USA

Basic Demographic Information

Official Name: ??? Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church

Church Administrative Unit: ???

Date Officially Formed: ???

Founding Minister: ???

Church Website: ???

Current Address: ???

Date on which Current Sanctuary was Established: ???

Current Membership: ???

There are as many as nearly 3 million Chinese or Chinese descendents in North America, but the number and growth of the Chinese Adventist churches remain slow. There are less than 2,000 Chinese Adventists in North America. Most of the church members are migrants from the Asia Pacific regions and they are the 2nd-generation Christians. There are not many new converts who are baptized after attending the churches. Therefore, it is the most important issue for the North American Chinese Adventist churches to find out how to strengthen its evangelistic mission.

(1) San Francisco (三藩市): The first Chinese Adventist Church was founded in San Francisco and the founders were Joseph Keh (郭育坤) and his family, and the family of Mrs. Wong Hee Yeung (黃起煬夫人). Mr. Keh’s father was Pastor Keh Nga Pit (郭子穎), our pioneer worker in Fujian province. Mrs. Keh, nee Mary Ang (洪惠卿), was second daughter of Pastor Ang Tsi Kit (洪子杰) who was our pioneer worker in Shantou (汕頭). Mrs. Wong Hee Yeung was the neighbor of Mrs. E. H. Wilbur (鄔爾布夫人), who and her husband were our pioneer workers in South China. Later, Mrs. S. A. Nagel (那基理夫人), who with her husband had worked in the Hakka Mission and Shantou Mission, continued Bible study with Mrs. Wong Hee Yeung and her three sons. Mrs. Wong Hee Yeung was the first Chinese Adventist baptized in North America. Later on, Pastor E. G. Annofsky (顔樂士), who once worked in South China, came to offer more bible study sessions in San Francisco; J. E. Christensen (高哲儒) and John Oss (史約翰) also came to help with the evangelistic work among Chinese; and Joseph Hwang Ru Yu (黃如愚), a church elder, arrived from China, to join the group. Led by Mrs. Wong Hee Yeung, they bought a huge house on Hyde Street (海德街) and converted it into a meeting place. The first Chinese Adventist church in North America was then founded in 1950, with Leong Wai Chow (梁惠舟) as its first pastor.

In 1959 Wallace Chan Woo Shang (陳湖生) conducted a series of highly successful evangelistic meetings in San Francisco. During the mid-1960s, after founding the Los Angeles Chinese SDA Church, he was invited back to San Francisco. As its pastor, he conducted more highly successful evangelistic meetings. The growth in membership made it necessary to have a larger church building. When a permanent church building was being constructed, Hwang Ru Yu and Walter Chin (陳秀軒), both church elders, coordinated the project. At that time, Jerry Chang Chung Wai (張仲偉) was the pastor, and Dr. Chan Shun (陳俊) was very generous to pay paying for half of the construction cost. The new church building at 7777 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco CA 94121 was dedicated in July 1978. Its telephone is: (415) 387-5222. By 2002, there were 150 members in that church. As of May 8, 2012, the membership was 139. After the departure of Jerry Chang, John Lu (呂俊明), D. W. Curry (居義理), Clayton Sugg (蘇克雷) and John Ang (洪江河) served as pastors. The next pastor was Chapman Wong (黃彩雲) who served from 1996 to 2013 when he accepted a call to work in Hong Kong. His successor is Michael Liu (劉國賢).

(2) Los Angeles (洛杉磯): Dr. Paul Hwang Tse Ke (黃子克), his wife Thelma Wong (黃施素璧), and Alice Lam (林陳璧晶) were the gospel pioneers when they began evangelistic work in the Chinatown area and later conducted the services in Chinese at the White Memorial Church (懷氏紀念堂). In May 1960 Wallace Chan Woo Shang (陳湖生), father of Alice Lam, held a series of evangelistic meetings and baptized eleven new members. The Chinese congregation moved a few times. When they organized a Chinese church, with a charter members of twenty-four, on November 4, 1961, there were between 60 and 100 attendees. In 1966, they bought a building at its current address at 3000 West Ramona Road, Alhambra, CA 91803. Over the years the church grew by God’s grace and space became limited. A new building was erected next to the old church building, and the church moved to the new sanctuary in 1986. When Richard Liu (劉大同) was the pastor, the membership began to increase and there were 550 church members by 2002. As of October 11, 2012, the membership was 634. There are two Sabbath worship sessions, one being in Chinese and one in English. Its telephone is: (626) 284-3433. While Pastor Liu was the senior pastor, Willie Chuan (全文浩) was associate pastor. [He is now a pathologist after his study in Loma Linda University medical school.]

