On April 6th, Rosewood Baptist Church (Mosaic Baptist’s mother church) will celebrate her 20th birthday. It will be a hugh celebration with banquet and such. Of course, it is quite a ride for Rosewood Baptist Church. Two churches had been planted and a building had been erected. Three services on Sundays and the least turnover rate of pastoral staff for a decade. A well deserved celebration.
Then it seems strange that no one in Mosaic Baptist has asked: “How do we celebrate our 1st year anniversary?”
To be honest, as the lead pastor, I do not even know which date should we use as the official birthday of Mosaic Baptist Church. To be extremely honest, I do not quite care. (This is quite politically incorrect to say but then Jesus’ birthday is not on December 25th either.) The birthing of Mosaic Baptist Church last for a long while; perahps, years. Her final birthday could be either Feb. 4th or April 8th. On Feb. 4th, 2007, Mosaic Baptist Church had her 1st mock worship and on Apr. 8th, 2007, the main launch. Therefore, the official birthday of Mosaic Baptist Church could be any of the dates between Feb. 4th and Apr. 8th, perhaps today will do.
While I have no desire to get into a debate of whether celebrating the birthday of Mosaic Baptist Church is right or wrong, I do want to share my personal reflection of the past year at Mosaic Baptist Church. The following is my thanksgiving letter to God:
“God, I thank you for giving Mosaic Baptist Church an identity.
The name ‘Mosaic’ is a trendy name for church these days. Most of the churches that has ‘Mosaic’ in their name is likely getting it from The Mosaic in California. A church that is identified as multi-ethnic, risk taking and missional. When we chose the name ‘Mosaic’, we certainly wanted to emulate what goes on at The Mosaic. However, we were not even being near to half who The Mosaic is when we began.
Multi-ethnic? Hardly. We honestly want to. However, we are still 100% Chinese in heritage. God, we want to include other ethnic groups but it seems that they haven’t come yet.
Risk taking? It is quite an oxymoron when ‘Chinese Christian’ is put in the same sentence with ‘risk taking’. We Chinese are comfortable with cloning. We do not want to be creative. We do not like rocking the boat. We want to clone from the ‘most successful’ Chinese churches in town because it makes us feel safe and right.
Missional? ‘Doesn’t going on a short-term mission and give to missions make us missional?’
We were like lost sheep.
When we first started out in February, 2007, many members were excited for the new beginning:the whole church planting thingy. However, I did sense that many were confused in what Mosaic Baptist Church is really about. Identity crisis. Who are we? What are we doing? How come there are less programs and fellowships? No more Sunday schools? No youth group? NO ANYTHING!
Then You asked me to stick with the original vision that you have given me: start a church for the next generation. A church that is not a clone but a creation of Yours.
One year later, Mosaic Baptist Church has found that we are ‘a mosaic of Chineses’. Though we are English speaking in worship, we are at least comprised of four sub-cultures of Chinese: the oversea born Chinese but more Eastern in thoughts and lifestyles; the oversea born Chinese but more Western in thoughts and lifestyles; the Canadian born Chinese but more Eastern in thoughts and lifestyles; and the Canadian born but more Western in thoughts and lifestyles. We are ‘micro multi-ethnic’ (I do not know if such terminology exists. But I thought if people can come up with ‘thickatsu’, thicker Japanese fried pork chop, ‘micro multi-ethnic’ can be a fancy word to describe subcultural groups within an ethnic group).
You have allowed Mosaic Baptist Church to take many risks in the past year. For examples: having a seminarian intern while still searching for our ways; more than 10% of our total offerings went towards missions and community projects; cancel ‘Sunday church’ to have lunch with our non-churched friends; personal worship times and Jesus meal (Lord’s supper) as part of the Sunday worship every week; every member has to renew his/her membership every year; and changing the paradigm of being and doing church as started by the first generation of Chinese in North America. One year later, You have kept us together amidst these risks; we have not become divisive but continue to mature together.
Now Mosaic Baptist Church has learnt to be more missional. (It seems to be a trendy thing but definitely the kind of church that can help the new generation connect better with the gospel of Jesus Christ.) We are slowly emerging into what is described as the ‘nine practices of a missional church’. (Taken from Shaped by God’s Heart by Milfred Minatrea). Members are becoming more proactive in looking into mission trips or forming life groups. We have gradually steered away from the ‘spoon fed’ model of doing church but challenged members to grow to be whom God has designed them to be. It is quite politically incorrect for a lead pastor to say to members, ‘You need to find what God has called you to do and do it… the church is not going to plan many programs and even short-term mission trips….you are to find it yourself…find your ministry and do it…the church is there to support you…I am there to help you do your ministry…’
But I said it. (The traditional role of a pastor is to take care of the affairs of the church. The members are there either to assist or to only be ministered.)
Today, Mosaic Baptist Church is a ‘mosaic of broken people with Chinese heritage, called by Jesus Christ to gather together to reflect His love and taking risks to carry out the mission of God’.
This is our identity. This is Your grace.
Thank You, thank You, thank You. Amen.”
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Now, to all the brothers and sisters, friends and families of Mosaic Baptist Church:
Thank you for all your love, patience, understanding, courage and trust in me.
May God continue to shape us according to His heart. May God continue to guide us according to His will. May God continue to protect us according to His strength. May God continue to remember us according to His mind.
Pastor Ka
