王以愛博士
天國視野 Kingdom Perspective
Volume 2, Number 4, July 2012
當我們的生活與事工在被封鎖了一年多, 於今年夏天逐漸地恢復正常時, 封鎖的期間是否給了你認識鄰舍
的機會呢？你是否想過一間身處於多元化社區的教會, 在新的“常態”下, 參與宣教的意義嗎? 我們在多元
化社區所進行的本地宣教, 能對全球宣教產生漣漪效應嗎?
這篇文章和另一篇短文的目的是介紹當機會出現時，海外華人教會 “為什麼”，以及 “如何” 參與 “什
麽樣 ”的全球本地化(Glocal)宣教。
“…宣教的任務不再是‘從這裡到那裡去’ ,而是‘在任何地方向任何人’
… 。”
什麼樣。 “全球本地化宣教”是指我們在履行主的宣教使命會帶來全球影響的本地行動。人們在世界各
地流動是現今的趨勢。根據《2020 年世界移民報告》，世界上每 30 人中就有 1 人是移民，而北美的城市
更是南北向和東西向移動趨勢中的主要移民目的地。根據普世宣教 （Operation World），美國超過 100 萬
人口的族裔至少有 31 個。如果你居住在高等教育、科技或商業中心所在的社區，很可能其中的主要居民
是非白種人。因此，宣教的任務不再是 “從這裡到那裡去”，而是“在任何地方向任何人” 。這意味著
我們生活在與我們不同的族裔中，並且有些人是來自過去稱為 “宣教工場” 的地方。因此，我們需要重
新調整我們宣教的眼光，從“全球”到“全球本地”的視角來看待世界。
在某些方面，初期教會也處於類似的環境中。她處於一個具有主導語言的多元和商業化的環境中，並且將
這些當作宣教的工具。信徒是多族裔的移民，他們同時認同兩個家園並具備雙文化。作為如你和我一樣的
第一代移民, 或是第二代的移民，我們就像初期的信徒一般，具主導語言和跨文化的能力，並且生活在相似
的環境中！我們知道榮譽和恥辱、被視為一個群體的內人或外人的因素、熱情好客以及建立信任和關係的
重要性，因為我們來自 “群體文化”，這是世界上的主流文化。通過各式各樣的即時通訊，移民可以定期
與家鄉的家人和朋友聯繫。因此，當你成為一位移民的朋友時, 你就可以成為本地和全球的一位家庭朋友。
那麼，我們的基督徒見證是全球本地化的——既是本地，又同時是全球性的！
為什麼。 我們的神是一位宣教的神，而“宣教”是“宣教的上帝 (Missio Dei)”在聖父、聖子和聖靈之內。 ”
宣教的基礎始於在三位一體中的差遣，在那裡聖父差遣聖子到按照他的形像被造的萬民（羅馬書 10），以
及以基督的名（約翰福音 14）差遣聖靈到所有信徒。這個使命現在擴展到我們身上（約翰福音 17:4）。我
們需要從上帝的角度來看待移民，認識到是祂把我們的鄰居搬到這裡來，好讓他們可以知道祂。上帝差遣我
們到他們中間，由祂的靈所賦予的能力，以及通過我們為祂所作的見證，將福音帶給他們。 （以賽亞書 43:10
-12 ；使徒行傳 1:8）
神的救恩是給萬民的，這就是福音。這是好消息，因為祂用那不是藉功德而有的恩典, 遮蓋了我們不聖潔和
不義的羞恥；我們得以與祂和好；並且我們可以與祂有個人的關係。我們的三一真神是關係性的，而我們被
創造為有關係的個體。耶穌所說的最大誡命是愛上帝和愛我們的鄰舍。我們首先要通過與上帝的縱向關係來
愛上帝，然後通過與我們鄰舍的橫向關係來愛他們。此外，我們奉差遣, 去邀請萬民來進入祂多元化的國度
裡。當我們在順服中這樣行時，我們就榮耀了那差遣我們的主。我們的君王, 因著所有受造者效忠於祂的主
權, 而得著榮耀。
一旦我們打開宣教的眼睛，從上帝的角度來看待鄰舍，我們就會看到機會。
地方教會應為社區中因文化差異而陷入困境的本地解決方案, 也就是通過愛我們的鄰舍來榮耀我們的君王。
這意味著我們應向外看，而不是在多元化的社區中挑選去愛誰。與“個體文化”相反，“群體文化”的人是
經由觀察和體驗來學習。在他們想認識我們所信的聖潔上帝之前，他們會想看到和體驗到何謂信徒，以及我
們是如何實踐我們的信仰。作為神國度的見證, 我們需要成為世上的光, 地上的鹽和山丘上的一座城。一旦我
們打開宣教的眼睛，從上帝的角度來看待鄰舍，我們就會看到機會。
機會。 生活在一個多元化的社區中，我們看到來自宣教工場的人就住在我們家門口。這是在我們家門口的
宣教機會，不需旅行、簽證或檢疫的要求。這些移民像我們一樣, 可能有家人和朋友分散在世界各地。此外，
如果他們是來自宣教受限制的國家，我們更是可以公開地與他們分享福音。 在他們選擇的居住國，來自“群
體文化”背景的移民, 極有可能正在找尋身份, 以及能提供安全感和彼此相互扶持的一個歸屬的環境。身為移
民的基督徒, 我們因有著獨特的跨文化經驗和技巧, 比單一文化背景的基督徒更能接觸到其他的族裔。此外,
共同的移民經歷, 不僅能夠幫助我們同情和理解我們的鄰舍，還可以幫助他們, 在基督和神國度中找到新的
身份。我們可以讓他們認識主耶穌，由天上移民到地上的神為萬民而死，並且萬民在祂現在和未來的國度中