For fifty years Pastor Leong Wai Chow (梁惠舟) and his wife Sarah (李如玉) have shared in the growth and ministry of this church. Pastor Leong’s pastorate of the church began in the mid-1960s and through the late 1970s. It was during his pastorate, the church purchased the Alhambra property. During Pastor Richard Liu’s pastorate, the present sanctuary and Social Hall were built. During the pastorate of Pastor John Lu (呂俊明), the building cost was paid off. His ministry emphasized a devotional life, and that of Pastor Jonathan Foo (符運明) facilitated growth of new congregations. The ministry of interim Pastor Doris Foo (符黃有群) emphasized on prayer, and the present Pastor Gao Ming (高明) emphasizes the growing of Small Group Ministries. Besides the senior ministers, Ivan Loo (盧愛文) had been an associate pastor.

(3) Loma Linda (羅馬琳達): Several Chinese Adventist families moved from Los Angeles to Loma Linda, and they started meetings for worship at the home of Charles Lee (李再德). In 1977 the Loma Linda Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church was organized. Then Fred Lam (林應南), Bert Chow (周榮照), Charles Loo (羅佳士), and Elsie Chan (陳梁藉恩) suggested raising money for church construction, and they invited Edward Ho Han Tsung (何漢從), who had just completed his doctoral degree in education at Andrews University, to be the pastor. Dr. Chan Shun paid for half of the construction cost. In 1982, the new church building at 25665 Van Leuven Street, Loma Linda, CA 92354 was completed. By 2002 there were 350 church members. As of March 12, 2015, the membership was 323. Its telephone is: (909) 478-3939.

After 18 years of service in Loma Linda, Pastor Edward Ho retired. He was succeeded by Pastor John Lu (呂俊明). Five years later, Pastor John Lu also retired. He was succeeded by Pastor Onn Liang (梁雅安), who came from the Toronto Chinese Church. When in 2006 he accepted a call to the Taiwan Adventist College as the Chair of the Theology Department, Pastor Nathaniel Yen (顔榮哲) was invited to be the interim pastor and he served at the post for two years. From 2008 to date the pastor is Mathew F. Yuen (袁福基). [Editor’s note: Edward Ho, born on November 30, 1926, rested in the Lord on October 21, 2015.]

(4) New York City (紐約市): In 1973, Samuel Young visited his relatives in New York City. He and Hsu Hung (徐泓) gathered 25 Chinese Adventists and alumni of the China Training Institute to have worship services in Chinese at the home of Mary Ng (吳曼). Later they rented a meeting place at the Spanish-speaking Adventist Church and chose Winston Tan (陳之恩) to be their leader. Tseng Kwang Hong (曾冠鴻) originally from Taiwan became their pastor in 1982. They tried to find a permanent home for the church. In 1987, a Chinese Adventist Church was organized in New York City. In 1990 Tseng Kwang Hong went back to Taiwan. As a result, there was no pastor for the church. At the end of that year, Ly Quoc Hang (利國鏗) [now known as Frank Loi] migrated from Vietnam to America. He was then appointed pastor of the church. Dr. Liew Enn Kong (劉恩康) and Jackson Lee (李茂旺) were the elders. By 1996 the New York Chinese church was accepted as a member of sisterhood of churches in the New York Conference. As membership increased, a church building at 7606 41st Avenue, Elmhurst, NY 11373 was erected in 1998 and was completed in 1999. On September 9, a Thanksgiving service was held in the new church building. The three-story reinforced concrete building cost US $1,500,000, of which Chan Shun Foundation (陳俊基金會) contributed US $600,000. The sanctuary is in the third floor and can accommodate 300 people. The basement is used as a fellowship hall, canteen and other cultural activities. On the ground floor are the pastor’s office, Christian reading room, community center, and pastor’s resident. On the second floor there are six classrooms, offices and guest rooms. (The Last Day Shepherd’s Call, November 2000, p. 25.) By 2002 there were 90 people in this church. The membership as of January 8, 2013 was 106. Its telephone is: (718) 205-8618. Presently the pastor is John Lee Kam Hong (李錦洪).

