EMQ » January–March 2022 » Volume 58 Issue 1
[memberonly folder=”Members, EMQ2YearFolder, EMQ1YearFolder, EMQLibraryInstitution”]By Tabor Laughlin
Evangelical Missiological Society Monograph Series
Pickwick Publications
157 pages
US$22.00
Reviewed by Gene Wilson, former church planter, now global catalyst with ReachGlobal and co-author with Craig Ott of Global Church Planting – Biblical Principles and Best Practices for Multiplication, Baker Academic, 2011.
Today it is estimated that about half of the world’s Christian missionaries working cross-culturally come from the Global South. Chinese missionaries, sent out primarily by the underground church, are having an impact, even though such activities are illegal and risky. The Back to the Jerusalem Movement – rooted in the nationalistic notion that Chinese missionaries would complete the Great Commission – is part of the missionary wave.
How are Chinese missionaries doing? Tabor Laughlin, having lived and worked in mainland China for many years, is well qualified to give us an inside look. His research focused on two main questions: “How are Chinese cross-cultural workers succeeding or struggling with building cross-cultural relationships?” and “How have the pre-field and on the field experiences of cross-cultural workers contributed to retention?” (10). Laughlin interviewed twenty-six cross-cultural missionaries who had made it past the two-year mark. Most served in Southeast or Central Asia, but some served in the Middle East. He collected the data and used the qualitative research analysis tool NVivo 12 to analyze it and find key themes related to those two questions. Prior to that, he reviewed relevant literature to put his findings in perspective.
The greatest challenges to Chinese missionaries are the lack of financial support, lack of vocational training, difficulties learning the language and culture, prejudices affecting relationships, and insufficient cross-cultural experience and training – problems common to many missionaries. The fact that their government opposes their work makes financing, communication, and travel more difficult. Additionally, because of the one-child policy in force so long, and the importance of filial loyalty, Chinese missionaries are pressured to leave the field to care for their ailing parents. They are often greeted by locals with suspicion because of the regional dominance of China, and sometimes make it worse with an attitude of cultural superiority or inflexibility. Yet those interviewed demonstrated resilience coming from their high sense of calling and purpose.
All research has innate limitations. Laughlin suggests likely causes of attrition but, by his own admission, is unable to substantiate those because he only interviewed missionaries who stayed. Nor is he able to say with certainty how the Chinese compare to other missionaries in their adaptation to new environments. The book reads like a monograph in parts (which it is) but is captivating in others because of the illustrations provided. This book is of obvious interest to students of Chinese church growth and other sinologists. But it should also be read as a qualitative case study of a missionary movement from the Global South. Missions used to be from the West to the rest. Now China, along with Nigeria, Brazil, India, and Korea, is among the top missionary-sending countries. I pray that, with the help of studies like Laughlin’s, the Chinese missionary movement will mature.
