A CHURCH OF GLOBAL ORIGINS
TAKING THE GOSPEL GLOBAL
OUR NAME
DIASPORA means "scattered" in Greek. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were scattered as they were exiled from their land and taken as captives to Gentile nations. In the New Testament, the early Christians were scattered as they suffered persecution for the faith and were forced to flee from their homes. However, our sovereign God had a missionary purpose for allowing His people to be scattered throughout the earth. We read in Acts 8:4 "those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." The Diaspora Church was God’s appointed means to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. It was ordinary and displaced followers of Jesus who left their homeland, taking the gospel global.
Abraham, Moses, and all the prophets were migrants to foreign nations. Jesus Christ Himself became a refugee in Egypt, soon after His birth, to escape from King Herod. Moreover, Christ commissioned His Church to go and take the gospel to all the nations. Christians are called to live as sojourners, passing through this transient world, and bringing other souls along the way to their eternal home of Heaven.
Many of us know what it's like to be a refugee, an immigrant, an international student or worker. Resettlement in a foreign land comes with many challenges. Yet, we believe being a diaspora is not a disadvantage. Rather, God has equipped us with unique experiences, resilience, languages, and cultural intelligence. We believe Christians of diverse diaspora communities have an important role in the fullfillment of the Great Commission and the evangelization of the world.
OUR LOGO
Our logo is in the shape of a globe to symbolize our global origins and our mission to take the gospel global. The lines portray the theme of being scattered yet united. The most important element of the logo is the cross at the center of the globe. We have no other message or wisdom for the world. "But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23-24.)
OUR STORY
Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world. In the North York area, where our church gathers, over 60% of residents are immigrants, refugees, international students and workers. God has brought the nations and unreached people groups to our doorsteps. Yet, many of the diaspora communities in our city remain largely neglected and isolated. Surely, more needs to be done to reach these communities with the gospel. It is this conviction that led a group of diasporas to plant a church for diasporas.
Diaspora Church was born out of a dire need to serve immigrant churches in the Greater Toronto Area that were losing their next generations. Several English-speaking ministries of Vietnamese churches in the GTA came together under Pastor David Ryu's leadership and vision to start a new church. With the help of Kingdom-minded partners, Diaspora Church gathered for its first Sunday Worship Service on June 5, 2022.
While multi-ethnic churches are a beautiful glimpse of what Heaven will be like, we believe there is still a need for ethnic-specific churches. As the immigrant population continues to grow in Canada, we believe immigrant churches will continue to play a vital role in reaching all of Canada for Christ. However, immigrant churches face unique challenges, such as cultural and language barriers between the first and second/third generations. Most immigrant churches do not have the means to provide discipleship or hire an English-speaking pastor for their English ministry. The lack of discipleship or pastoral care is a major reason why many fall away from the church. Few large immigrant churches (e.g. Chinese and Korean) are well-resourced and can adequately support their English-speaking congregations. Still, there is often a lack of vision and a long-term plan for the next generations. These Christians who grow up in an immigrant church can become frustrated by cultural barriers, or they can feel constrained in their missional opportunities by the church's ethnic focus.
The future of immigrant churches in Canada is something we deeply care about. Diaspora Church was one humble attempt to rectify the mass exodus of the next generation from Vietnamese churches. We hope to serve as an example for immigrant churches that desire to prepare their next generations for church multiplication movements across Canada. Many diasporas go on to become vital members and leaders of Canadian society. They need a vision beyond their ethnic group and a mission great enough to engage all of their gifts, passions and energy. And what could be greater than the Great Commission? It is our earnest prayer that God will raise up more Christ-exalting churches that are passionate about taking the gospel global.