是同享同等的愛。一旦他們在本地看到、聽到和體驗到我們所傳的福音，就會在他們的全球聯絡網中分享。
因此，我們的本地宣教具有全球性的漣漪效應。
結論。上帝是否正試著告訴我們，在不知旅行何時會再次安全，現在正是我們接觸多元化社區中的人，將本
地宣教與全球宣教聯繫起來的時候？然而，我們由聖經、教會、宣教和世界的歷史中確實地知道，沒有什麼
能阻止我們三一真神的宣教。願這場流行病是增加而不是減少, 我們為祂的國和祂的榮耀而有的全球本地化
宣教的參與。
王以愛博士在已故的 王永信博士所領導的大使命中心服務了將近 18 年後，前往神學院接受裝備。她在金門浸信會神學院（跨文化事工碩士）和西方神學院（跨文化研究博士）裝備了她的跨文化知識和技能。自 2009 年以來，以愛 一直參與加州矽谷中心的多族裔社區外展。目前，她是 Community Vision International 的一名合約同工。 以愛願意親自或在線上與教會或小組分享她的外展經驗，也可以提供本地門前宣教的諮詢。聯繫方法: info4meco@gmail.com.
Glocal Missions – The What and The Why
Dr. Juno Wang
As our life and ministry gradually returns to normal this summer after being lockdown for over a year, has the lockdown given you opportunities to get to know your neighbors? Have you given thought to the meaning of being a church on missions in a diverse community in the new “normal”? Will our local missions to our diverse community have a rippling effect on global missions? The purpose of this and another short article is to present the “what”, “why”, and “how” a church in the Chinese diaspora can be involved in glocal missions when the opportunity presents itself.
The What. “Glocal Missions” means local actions in carrying out the missions’ mandate of our Lord which has a global impact. What is trending right now is the fact that people are on the move around the world. According to the World Migration Report 2020, 1 in 30 people in the world is a migrant, and North American cities are the primary migration destinations with South-North, and East-West moving trends. According to Operation World, the US has at least 31 ethnicities with over one million people in each. It could well be that if you live in communities where higher education, technology, or commercial centers are, non-Anglos are the majority residents in your neighborhood. Therefore, the task of missions is no longer “from here to there” but from “everywhere to everyone” which means that we live among peoples who are different from us, with some coming from where we used to refer to as the “mission field”. As such, the need is for us to reorientate our missional eyes to see the world from a “global” to a “glocal” perspective.
