'The Living Room': Global Ministry to Servicemen in Hong Kong

By Darrell W. Wood, former missionary to Hong Kong, 1968-73

The following feature story was written by the author in 1972 while serving as international correspondent of Baptist Press (BP) and press representative for the Hong Kong-Macau Baptist Mission. The article appeared in several state Baptist newspapers and other media outlets.

"Homer, why don't you get out of the Navy and come to Hong Kong?" This simple, probing question by a furloughing missionary was used of God to launch Navy chaplain Homer L. Schnick and wife Peggy on a new missionary career.

"It seemed that God spoke to Peggy and me at the same time," said Schnick as he reflected on their life-changing "Macedonian call" in 1968. It had come in their church as they stood around the piano talking with the missionary speaker following a message and slides on Baptist work in Hong Kong.

"We went home that night and decided to contact the Foreign Mission Board," he recalls enthusiastically. The FMB is now called International Mission Board (IMB). A short time later, the Schnicks were employed as missionary associates for work among servicemen in Hong Kong--a pilot program.

In January 1969, Lieutenant Commander Schnick, USN (Retired), with wife Peggy and teen-age daughter Polly, arrived in Hong Kong. Having visited this "hub of the Orient" on three rest and recuperation (R and R) calls while on active duty, Schnick felt deeply about the contribution a Christian servicemen's ministry could make.

Today, the focal point of this witness to servicemen is a place called "The Living Room." An outsider hearing about an ex-Navy chaplain who happily spends his "retirement" days in "The Living Room" just wouldn't know what it's all about.

Located in the Sailors and Soldiers Home Servicemen's Center at 22 Hennessey Road, "The Living Room" is in the heart of the Wanchai district of Hong Kong Island (Victoria) where "girlie bars," discotheques and places of prostitution abound. In this kind of environment, Schnick, as director of servicemen's ministries for the Hong Kong-Macau Baptist Mission, spearheads an outreach program that features a personalized, caring ministry.

Speaking of the importance of such an approach, Schnick said, "God initiated the ministry because He loves everybody, especially servicemen! The real heart of any ministry for Christ is the contact with individuals."

"The Living Room" formally opened its doors in April 1972 in its present location. However, it is a continuation of the program of the Baptist Servicemen's Center, started in Central Baptist Church (English-language) shortly after the Schnicks arrived in Hong Kong.

Launched as a pilot project in 1969, the center was initially operated on an experimental basis. Today--less than three years later--the center has changed its name and its location. But Schnick is quick to point out it has not changed its mission. And the scope of its outreach is truly international. Open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily except Monday, "The Living Room" ministers to men of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, as well as merchant seamen of many other countries.

Recently, director Schnick had an unusual opportunity to share a meaningful witness with two East German seamen. Because of the Haiphong harbor blockade, their freighter had been diverted from Vietnam to Hong Kong. As a result of this unscheduled port call, these men from a Communist-bloc country were touched by the Christian concern of "The Living Room."

Despite the fact that Hong Kong was officially discontinued as an "R and R" center for the U.S. Seventh Fleet personnel in 1971, more than 85,000 men were expected during 1972.

Of the thousands of sea-weary sailors who spill onto Hong Kong's shores each month, many eventually wind up in the haunts of Wanchai. Here--in the "world of Suzie Wong"--seductive bar hostesses, junkies and street hawkers shamelessly clamor to sell their wares with the subtlety of a carnival sideshow barker. Tragically, the end for some is a "bad trip" or even death in an opium den.

In this raucous, blinding world of blaring jukeboxes and dazzling neon lights, "The Living Room" provides a quiet, cozy place for those who seek a "home away from home." On attractively printed cards used in inviting men to the center, "The Living Room" is advertised as a place "where the atmosphere is home-like and Christ is the Head of the House."

Activities and facilities that support a Christian home atmosphere include informal snack times in a typical home kitchen arrangement. A quiet, attractive place is provided for letter writing, relaxed listening to music, and informal singing around a piano or with guitar. This will do more to stir tender memories of home and church than almost anything else, according to Schnick.

Although "The Living Room" is limited in space (seating 35 to 40 by crowding and sitting on floor pillows), visiting servicemen may use the additional facilities of The Sailors and Soldiers Home Servicemen's Center. These include overnight accommodations, restaurant, and a large lounge with books and television.

Schnick sees the new location and expanded opportunities as an answer to prayer. "The Living Room" space can be used almost exclusively for a more direct Christ-centered approach and personalized ministry, Schnick said.

A vital part of this outreach program is John Wong, a student at Hong Kong Baptist College (now University), and the one Chinese assistant employed. With his winsome personality and ability with a guitar, Wong has related well to the servicemen.

Ministry to the men has not been limited to informal Bible study or conversational witness at "The Living Room." Many fellow missionaries and friends of the center--following the example of the Schnicks--have entertained servicemen in their homes, taken them shopping and sightseeing, gone to church with them, and carried on follow-up correspondence with them.

These volunteer hosts and hostesses include missionaries, missionary journeymen, and American, British, and Australian couples from the local business community. Altogether, some 60 different people have assisted Schnick as volunteers at the center.

"The Living Room," for the most part, maintains a Western profile. But Schnick feels strongly that servicemen also need to see Baptist work in Hong Kong and meet nationals, missionaries, and internationals.

Sailors, soldiers, and merchant mariners who get acquainted with the cutting edge of missions in this way contribute greatly to mission programs in churches back home. Some may even return as missionaries--like the Schnicks--because they have seen the need.

The real story of this specialized ministry to seamen and others is best told by the men themselves. One wrote: "Thanks for everything. I was saved out at sea in the Navy and, without Christian servicemen's centers, I wouldn't have made it. My time with you was as near an afternoon back home as one could hope for halfway around the world."

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