(5) Vancouver (溫哥華): In 1967, as Victor Loo (盧啓明), a locally born Chinese, was the only Chinese member in the Vancouver Central Church,. Pastor Jerry Chang Chung Wai (張仲偉) was called by the British Columbia Conference to build a Chinese congregation in Vancouver. With the Vancouver Central Church as the base, Pastor Chang and the B.C. Conference launched a Chinese radio program named Voice of Prophecy in 1968. Its name was changed to “Voice of Life” since 1972. This radio program ended only in January 2011. Hence it can be said to be “the longest-running Chinese Seventh-day Adventist radio program in North America.”

After the launching of the radio program, some radio listeners and Bible correspondence course students began to attend Sabbath services regularly in the Central Church. Each week, Pastor Chang provided simultaneous translation of the worship service in Cantonese for the Chinese attendees, who listened by earphones. The radio program bore first fruit with three baptisms in 1970.

The early 1970s saw major growth in the Vancouver Chinese Church. Radio listeners were baptized Spring, MD 20901 and became key members and pillars of the church. Meanwhile, some Chinese Adventist members moved to Vancouver from Hong Kong. They were Mrs. Nora Nee (倪陳樂蓮) and family, Milton Wu (吳國英), Peter Leung Hung Ngok (梁鴻岳) and family, Milton Hwang (黃燊權) and family, Ng Siu Lun (吳兆崙) and family. These pioneers bolstered the strength of the congregation and helped build the congregation.

By 1975, in a big room at the Central Church, the Chinese congregation held their separate Sabbath school and worship services all in Cantonese.

In 1976 Pastor Chang was called to San Francisco to finish building the San Francisco Chinese Church. Pastor Pang Teck Soon (彭德舜), usually known as Pang Shi Heng (彭世宏), of Singapore took over the helm of the Vancouver Chinese Church.

In the late 1970s, more key members from Hong Kong moved to Vancouver. They were Pastor Yeung Kin Shek (楊建石) and family, Leonard Lee (李熾良) and family, S. T. Khng (康紹典) and family, and Bunjee Choi (蔡昭斌) and family. The church grew and prospered. In early 1979, with generous help from Dr. Chan Shun (陳俊) and the B.C. Conference, the Chinese congregation purchased a small church at 5880 Oak Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6M 2V9, Canada and by August 1979, the church was formally organized. The first act of the new church was to hold evangelistic meetings featuring Pastor Jerry Chang as speaker. In 1980, the growing church needed more space, and again with the help of Dr. Chan Shun, the B.C. Conference and the local members, the church building was remodeled to its present configuration.

In 1982, Pastor Chang moved back to Vancouver from San Francisco to be the Youth Pastor of the Vancouver Central Church. In 1983, right after the dedication of the remodeled church building, Pastor Chang held an evangelistic meeting in the Chinese Church. For four years from 1982-1986, he preached at the Sabbath service once a month in the Chinese Church and continuously held joint youth activities between the two churches. In August 1986 when Pastor Pang retired, Pastor Chang resumed pastoral care of the Vancouver Chinese Church. When Pastor Chang retired at the end of August, 1996, he was succeeded by Pastor Johnny Yip Chi Kin (葉志堅) from Hong Kong.

Over the last few decades, the Vancouver Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church has grown from only 1 member to more than 170 members, with services in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Truly the Lord has richly blessed this church. Membership as of November 5, 2014 was 153. Its telephone is: (604) 263-0214.

(6) Honolulu (檀香山), Hawaii (夏威夷): Although there are many Chinese in Hawaii, there are not many Chinese Adventists. The people here are highly mobile and many young people often move to the mainland America to pursue their careers. In 1985, Pastor Nathaniel Yen Yung Tse (顏榮哲) and Pastor Shigenobu Arakaki (新垣茂信), the director of the Hawaiian Mission, organized a Chinese Sabbath school as part of the Honolulu Central Seventh-day Adventist Church at 2313 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817. There were about 30 Chinese members by 2002. After Nathaniel Yen, the successive pastors are as follows: Daniel Lee (李斌祥), Chin Kong Tai (陳光大), Roger Li Po Wen (李博文), John Chow (周文龍) and Frank Lee (利國鏗).

