Montreal, QC-The Saint Lawrence District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance(C&MA) set a goal in 1995 of establishing 75 new churches in Quebec by 2020. Nine years into the project, more Chinese churches are being planted than English or French.

The first Chinese work, Montreal Chinese Alliance Church, was founded in 1972 and counts an attendance of over 500. Services have traditionally been held in Cantonese, the language of Hong Kong, but the church has adapted to new demographics by adding services in Mandarin, the main language of China.

The first offshoot congregation, Chinese Grace Church, with services in Mandarin was also established before the church-planting project was officially initiated. The attendance at Grace Church runs around 300.

Since then, the two churches have parented or grandparented four new congregations in the Montreal area with plans for a fifth already underway. Daughter works typically begin with a pastor who has been trained by the mother church, and a core group of members who move to the new location.

Through the process, the attendance in the mother churches has remained stable.

According to Yvan Fournier, supervisor for the C&MA’s St. Lawrence District, the growth of the Chinese work is not a sign of revival, but of the effectiveness of hands-on lay ministry. "The people in these churches do a lot of evangelism. The churches are very active. They are finding ways to approach their people with the gospel that are adapted to their culture."

Fournier notes that typical Chinese immigrants to Montreal are well-educated and financially independent. They come from varying religious backgrounds including Buddhism, Confucianism and atheism, but most of them have little experience with Christianity.

This, Fournier says, can be an advantage. "They do not arrive here with an anti-Christian bias."