“…the task of missions is no longer ‘from here to there’ but from ‘everywhere to everyone’…”
In some ways, the early church was in a similar environment. It was set in a diverse and commercial center context with a dominant language, and they used these as tools for missions. The believers were multi-ethnic migrants who identified with both homelands and were bi-cultural. As first-generation migrants like you and I or the 2nd generation, we are like the early believers with a dominant language proficiency and intercultural skills, living in a similar context! We know the importance of honor and shame, ingroup and outgroup factors, hospitality, and building trust and relationships as we are from a “group culture” which is the majority culture of the world. With real time communication, migrants connect with family and friends back home on a regular basis. Therefore, as a friend of a migrant, you could become a family friend locally and globally. Our Christian witness then, is glocal – local and global all at the same time!
The Why. Our God is a missional God, and “mission” is “missio Dei within the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The
foundation of missions begins with sending among the Trinity, where the Father sends the Son to all peoples (Rom 10) who are created in His image, and the Holy Spirit He sends in Christ’s name (John 14) to all believers. That mission is now extended to us (John 17:4). We need to see migrants from God’s perspective, recognizing that it is He who has moved our neighbors here so that they might know Him. God has sent us among them, empowered by His Spirit to bring the Gospel to them through our witness for Him. (Isaiah 43:10-12; Acts 1:8)
God’s salvation is for all peoples, and it is the Good News. It is good because He has covered our shame of unholiness and unrighteousness through His unmerited grace; we are reconciled with Him; and, we have a personal relationship with Him. Our Triune God is relational, and we are created as relational beings. The greatest commandments that Jesus spoke of is to love God and to love our neighbors. We are to first love God through our vertical relationship with Him, and then to love our neighbors through our horizontal relationships with them. In addition, we are sent to invite all peoples to enter His diverse Kingdom. When we do that in obedience, we glorify Him who sends us. Our King is glorified through the allegiance to His lordship by all His created beings.
Local churches glorify the King by loving our neighbors and become the local solution for our communities embroiled in issues due to cultural differences. That means we are to be outward-looking and not to pick and choose whom to love in our diverse communities. As opposed to individualistic culture, people who are group cultural learn through observation and experience. They want to see and experience what being a believer is like and how we live out our beliefs before they want to know the Holy God we believe. We are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and a city on a hill of being His witnesses for His Kingdom. Once we open our missional eyes and see our neighbors from God’s perspective, we see opportunities.
Once we open our missional eyes and see our neighbors from God’s perspective, we see opportunities.
Opportunities. Living in a diverse community, we see people from the mission fields living among us right at our front door. This is a missional opportunity at our doorstep without travel, visas, or shots requirements. As migrants like us, they have families and friends scattered around the world. Furthermore, if they come from missions restricted countries, we can share the Gospel openly with them.
In their adopted country of residence, migrants from “group culture” backgrounds are most likely looking for identity and a place to belong for emotional security and mutual support. As believers who were migrants, we are in a unique position with the skillsets to reach other ethnic migrants than mono-cultural Christians. The shared migrant experience helps us not only to empathize and understand our neighbors, but also to help them find their new identity in Christ and the Kingdom. We could let them know Jesus, our migrant God who came to die for all peoples, and we are equally loved in His present and future Kingdom. Once they see, hear, and experience the Gospel from us here locally, it will be shared within their networks globally. Thus, our local missions has global rippling effects.
Conclusion. Is God trying to tell us that this is the time for us to reach the people in our diverse neighborhoods connecting local missions with global missions while we do not know when travel would be safe again? However, we do know from the Biblical, church, missions, and world histories that nothing can stop the mission of our Triune God. May the pandemic increase, not decrease, our involvements in glocal missions for His Kingdom and His glory.
Dr. Juno Wang served at the Great Commission Center International under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. Thomas Wang for 18 years before she pursued her seminary training. She has equipped herself with intercultural skills at the Golden Gate Baptist Seminary (Master of Arts in Intercultural Ministries) and Western Seminary (Doctor of Intercultural Studies). Juno has been involved in the multi-ethnic community outreach in the heart of Silicon Valley in California since 2009. Currently, she is a Ministry Associate of Community Vision International. She is available to share her outreach experience in person or online with churches or small groups, and for consultation. Contact her at: info4meco@gmail.com.
