The East Melbourne Church breaks the general trend of reduced worshippers because of the increase in the number of Asian believers, especially Chinese.
According to reports, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2016 census data shows that Australian Christians account for 52% of the total population, accounting for 61% in 2011, and up to 88% 50 years ago.
However, the increase in Monash Chinese and Southeast Asian Christians in Melbourne is a boon for church congregations. In Glen Waverley, as many as 28.3% of the believers have a Chinese background.
Adam Ch’ng, founder of the Grand Weaver Church group Cross and Crown, said that in recent years, the number of Asians attending church services in Australia has shown an upward trend.
Adam said: “When British-Australian residents are away from organized religion, more and more Asian-Australian residents begin to believe in Jesus.”
Adam’s church was only established for four months, and the number of Asians who came to attend the service every week showed an amazing growth.
Adam revealed that although there are old people in the congregation, most of the Asians who participated in his church were between the ages of 18 and 35.
In terms of ethnic background, the second generation of Chinese immigrants in the Cross and Crown group accounts for a large proportion. However, Adam said that there are also many international students in the church.
The same is true of Whitehorse, the next door, especially Box Hill. Statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 35.4% of the PhD population has a Chinese background.
