The Tenth Chinese Congress on World Evangelization (CCOWE) brought me to Kuching, Sarawak.
Before arriving, what I knew of this East Malaysian city—often called the “Cat City” because Kuching sounds like the Malay word kucing, meaning “cat”—was limited to a statistic indicating that Christians make up more than 30 percent of the population and the stereotype that “this is mostly Methodist territory.” Yet in just a few days, my firsthand experiences not only challenged my assumptions about the local denominational landscape; several seemingly incidental Grab rides and conversations with pastors also gave me a glimpse of Kuching and, perhaps, a microcosm of the wider Chinese church world.
1. Challenging Assumptions: A Spectrum of Faith on the Road
The wonder of this trip began with our Grab rides. Spending an entire Saturday riding around Kuching felt like drawing one surprise after another from a “Grab bag” of fellow believers.
The first driver was a Chinese Christian woman who had English worship music playing in her car. As we talked, we learned that she worshiped in an English-speaking congregation of the historic Anglican Church. Her story gave me an initial glimpse of East Malaysia’s distinctive linguistic diversity and deep roots in historic denominations. Our next driver was a brother from Blessed Church. Pastor Lin Yi-chung of the church that composed the well-known Taiwanese Hokkien worship song 《來信耶穌真正好》(“It Is Truly Good to Believe in Jesus”). This brother was warm and full of energy.
When he learned that we had traveled from afar to attend CCOWE, he enthusiastically invited us to visit his church. He even confidently promised, “I will drive you there tomorrow morning, free of charge!”
We assumed it was simply a polite offer. But early the next morning, he arrived right on time. Serving as our local guide, he first brought those in our group who were headed to Blessed Church to enjoy a proper local Kuching breakfast. In an instant, the statistic that Christians made up more than 30 percent of the population ceased to be merely a number on paper. It became service behind the steering wheel and steaming hospitality shared around a breakfast table.
2. A Closer Look: Kuching as a Microcosm of the Chinese Church
As the congress continued, my observations in Kuching moved beyond warm hospitality and toward the lived realities of Chinese church life.
Finding a Spiritual Home in Different Seasons of Life
In Kuching, I noticed that some brothers and sisters had moved between churches in search of a spiritual home. Both the Chinese woman worshiping in the English-speaking Anglican congregation and the driver from Blessed Church had experienced transitions in where they worshiped.
Outside the congress schedule, I also visited a student from my home church who is currently studying in Taiwan and had returned to Kuching for the summer. During our conversation, I learned that, as a teenager, his mother had taken him from a church in their former denomination to another congregation.
These experiences made me realize that, wherever believers live, their needs regarding worship style, church community, and pastoral care may change through different seasons of life. Learning to understand and accompany believers through such transitions is also part of the reality many Chinese churches face.
Subtle Denominational Tensions and the Work of Acceptance
At the same time, as I spoke about my encounters with different churches during those few days, I began to sense that local ministry workers may hold differing views about certain congregations and approaches to ministry.
During one meal at the congress, I happened to sit at a table with several younger pastors from East Malaysia. The conversation had been lively when I asked out of curiosity, “It is a pity that we have not seen representatives from a certain church at this congress. Is there a reason?”
The table suddenly fell silent. No one responded, and the conversation quickly moved on.
On another occasion, I privately asked a pastor who had served young people in East Malaysia for many years. He offered this wise response:
Every church has its own distinctives, and it is never easy to accept one another’s differences. Churches have problems they need to face, and church members have problems of their own. But as long as people remain in the faith, denominational differences do not need to become a major issue.
His words gave me much to consider. In fact, similar tensions are not uncommon in church communities around the world. It is easy to sing about unity at a congress, but in the realities of local church life, differences in denominational tradition, worship style, and ministry approach require greater understanding and humility from us.
Learning to receive one another amid our differences while holding fast to truth may be a discipline the entire Chinese church must continue to practice.
3. A Shift in Perspective: Rediscovering Partnership amid Religious Diversity
On the road from the airport into the city, I saw not only Christian churches but also Yiguandao worship halls and traditional Buddhist temples. Near the Kuching waterfront in the city center, a grand mosque stood in a highly visible location. Throughout the city’s streets and neighborhoods, religious communities of many kinds were visibly rooted in the life of the city.
Perhaps, in a religiously diverse setting, what we most need to examine is not the churches around us whose worship styles or ministry approaches differ from our own, but whether we are willing to cross the barriers between us and share in the work of the gospel.
The presence of these diverse religious communities should not cause us to regard neighbors of other faiths as adversaries. Rather, it reminds us that the church is called to bear faithful witness to Christ, serve its neighbors, and share the gospel with humility and love in a real and pluralistic society. The Great Commission’s call to unreached peoples is what gives the church’s mission its direction.
If the Great Commission is our shared direction, then churches with different denominational identities and distinctive gifts should not spend their energy on internal comparison and division. Faced with the vast harvest field, churches from different denominations and traditions should complement one another and move forward hand in hand as kingdom partners. Are we willing to cross denominational barriers and go out into the world together as partners?
4. Beyond the Textbook: My Most Valuable Lesson in Hospitality
In the end, the driver from Blessed Church gave me my most valuable lesson in hospitality.
After our first meeting, he drove us to the CCOWE venue free of charge every morning. During his free time one evening, he enthusiastically accompanied one of the brothers in our group to the Kuching Festival night market, held in celebration of Sarawak’s independence. Before we stepped out of the car each morning, he kept one hand on the steering wheel, raised the other, and prayed a blessing over us. Before we left Kuching at the end of the congress, he even made a special detour to show us Blessed Church, warmly introducing us to his spiritual home.
In my regular ministry, I am responsible for training others in hospitality. Yet over those few days, this driver, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other raised in prayer, gave me a deeply moving lesson in kingdom hospitality.
Conclusion
CCOWE has ended, but the questions Kuching raised for me are only beginning.
This city is marked by vibrant warmth, complex denominational tensions, and the real movement of believers through different seasons of life. Yet in a bowl of steaming kolo mee, and in the raised hand and earnest voice of prayer inside a car, I came to understand something deeply: faith need not be something lofty and mysterious. It is present in everyday acts of service and acceptance.
In Kuching, I came to understand what the song 《來信耶穌真正好》 proclaims: it truly is good to believe in Jesus. Learning to cross denominational lines in order to love and extend sincere hospitality is one of the most precious lessons we carry as pilgrims in God’s kingdom.
