Evaluating the Effectiveness of Encouraging Chinese Christians to Share the Gospel with the Jewish Diaspora Through Mission Education: A Study of Three North Suburban Chicago Chinese Churches

Eugine Tsai

Etd

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Encouraging Chinese Christians to Share the Gospel with the Jewish Diaspora Through Mission Education: A Study of Three North Suburban Chicago Chinese Churches

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Eugine Tsai. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Encouraging Chinese Christians to Share the Gospel with the Jewish Diaspora Through Mission Education: A Study of Three North Suburban Chicago Chinese Churches. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/95bb00b2-e904-4b6d-840f-6c969142b9c3.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

E. Tsai. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Encouraging Chinese Christians to Share the Gospel with the Jewish Diaspora Through Mission Education: A Study of Three North Suburban Chicago Chinese Churches. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/95bb00b2-e904-4b6d-840f-6c969142b9c3

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Eugine Tsai. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Encouraging Chinese Christians to Share the Gospel with the Jewish Diaspora Through Mission Education: A Study of Three North Suburban Chicago Chinese Churches. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/95bb00b2-e904-4b6d-840f-6c969142b9c3.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Eugine Tsai

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In Copyright

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a researcher-designed mission course in encouraging three Chinese diaspora churches in northern Chicago to engage neighboring Jewish communities through cross-cultural practice. Combining cognitive understanding and practical application, the course is intended to foster missional awareness and cross-cultural competence among first-generation Chinese diaspora Christians. Crucially, the study addresses a common issue in Chinese churches: missions are supported in theory but rarely practiced locally. Using a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with pastors and members from three Mandarin-speaking congregations at eighteen, nine, and six months after course completion. The findings showed that the course significantly enhanced participants’ missional awareness, spiritual transformation, evangelistic involvement, intercessory prayer, and sensitivity toward non-Christians. Many participants also developed a growing burden for the unsaved and became more willing to participate in local outreach activities. However, sustaining these practices depended largely on ongoing pastoral leadership, church support, and continuous ministry opportunities. The study further revealed that the course was less effective at encouraging cross-cultural evangelism due to barriers such as limited confidence in English-language gospel communication, workplace and social constraints, and the Chinese cultural concept of face (mianzi). The study concludes that while mission education can effectively cultivate internal transformation and localized missional practice, future curriculum design should more intentionally address linguistic and cultural barriers in order to better equip first-generation Chinese diaspora Christians for sustained cross-cultural engagement.

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