After Frank Lee was transferred from New York to Honolulu in mid 2000s, he made it a Chinese/Vietnamese church. On Sunday, April 25, 2010, the Hawaii Chinese/Vietnamese church was voted into the fellowship of churches during the Hawaiian Mission constituency session. (Pacific Union Recorder, June 2010, p. 11.) As of November 25, 2014, the membership was 48. The church’s telephone is: (808) 524-1352. [Editor’s note: Since 2005 Pastor Frank Lee was known as Frank Loi, so as not to confuse with another Frank Lee (李學文), an elder of the church. Elder Frank Lee was a former teacher in Hong Kong Adventist College. He is a younger brother of Pastor Roger Li Po Wen (李博文)]

(7) Toronto (多倫多): Toronto is the largest city in Canada, with a high Chinese population. By 1973 there were quite a few Chinese Adventists. Dr. John Hsuen (宣尚忠) [a former worker of Hong Kong Adventist Hospital in Tsuen Wan], and Jerry Liu (劉宗邦) encouraged them to start a Chinese Sabbath school. In 1982, Pastor Cheung Chun Pong (張振邦), Chan Wai Shun (陳維信), Michael Seto (司徒日洛), Jerry Liu and Stephen Wu (鄔郁興) and Li Ching (李清) decided to organize a Chinese church in Toronto. However, Pastor Cheung soon returned to Hong Kong.

The group first met in the balcony at the Adventist Willowdale Church, then to the music studio, and then to the cafeteria of the Crawford Adventist Academy on the same compound.

Accepting a call from the Ontario Conference, Pastor Onn Liang (梁雅安) arrived in Toronto in September 1989. His assignment was to consolidate and build on the Chinese work that had begun earlier. Under his leadership and with the help of the local church leaders, the group grew into a company with 37 members in May 1990, and as a church with 70 members in January 1992. To help the church grow, the church board decided to build its own church building. A plot of land of nearly an acre at 3988 Midland Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario N1V 4S8, was purchased. The new church building was open for use in March 1997. The Chan Shun Foundation donated half a million Canadian dollars and Lee Ka Shing (李嘉誠) of Hong Kong gave 800,000 Canadian dollars towards the construction cost. The church was dedicated on May 30, 1998. There were about 110 church members by 2002. Membership as of May 9, 2012 was 161. Its telephone is: (416) 321-0344.

Upon the transference of Pastor Liang to Loma Linda Chinese Church, California, in September 1999, Pastor John Lee Kam Hong (李錦洪) was assigned to take his position. When Pastor Lee was transferred to New York Chinese Church in April 2003, Pastor John Lu (呂俊明) was his successor. About two and a half years later, Pastor Cho Tak Sum (曹德森) took his place.

(8) South Bay (南灣): The Chinese Adventist Church was first located in Silicon Valley of California, where there are many Chinese. The church was organized in 1985 by Bertram Chan (陳儉昌), Stephen Chang Han Liong (張翰良) and his wife, Holley Lian (連伯祥) and his wife, and Pastor John Lu (呂俊明). The Chinese church shared the same facilities with the Sunnyvale congregation at the former Pacific Union Press at 2100 Woods Lane, Los Altos, CA 94024. This space was huge but there had no formal church building The Chinese congregation was thinking to sell the site and erect a new church building somewhere else. There were around 150 church members in 2002.

In 2012 the Chinese congregation purchased a church building at 1904 Silverwood Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043, and by January 2013 fully paid for it. Built in 1997, the main sanctuary has enough seating to host 220 worshippers. The facility comes with two parking lots. The main parking lot can accommodate 48 cars and has four spaces for the handicap. The overflowing parking lot can allow for 20 cars. These are all separated by double stripes. In daytime the sanctuary can be amply illumined by natural light from the roof. The acoustics was so designed that only limited use of sound system is required. It has high ceiling to keep the meeting space cool and radiant heat to keep the enough cost low.

There are men’s room and ladies’ room in the lobby and a mothers’ changing room next to the reception area. A back stage restroom meets the need of stage crew.

