Migrant – a person who moves from one place to another.

Aotearoa, like many countries, is filled with migrants. There are new migrants who apply for various types of visas to come to New Zealand, old migrants from before immigration policies changed back in 1987, the first Chinese/Asian migrants from the mid-19th century, and European settlers.

These days, when we use the word ‘migrant’ in New Zealand, we often refer to the “1st or 2nd Generation Migrants” – those who were born overseas or whose parents were born overseas. In this context, we have migrant churches and various ministries that the Government and NGOs provide for this group of people.

Where does the Church fit into all of this?

I came to Christchurch on October 8, 1998. Although it was spring, the evening breeze was colder than the cold blast during Taiwan’s winter season. We were greeted by our agent Mr. Zoan, who represented the company “Fu Yin,” which actually means “Gospel.” This was the first time we encountered Christians and were invited to a community of Mandarin-speaking people attending the Christchurch Chinese Church. This started my journey of wearing new labels: Chinese, Asian, and Taiwanese. Chinese means people who speak Mandarin, Asian refers to the region we were from, and Taiwanese distinguishes the type of Chinese I am, since there were also Malaysians, Singaporeans, Mainland Chinese, and more. We were same same, but different.

For minority ethnic groups in New Zealand, churches and other religious communities are often one of the few ethnic community organisations. Much like the synagogues back in Jesus’ time, these faith communities are hubs that facilitate faith formation, business transactions, social interactions, produce exchange, and much more. Fast forward to February 2023, Te Raranga Support Trust hosted an Ethnic Church Leaders Dinner and saw pastors/leaders from Egypt, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Fiji, Samoa (to name a few). Ninety leaders showed up, each are leading an ethnic community, and some were the only community of such ethnicity in Christchurch.

My name is Allen Hou, and I am the founder of the Asian Community Transformation Trust, established in 2021 in Christchurch to better the well-being of Asian migrants in Aotearoa. Previously  I also was a youth pastor and an English pastor in a local Chinese church for 13 years.

In 2020, we saw the unique challenges COVID brought to the Asian communities. Parents were unable to come and support their children’s childbirth. Some were unable to return home to bury their loved ones lost to COVID. Financial difficulties put pressure on their livelihood in New Zealand, and challenges in their residency visas to stay in New Zealand arose. These were challenges unique to migrants, yet so familiar to all migrants – same same, but different.

I was led to other like-minded Christians in the community and also a mental health coaching course that was developed locally. This partnership led to over 100 Asians going through the course to learn about mental well-being and how to support others in their communities. This led to the establishment of ACTT as a charitable trust and opened doors to work with local primary schools, medical clinics, NGOs, non-profits, and even local businesses. Everyone came to us with the same question: “Do you know service providers who can understand [insert country name] culture and language?” Health sector, social sector, education sector – you name it – there aren’t enough/many/any bilingual service providers to help migrants in ways they can understand and receive.

“God, what can we do?”

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences with the other mother. I never knew my story could mean so much to her.”

“She also asked me how I was able to have peace through my circumstances, and I was able to share about my Christian faith with her.”

Alice* (not her real name) responded to ACTT’s request for “a Chinese-speaking parent who could support a family raising an autistic child” and shared her experience as a Chinese migrant raising her autistic child. Alice’s lived experience as a Chinese migrant and her experience raising her autistic child meant she could understand the nuances this family was going through as they learned about this condition with their own child.

Migrant churches have been serving migrant communities throughout New Zealand’s rich history of migration. Far too often, Christians do not realize this is the good news the world can see and receive; and we are minimizing our ability to be salt and light as migrants in New Zealand. Church histories all across the globe have shown us that whenever the government is inadequate to serve the people, the churches will stand up and provide such service – this is the gospel, this is our mission.

Ten years ago, I saw a T-shirt in a random street stall in Malaysia. On the front, it read “Same Same” and “But Different” on the back. The migrant ministry ACTT is involved with is nothing new, it is ‘same same, but different’. Same migrants, same Christian faith, same work migrant churches have been doing for more than 30 years in New Zealand, but now through a different avenue – as a recognizable service that even non-believers and non-seekers can access.

“God, what can I do?”

If you know a church (not just migrant churches) that is looking to activate their Asian migrant demographics towards missions/ministries in the community – connect us together!

If you know service providers who are looking to increase their engagement and services towards Asian migrants – connect us together!

If you know people or businesses who can partner through giving or sponsorships – connect us together!

If you are a faithful prayer warrior, we’d love you to keep our ministry in prayer as we traverse new territory that is nuanced in many ways!