An Invitation South Philadelphia Breakfast Club Serving Milk with Eggs and Ham [09/26/2003] Dear friends, We are forming a support group for our church planting effort in South Philly and beyond... and would like to invite you to consider participating in this ministry! It is estimated that as many as 60,000-70,000 Chinese reside in the Greater Philadelphia area. According to Census 2000, more than 20,000 Chinese live in the city of Philadelphia. The Chinese concentration is particularly high in Chinatown and South Philadelphia where recent immigrants gather. Census 2000 estimated a total Chinese population of more than 5,000 in these two areas alone, though the true figure is likely to be far greater, perhaps as high as 10,000. While the Chinese Christian Church & Center and the Chinese Gospel Church (plus other smaller churches) have made visible impacts on the Chinese community over the years, a great portion of the immigrant population remains unreached. Furthermore, while serious efforts have been devised to reach out to the university campuses, concerted outreach attempts toward the middle-lower class continue to be lacking. The need for action is especially urgent given the continuous flow of working class immigrants into the area and the myriad of issues they face -- immigration status, language, employment, health care access, education, acculturation, cultural and generation gaps, plus other family problems such as domestic violence and addictions. In light of the above, we are praying that the Lord will begin an urban church planting movement in Philadelphia (and beyond). Our hope is that the gospel will be heard not only in the university campuses, but also in garment factories, Chinese take-outs and restaurants, and in the homes of those who are considered lowly by the world. The vision was first conceived in the Spring of 2002, it has since been shared at and gained support from Tenth Presbyterian Church (www.tenth.org) and CityNet (www.citynetphilly.org), a church planting network in Philadelphia. [The church plant will be established under the Presbyterian Church of America (www.pcanet.org).] With this in mind, I would like to invite you to consider joining the one-and-only South Philadelphia Breakfast Club (southphillybreakfast@yahoogroups.com)! Two things you need to know about this breakfast club: (1) there is only 1 selection (sorry no Geno’s Cheesesteak) on the menu -- namely “Milk with Eggs and Ham”; and (2) this is not a breakfast-eating club, but rather a breakfast-making club! The question for you then is this: Are you going to be a “COW”, a “CHICKEN”, or a “PIG”? See, the three represent 3 levels of commitments. The Cow gives its milk (that’s easy), the Chicken lays the eggs (a bit more costly), but the Pig gives its life (literally lays it on the table)! Depending on what you deem to be God’s calling for you (in relation to this project, of course -- you should always be a Pig for God, right?), you can be a Cow, a Chicken, or a Pig... THE COWS -- The Cows are prayer warriors who form the foundation of the ministry. They are expected to be faithful in prayers, supporting the Launch Team and staff through every trial and spiritual battle. THE CHICKENS -- The Chickens are financial contributors in addition to their roles as prayer warriors. They are urged to make personal sacrifices (cut down on day-to-day expenses, vacation spending and else) in order to contribute generously to the church planting effort. This is particularly crucial in the initial stage [first 2-3 years] when the church has yet to attain financial stability. Note: All Chickens are urged to give to the church plant in addition to their usual tithe to their respective churches. If a Chicken plans to give part of his/her tithe to the church plant, he/she is encouraged to first consult his/her pastor. Also, please feel free to share this church plant with your respective churches to see if they would be interested to support us as part of the mission budgets. THE PIGS -- The Pigs by definition are expected give their all! They will form the so-called Launch Team which will help jump-start the church and stay through its highs and lows. Since the mission of this operation is to reach the unreached, we are really not interested in recruiting a large group of Pigs -- that would be stealing sheep! Rather, we are seeking a number of willing and committed souls -- a few good Pigs that is -- eager to see God’s kingdom expand, especially among this group of working class immigrants. [Chinese language ability is preferred but not essential.] Note: All Pigs wanna-be’s should consult their respective pastors before making the final decision to leave their respective churches (whether temporarily or permanently) for the church plant. The Pigs are expected to contribute to the church plant through prayers, tithes and offerings. Lastly, I would like to emphasize that despite the seemingly casual analogy of Cow-Chicken-Pig (which originated from the context of business consulting), our desire and plan to reach the unreached are both keen and firm. I therefore urge you to prayerfully consider this invitation and invest your prayers, money, and life accordingly... Emmanuel, - Kin. PS You do NOT need to make a decision in regard to your role and participation at this point. All are welcome to join this email list to learn more about this church planting ministry. We will be organizing a couple of Cows-Chickens-Pigs meetings in our South Philly home in October/November. There will be a more detailed presentation followed by a Q&A session. Prayer requests will also be posted in the near future. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at “kin@alum.mit.edu”. A vision statement (in both English and Chinese) is also available for all interested parties. [Home]