2009-04-23

Next Ten Years - Rev. Xavier Law

Next Ten Years                                                Rev. Xavier Law

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts 2009 to be, similar to the worldwide Great Depression in 1929, a time of three zeros-"zero growth, zero interest rate, and zero vision." It is expected that recovery will not come until three years later. Facing such an economic downturn, it becomes crucial for both individuals and businesses to figure out how to stay afloat.

Every day we are surrounded by bad news and pessimistic analyses of the global economy. Are we, as Christians, affected and become pessimistic as well, driven by fear rather than by faith, hope, and love?

At the same time, I was especially thankful for my pastoral staff and deacons. At the pastors and deacons retreat in September 2008 when we shared about our future vision for Pacific Grace, most expressed a wish for larger facilities and more space to develop the church ministries and outreach. I also mentioned it in my sermon in a worship service last October, and offered a direction for thought as well as a challenge:

Imagine: Ten years later, how many people will meet and worship at Pacific Grace?
Imagine: Ten years later, who will be the people gathering and worshipping at Pacific Grace?

Terms like ‘dream,' ‘vision,' and ‘faith' can sound grand-or empty. Either way, when it comes to realizing them, many lack motivation and give up easily. In Don't Blame Me, It's Not My Fault, Taiwanese illustrator and author Jimmy Liao asks an insightful question: "Adults always like to tell children never to give up their dreams, but why all who give up their dreams are adults?"

In the last three years, the Deacon Board has seriously looked into a number of locations for a bigger and longer-term development, including the former Renfrew United Church, the former property of Vancouver Chinese Evangelical Free Church, and Raja Cinema near our church office. In particular, the Renfrew United Church was closed three years ago, and our pastors and deacons had already made a visit. Javier Sem, the vice chairperson of the Deacon Board at the time, inquired of its availability for purchase, but the owner had no intention to sell. When Rev. Chang informed the Board that the church is for sale in March, the Board re-formed the Development Committee during the meeting in the same month and immediately followed it up.

If God indeed let us buy the new church location (former Renfrew United Church), we will be serving the Hastings-Sunrise community. The following are its demographics (from Census 2006, Statistics Canada):

From the above figures, we can see that the community of the new location is better for our long-term development of Cantonese, Mandarin, family, and children ministries (there are certainly opportunities for English ministry as well). If our congregation eventually decides to stay in our current location, there are still opportunities for ministry and serving (especially to the English-speaking communities and low income families), but the church may need to more actively consider transitioning from a commuter church to a community church.

This month, the message from Jeremiah 32 keeps coming to my mind. This is a special chapter because it shows vividly Jeremiah's faith and hope in the future revival of God's people. In 588-587 B.C., when Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem, God told Jeremiah to buy a field outside Jerusalem. The Babylonians had been besieging the city for a year, and they would capture and pillage the city in a few month's time. However, Jeremiah bought a field in the enemy-occupied zone! It was a completely unwise investment, not to mention at the time he was imprisoned. Nonetheless, Jeremiah's action showed his faith. He believed that God would surely bring the exiled people back to their homeland as promised, and rebuild Jerusalem (cf. the Life Application Bible).

At the point of writing, I was reading the April 15 editorial of Ming Pao, titled "Basking in Past Glory Can't Keep Hong Kong No. 1; Reform Needed to Stay Competitive." The article quotes from the 2009 Chinese City Competitiveness Blue Book by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointing out that Hong Kong is ranked top in all-round competitiveness in 294 prefecture-level and above cities in China. However, the experts who conducted the study also points out that, compared with cities around the world, the general standing of Hong Kong is falling while Chinese cities as a whole are rising. In light of this see-saw effect, coupled with the loss of some industrial advantages which Hong Kong used to have (e.g., logistics), it will be hard to stay ahead if the city does not pull itself together.

The same principle applies to the church and Christians: we cannot just stay put and bask in our past glory. I hope that for the future of Pacific Grace as well as our spiritual life and ministry, we are not resigned to set "zero growth" and "zero vision" as our goal!

Let us encourage each other with Jeremiah's prayer:

After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."
                                                                                                                  --Jeremiah 32:16-17