Denise Chung
I came to faith in my late 20s. At the time, I was working hard and started to think about life. Some friends came to me and challenged me to think about the universe, how it was created, and if there is a God. I gradually started reading the Bible and after attending church for two months, I realized that there is a God who created this world, and He created me and I have a purpose in my life. He is the truth, and so in that way I came to faith in Jesus. I realized that He is my Savior, and I need Him.
When I first walked into the Messianic congregation I didn’t expect anything because I had no idea of what it would be. I know the Chinese way to worship, and the American way, and the church way to worship, but Jewish people—I had no idea! Since then, I have been looking at the Bible in a more Jewish context. It is more vivid in the culture and the language itself, because we use some Hebrew liturgy, and some Yiddish. We also have a lot of Jewish stories and humor, which fill in the context when we are teaching the Bible.
I also feel that I have become an ambassador for telling the Church, especially the Chinese Church, where I came from, that Jewish people have their own way to worship, and it’s biblical and has Jesus at the center! When I talk to my Jewish friends about my congregation, they are so surprised! They say things like, “I expect you to go to a Chinese congregation? But you tell me about all these Jewish things in your church!” Because of their Jewish background, they want to understand more. This attracts them to want to know what I believe. There have been a couple of occasions when I invited Jewish friends to come to my congregation, which has been a very good tool for me in introducing my Jewish friends and contacts to Jesus. It has also become a way for me to link the Gentile believer and the Jewish believer together.
Denise is from Hong Kong and grew up in a traditional Chinese home. She came to faith as a young businesswoman.