Week 9: A Different Kind of Worship Experience at Living Water Evangelical

The last week of worship observation finally arrived, and I was so nervous.

The church for this week was Living Water Evangelical, a Chinese-American church with both English and Mandarin congregations. From what I could gather through my communication with the English pastor, it seemed that there were very few people in either congregation that were not of Asian descent.

I knew that I would walk into that church as a minority. 

Honestly, the thought of that experience made me incredibly apprehensive. 

As a white heterosexual female, who goes to a college where white females make up the majority of the student body, I’m not used to standing out in any respect. I like the idea of being able to hide when something makes me uncomfortable. But when I attended worship at Living Water Evangelical Church, this was an impossibility. 

Its one thing to walk into a church of a different ethnicity as a visitor with friends of that ethnicity. Its an entirely different thing to walk in unaccompanied. 

I attended the English worship service, which takes place in a gym in the basement of the church. Meandering my way down the steps and into the worship space, I instantly observed that I was one of two non-asian people in the room. All I could think about was what I thought people must be thinking: why is she here? Why did she come alone? 

I was anxious and uncomfortable, completely aware that I stood out. The reality is, while people were probably a bit confused, they were still glad I was there. Multiple people came up to me after the service to welcome me and invite me to their weekly luncheon. These people are a strong reminder that the church is a place that should love and welcome all who walk through their doors. 

While uncomfortable, this experience is important.

All summer, I’ve been putting myself in the position of a church shopper. For 9 straight weeks, I walked into churches knowing next to no one. 

Church shopping is an uncomfortable process because entering into a community as an outsider is often awkward and unnerving. 

Each church assumes different approaches to welcoming visitors. But in a town that 68% white, its easy to forget that walking into a predominantly white church is a different experience for people of different races.  

Now I can’t speak for others, especially those of different ethnicities, but I can’t help but wonder if the anxiety I experienced isn’t exclusive to whites when they are the minority.

Towards the beginning of this project, I read Worship Across the Racial Divide by Gerardo Marti. In this book, Marti documents his experiences in multi-racial churches, where worship leaders sometimes make it their goal to maintain a diverse worshipping congregation. While there are no intentionally diverse churches in Naperville (except for, perhaps, Calvary), the concept of congregation diversity is important for people to consider. Its important for churches to think critically about their congregations, and race and ethnicity is an important factor.

At Living Water Evangelical Church, Pastor Barry Gin said that he would eventually like to see their english congregation become more diverse. But its unclear as of right now how they will eventually end up there. For now, the english congregation is made entirely up of Asian Americans, tied to the Mandarin congregation and its roots in Chinese-American culture.

My experience as a visitor and an outsider was unique, but it was also an eye-opening experience, as I was able to dive into a different side of the town I’ve lived in for most of my life. Its important to remember that Christian worship is not exclusive to its Westernized stigmas.