A history of Chinese churches in Boston (1876--1994)

This study addresses the history of the Chinese Church in the United States, focusing specifically on the development of the Chinese Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Study of the local Chinese Church in Boston bridges both Chinese religious history and American Church history.; Through evangelization and community development, the Chinese Church became one of the largest and most important organizations within Chinese society in the United States. The Chinese Church was instrumental in helping newly-arrived Chinese immigrants to adjust to American culture by forming communities of support for both spiritual and material needs. It also formed the basis for education, teaching Chinese immigrants both traditional Chinese and Christian moral and ethical values.; The study contains an introduction and six chapters. The introduction provides general information about the geography, history, and social setting of Boston. Chapter I describes the history of early Chinese immigrants in the United States with a special discussion of the religious background of Chinese immigrants. It also explores the history of Chinese immigrants in Boston. Chapter II surveys early American Christian missions among the Chinese. It reviews the American Home Mission Movement as the background of the discussion on missions in Boston, and then moves the focus to the American Congregational and Baptist missions to the Chinese in Boston. Chapter III deals with the first Chinese church in Boston founded by mainline American denominations in the 1940s. This chapter pays special attention to the first pastor of the church, his delicate relationships with Chinatown and American denominations, and his theology. Chapter IV discusses the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church founded by Chinese evangelists in the early 1960s. A discussion of Chinese Christian tradition helps to clarify the origins of the dominant theology of the Chinese-American churches. Chapter V explores the earliest Chinese student-immigrant church established by lay Chinese Christians in the late 1960s. A review of the history of Chinese students in the United States also provides background for understanding the congregation. Chapter VI concludes by discussing the churches' progress toward self-sufficiency, and by summarizing their functions in the Chinese-American community.