a space for over a hundred people to gather simply because they care deeply about China and love Chinese people. It might seem like a small thing but that is a refreshing contrast to the hostile rhetoric, and uninformed animosity that students see and hear all too often these days.
Thank You, ChinaSource
Thank you, ChinaSource, for hosting such an amazing event! Your impact continues to reach far and wide and so many of us are grateful for all that you do.