The social hall behind the sanctuary used to be the old church. It is now used for the English weekly service and for potlucks after the meeting. The social hall by itself can house 160 people, and is adjacent to the office and six classrooms. There are six additional sets of restrooms in the social hall. This part of the building has central heating and cooling.

The whole facility is fully ADA complaint for handicap access, including the stage.

Those who have served as pastor in the Los Altos church are Nathaniel Yen ((顏榮哲) and Dayton Chong (張振强), son of Pastor Joshua Chong (張永和). On February 18, 2012, its current pastor Samuel Hsiao (蕭希聖) was ordained to the gospel ministry. His late father Pastor Richard Hsiao Ming Yao (蕭明耀) was the first national worker to serve as president of the Taiwan Mission. His mother Nancy Hsiao (蕭陳碧霞) made a special trip from Taiwan to witness the ordination service. The church membership as of May 5, 2015 was 146. Its telephone is (650) 940-1062.

(9) Washington, DC (首都華府): The Capital Chinese Adventist Church in Washington, DC (華府華人基督復臨安息日會) was initiated by Samuel Young and David Shen (沈斌仁). In 1987, Young and Shen gathered a group of 40 Chinese Adventists and they agreed to organize a Chinese church. They first rented a place of worship at the Sligo church and asked Dr. Chakarat Sukachevin (徐哲士) to be their leader. Several years later, they began the worship services in Chinese. In 1994, they bought a building at 810 West University Boulevard, Silver Spring, MD 20901, and became a company with Samuel Young as head elder. In 1995 the company was organized into a church and Chiao Hong Tao (焦洪濤) was the pastor and Dr. Sukachevin served as the head elder. There were about 110 church members in 2002. Presently (2012) the pastor is Oliver Koh (許江松), a former president of Southeast Asia Union College in Singapore. The church’s telephone is: (301) 754-0342, and its email is LLE82010@gmail.com

(10) East Bay (Oakland [屋崙] and Alameda [阿拉米達]): The church founders were Philip Wong (王振英), Benjamin Giang (姜瑩文), Philip Law (羅木華), and Holley Lian (連伯祥). Later, Lee Ming Dao (李明道), Timothy Lo Ka Chung (羅加寵), and Cap Ly (李恩典), younger brother of Lee Yan Tuck (李恩德) joined the team. In 1988, the Chinese church at 1515 Verdi Street, Alameda, CA 94587 was founded with Dr. Timothy Lo as the pastor. When Pastor Lo retired in 1992, Lee Ming Dao served as the pastor and was succeeded by Cap Ly as pastor. Upon the retirement of Pastor Ly in 2014, Larry Wai Chu (朱煒) became the pastor in June 2014. [Pastor Chu was born in China and grew up in Hong Kong. In 2006 he came to study in the United States and completed his master in the Seminary at Andrews University in 2013. His email address is larrychuwai@gmail.com or larry.chu@nccsda.com.]

The believers rented the Alameda English Adventist church for worship and there were 70 church members in 2002. In order to expand the work the members decided in November 2011 to raise funds to have its own building. On July 11, 2011, it purchased a bank-owned building, which was at first offered for sale at $675,000.00, at a cash price of $500,000.00. After the necessary renovations, purchasing of equipment and furnishing, the church at 842 Central Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501 was finally dedicated debt free on August 25, 2012. The membership as of September 16, 2015 was 58. Its telephone is: (501) 523-4672.

(11) Temple City (天普市): The Chinese church at Temple City was founded by Abel Leung (梁家寅), Nathaniel Yen Yung Tse (顏榮哲), Richard Liu (劉大同), and James Chen Kwang Dek (陳廣德). They gathered Chinese Adventists from Los Angeles and other places. Initially they rented the facilities of the English-speaking congregation at 9664 E. Broadway, Temple City, CA 91740. Because over 2/3 of the local inhabitants are Chinese, it is easy to imagine that the Chinese congregation grows faster than the English one. As it turns out, the church expands into a predominantly Chinese congregation, with 90% of its members being Chinese. Now, the church evangelizes among intellectuals from Mainland China and it had about 40 members by 2002. In 2004 it rented the Presbyterian church facilities at 2733 South 10th Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006 and changed its name to San Gabriel Valley Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church (聖谷華人教會). Its telephone is (626) 446-5161. By 2010 they are about 120 church members. Pastor Timothy Zhao (趙星帆) was the pastor since 2008. In 2015 he was called to be pastor of the Fremont Chinese Company. Whenever there is a need, Pastor Richard Liu is the interim pastor of the church. However, he has Dong Hui Ping (董慧萍) as the assistant pastor.

