Terry DavidsonRecently next1000 caught up with Terry Davidson and spoke to him about multiplying churches among Australia's diversity of ethnic groups.

1. What's your background in church planting?

My parents were very, very active members of the Salvation Army and my home was my introduction to church planting.

My first solo cold start “Aussie” church plant was in Blacktown, Sydney in 1979.

2. How did you get involved in church planting among ethnic groups?

In 1981 and I ran Ralph Winter's course: Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. It revolutionized my understanding of the cross-cultural composition and opportunities in Sydney.

We ran neighborhood surveys to see how we could help. I learned about demographics and to how read (exegete) my community and found how culturally diverse Sydney is.

In 1982 I was asked to pastor an Assemblies of God (AOG) church in Manly that I had helped get off the ground. We ran run an annual Missions Convention where missionary leaders like Dr George Forbes had a role in shaping my heart for other cultures.

Our Church ran some outreach events specifically targeting mainland Chinese students in the Universities. This was just before the Beijing massacre.

We had built relationships with a Jewish family in Mosman and around the same time a Tongan community contacted us. These relationships were the precursors to the Chinese and Tongan Congregations that grew in the Manly Church and an awareness of God’s ancient people.

Looking back the years at Manly AOG produced some missionaries, pastors and church planters.

We planted out another Aussie Church in Avalon in 1988.

3. How did you end up in Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA)?

In 1990 I joined the C&MA because emphasis on Christ Himself and the Spirit filled life as it relates to World Mission.

It was during the “Decade of Harvest” under the presidency of Dr Roger Lang who had a heart for Church Planting so I felt right at home.

For the next two years I worked as an Associate Pastor with a former C&MA Missionary to Vietnam and Chile. I started an Aussie church at Mt Colah.

4. How has your heart for ethnic church planting been expressed at Baulkham Hills?

In 1992 I became the senior minister at Baulkham Hills Alliance Church.

Cross Cultural Mission and Church Planting was the C&MA ethos so I went around the members to find out ‘who had a heart for what’ and was surprisingly rewarded with people who were interested in reaching Jews, Chinese and Spanish speaking people.

So I encouraged, resourced and connected them with people that could help.

Two of our ladies had a love for the Jewish People and after a long period of outreaches (and opposition) resulted in a Russian Messianic Congregation in Redfern led by Pastor Kon Michailidis.

One of the Peruvian Families was a catalyst in beginning two Spanish speaking works.

We combined resources with another Chinese C&MA pastor and to begin another thriving Chinese Church which stands on its own two feet a kilometer away from us.

I met Dr Daniel Shayesteh and he asked me to mentor him. Out of that relationship the Iranian Church and eventually Exodus from Darkness evolved.

In 2002 the Church appointed a Korean as my associate and began our Korean Fellowship which has started three other Korean churches in Sydney and one in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

In 2007 a large Indonesian group joined us as did a young family working with Sri Lankans in Granville.

5. What's different about ethnic church planting?

Obviously language and culture. But my role in each of these cross cultural plants was mainly catalytic. I was primarily a coach and mentor to some men of other cultures who made themselves available.

In some cases Church planting wasn’t on their minds. It had to be seeded as the best way to reach people.

Each migrant people group had different needs. Some were refugees, so there was lots of involvement with the Immigration Department and the Refugee Tribunal. Others had simply migrated to the country and needed orientation. The one thing that had in common was the need to be welcomed and accepted.

6. What advice would you give church planters?

• Love God and love people.
• Learn to “exegete” the people and understand yourself.
• Use a compass rather than a road map.
• Get a coach or a mentor. Never go it alone.
• Always have someone outside your square that will ask you hard questions.
• Be determined and persevere.
• If you don’t have the skills to take the plant beyond the entrepreneurial phase, be humble enough to hand it over and move on.

7. How do you support the planters you work with?

Primarily through relationship and prayer over green tea or ginseng. My relationship to each man has been unique.

It’s a bit like a family with each child drawing something different from a parent but the parent is still learning to be a parent.

Since I am in process I tend to mentor as I grow in understanding myself. I tend to teach the same way I learn.

Some guys were already C&MA so I tutor them in our requirements and those that haven’t wanted C&MA affiliation I encourage with tools that will help them.

I have used various tools over the years but now favor the Church Planters Toolkit and the Focused Living material from CRM.

Whenever there is a call for help during a crisis I make myself available, coach the leader but never replace him.

With some it has been long email exchanges other a phone call or just an SMS “howz it goin?” With some I have to read their silence as “help.” With others I stand in the wake of their achievements and wonder do I help him bring this one to some resolution or just let him go for broke and explain it to my boss later. They are all so different.

8. What are you learning about church planting?

I know I have failed more times than I have succeeded. I am surprised by the many different ways opportunities arise. How things never run according to my plans. I always have to keep my compass bearings but also improvise and pray – God help me!!

9. What progress are you seeing?

For one group working in a historically unreceptive people group I thank God that they are still going after ten years. They have tremendous opposition and I am amazed that the Pastor perseveres.

Others make me feel like a failure as the churches outgrow mine and plant other Churches. Our Korean “Fellowship” is larger than us and has planted four other congregations, we can’t keep up.  

10. What's the greatest challenge in ethnic church planting?

The greatest challenge for me over the years has been my own myopia. I have needed to see the possibility right in front of me in an embryonic form and will overcome my own self-centeredness and rise to the challenge?

I hear people talking about reaching “Aussies”, but who is an Aussie nowadays? I think it is time for us to look serious at multi-ethnic churches to reach the second generation of migrants.