Growing up in an ethnic church often comes with particular cultural traditions and practices. Every Sunday often comes with switching between languages from one interaction to another. In Chinese heritage churches, adults often take on leadership roles while children and adolescents take on smaller roles in the ministry. Although I never felt like I was less important, there were certainly instances where I felt like I could have done more for the community but I couldn’t because of my age.
For much of my life, I stayed under the shadow of my parents, who were very involved in the church. I was known as “Mr. and Mrs. See’s son” instead of being known for my own identity. Although I did not despise it, I often still questioned whether what the church community saw of me was based on the reputation of my parents or the experiences they had with me.
Usually, I would sweep my feelings about it under the rug since I knew how much people cared about me either way. Many of the church members and elders had known me since I was a baby, and I would often hear stories of them taking care of me when I was younger. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that I was raised in my home church. From my childhood to my adolescence, I was poured into learning about the Christian faith and creating a firm foundation of the fundamentals that I am always able to rely on.
But now that I’m grown up and out of my parent’s house, I’ve been convicted to serve my home church since it was where I grew up for 18 years of my life.
Wanting to Give Back to My Church
Over the years, I have constantly been poured into, but I have lacked action to pour into others. I had recently finished my first year of college, and I realized how much of a blessing it was that I grew up in my home church that was rooted in the Word. At the same time, I also realized that growing up in the church was more of me taking in than giving.
I reached out to my pastor about my interest in serving the church, and I explained my enthusiasm for serving the church. He was encouraged by my eagerness and pointed me towards the right people to talk to. However, whether it was a lack of motivation or something else, I didn’t follow through with my words at that time.
Near the end of that summer, at my church’s retreat, the guest speaker spoke on the topic of loving the community. He mentioned how serving and evangelizing to the community is the call of any believer. I was particularly convicted about this because of the lack of action I had taken thus far, even when God had weighed it on my heart throughout the summer. The speaker even mentioned specific ideas on how to serve the church and he listed out some that I was thinking about myself earlier that month. I knew that God was speaking to me and that if there was no application it would all have been for nothing.
Galatians 6:10, reads “So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (NASB 1995). When I remembered this verse, I felt hypocritical because of my inaction. I may only have a month of summer before I returned to college, but I knew that I could still do something for the church.
Taking Steps to Serve My Church
So what does serving my home church look like? During the school year, I attend a church nearby that has a college service month. I chose to start something similar at my home church, and, led by the Holy Spirit, I created a September Service Week. During this time, we would set up a service board where people could submit small requests they needed/wanted to get done, which ranged from babysitting to moving furniture to yard work. A fellow church member would then fulfill the request according to their availability.
Supported by a group of young adults at my church, we served those in our church community faithfully and cheerfully. Although it started on a small scale, I wanted to begin this project to encourage fellow believers on our call to help those in need, especially those in our community. I hoped to bring service into the church and find ways for people to build each other up, starting with completing a small favor.
Through this project, I had no intention of seeking recognition, but I simply did all that I could to give back to my church community. I did it all for the glory of God, and it wouldn’t even matter to me if people still viewed me more as my parent’s child because the bigger point was serving for the sake of God’s kingdom.
Now I know being in an ethnic church or any local church for that matter may have different cultural contexts and practices. For some churches, effective practices might include evangelism training and groups that go out to high-traffic areas such as college campuses. Other small service opportunities—such as the job board or even just driving other people to church—that do not require long-term commitments could also be great options to encourage church members from different generations to serve each other. Serving in the church may look different in other churches and even to the individual, but I pray that it is not something that should ever be taken lightly or pushed aside. May we all be cheerful and obedient servants of the Lord!