Chinese Restaurant Workers in Australia
Chinese eateries are ubiquitous in major cities across Australia. Even in small towns outside of the city, you can easily find small to medium-sized Chinese restaurants and takeaway shops in shopping malls. There are countless Chinese restaurants with a dim sum section in every major city, most of which have departments for dim sum, kitchen, barbecue, dining room service, and accounting. Each of these restaurants employs an average of no less than 50 people. There are quite a lot of people engaged in the Chinese food and beverage industry throughout Australia.
Most Chinese restaurants follow traditional Chinese practices and have an altar at the workplace where they worship false deities. Among restaurant workers, very few truly know Jesus Christ. The vast majority has no religious faith or practice Buddhism or "Chinese folk beliefs".
The Need of Establishing Resturant Mission
Chinese restaurant workers form a kind of unique and isolated community. Their working hours are different and long. They work six days a week, ten hours a day with no holiday on Saturdays and Sundays. Therefore, they do not have much opportunity to spend time with their families. This and many other factors have caused Chinese restaurant workers to come together during the afternoon break, indulging themselves in gambling and alcohol as ways to release pressures from work and emptiness, and frustration from within their hearts.
All these have become their bondages and hurdles, keeping them from coming to the Church. Worse still, many of them in remote towns of Australia have never even been told of the Gospel because of the language barrier.
A group of Christians saw this vision and started the Restaurnt Mission Inc. in May of 1988. Since then, the Restaurant Mission has always been spreading the Gospel to these people. In God’s grace and through the hard work of co-workers, the Restaurant Mssion hs consolidated its foundation and become a vehicle to deliver God’s redemptive grace to the Chinese Restaurant workers in Australia.
The Restaurant Mission is ready and heeding God’s command by fighting Satan’s strongholds in the Chinese restaurant industry, in order to rescue lost souls and expand the kingdom of God and honour His name.
Mission Statement
In order to bring the Gospel to all Chinese restaurant workers throughout Australia, we use many methods and strategies. We build a Chinese restaurant Christian community and equip them so that they can win their fellow workers for Christ, partaking in expanding the Kingdom of God and honouring His Name.
Doctrinal Statement
We believe
- The complete Bible is the inspired word of God, the Devine and final authority for Christian Faith.
- The triune Godhead in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- The fall and lost estate of man, whose total depravity makes the new birth necessary.
- The Deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven and sitting at God’s right hand side. He will return personally according to His promise.
- Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus who died on the cross and shed His blood as an atonement for the sins of man.
- The resurrection of the saved unto everlasting life and joy in Heaven, and the resurrection of the unsaved unto everlasting punishment.
- The Church: the Body of Christ, consists only those who are born again, for whom Christ now makes intercession in Heaven and for whom He shall return.
- The Great Comission from our Lord is to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded.
Human Resources
God has raised up a group of devoted Christians who value His eternal kingdom and are committed to serving through the Restaurant Mission, rescuing the lost souls of the restaurant industry. These co-workers sacrifice some material pleasures and receive only a modest salary to cover their basic needs. In addition, there is a passionate group of volunteers who participate in serving during their retirement or spare time, providing valuable human support.
The Restaurant Mission has many experienced pastors serving as it advisers.
Financial Resources
- We are not funded by any denomination.
- We totally rely on Churches, brothers and sisters in Christ.
There was a time when our organization, "Food Blessing," faced economic difficulties with a deficit of over AUD 20,000 in unpaid salaries for our employees. Despite having experienced long-term salary delays before, our team continued to persevere and trust in God's provision. And time and time again, our faithful Lord moved the hearts of local and overseas supporters to donate, rescuing "Food Blessing" from financial crisis.
Our God is faithful and loving. He never fails to take care of His workers. We pray for God's continued provision to meet the growing needs of our ministry, so that by His grace, we can spread the Gospel to Chinese restaurants across Australia.
Note: Restaurant Mission regularly posts a detailed financial report on our website, clearly outlining all donations and income and expenses.
We Invite You to Become Restaurant Mission Gospel Partners
Chinese restaurants are located all over Australia extending to every remote corner. The mission field of the Restaurant Mission is both scattered and hard. Most of the restaurant workers, after being evangelised and nutured, would sooner or later join their local churches with their families. The Restaurant Mission needs to work closely with churches and fight the spiritual warfare shoulder to shoulder with them. The more the Restaurant Mission develops, the more it will need support from churchesand individual brothers and sisters in Christ.
We invite you to partake in our mission in the following ways:
- Praying for Chinese restaurant workers that theGospel may penetrate and be widely spread within this massive group.
- Making offerings, be that regular or not.
- Having the restaurant Mission included as a recipient of your church missionary funding.
- Participating in our activities or functions.
- Sharing our vision and work with fellow Christians.
- Recommending the Flame Magazine to restaurant workers.
- Inviting our co-workers to share our vision and work at your church worship, fellowship or other special gatherings. We could also set up an exhibition booth at your church.
- Participating as a co-worker or voluntary worker in our ministry.
- Participating in our short-term cross country evangelism.