(12) Boston (波士頓): The Chinese Adventist ministry began in 1996. A group of seven young Adventists of the Billerica SDA Church met for Chinese vesper services in February of that year. Two were students of Atlantic Union College, three were graduates from Walla Walla College, one was a graduate from Loma Linda University, and one was a graduate from an Adventist college in Australia. The five graduates were working in Greater Boston area.

Having heard of the group, Samuel Young contacted Tony Wong (黃少剛) [older brother of Pastor David Wong (黃少輝) who in turn was son-in-law of Pastor Joshua Chong (張永和)] and Vincent Tsang Wing Shing (曾永盛), a Walla Walla College graduate, and suggested they start Sabbath services in Chinese. Thus on April 20, the group gathered at Tsang’s home for worship. [Tsang’s wife Cara, one of the seven, was also a Walla Walla graduate.] Samuel Young himself attended the services in May 1996, and visited the church once in a while during the past 20 years. There were not many Chinese church members around. The elderly Adventists in Boston downtown, such as Pastor Chung Wai Poh (鍾惠波) and his wife, were physically too weak to travel to the Sabbath services. However, the Chinese vesper services in 1996 grew until 2015 into a lively group of 30 to 50 believers worshipping on Sabbath services in Quincy.

With the help of Pastor Frank Lee (利國鏗) from the New York Chinese Church, the group was granted “company” status in 1998 by the Southern New England Conference.

Tiffany Tan (曾敏鶯), while studying at Atlantic Union College, joined the group in August 1998. After having graduated with a degree in theology, she worked as an associate pastor at the Boston Temple Church at 105 Jersey Street (MA 02215) in the downtown. There were about 20 people attending the Chinese Sabbath School and Bible study by 2002.

From 2004 to 2008, the company of believers met in Tiffany Tan’s apartment for worship services. She served as pastor from 2000 to 2013. In July 2007 the company became an organized church—Greater Boston Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 2008 the church moved to 762 Southern Artery, Quincy MA 02169, south of Boston. Its telephone No. is 617-869-5052. Quincy, the eighth largest city in the State of Massachusetts, with one of the biggest Chinese community in the area, is Boston’s immediate suburb and is a major part of Metropolitan Boston.

When Tiffany, who is a Chinese from Vietnam, was transferred to pioneer the work among Vietnamese/Chinese in Waymark Church near Boston to start another Asian group. There no No pastor was assigned to the Greater Boston Chinese Church. During the interim period from June 6, 2014 to March 2015, Elder Tony Wong, Elder Vincent Tsang, and Pastor Jonathan Foo (符運明), father of Bright Foo (符中光) [Bright, a Walla Walla College graduate, was one of the seven] were in charge of the church business. Moses Fang (方舟) of Shenyang, China, has been helping the church since October 2013. He was employed officially by the Southern New England Conference in November 2014 to be the pastor. His email address is Mosesfang@163.com. [Editor’s note: Moses Fang is among the first group of graduates of the extension theology class conducted by Taiwan Adventist College in Mainland China.]

Tony Wong, a graduate of Atlantic Union College in the 1980s, and his wife Helen had been with the church in Billerica for many years, perhaps for sentimental reason, preferred to retain their membership in that church. However, the couple has been with the Chinese group all these years, and Tony contributed very much to the development of the church. The church with a membership of 26 as of September 2915 2015 uses Mandarin and Cantonese in its services. Of the original group of seven people, besides Vincent and Cara Tsang, three are still in greater Boston, and they attend the church services once in a while. [Editor’s note: We are indebted to Elder Vincent Tsang for the updated information in this section.]

(13) San Diego (聖地牙哥): The ministry at San Diego was initiated by Milton Wu Kuo Ying (吳國英), Nora Tho (凃洪美玲), and John Lu (呂俊明) of the Loma Linda Chinese church. It started as a branch Sabbath School and met at members’ homes for service. Through Pastor John Lu’s strong faith and commitment, the group gradually grew and stabilized.

In 2000, the group approached the San Diego Clairemont Church for a better place for Sabbath service, and accepted the advice of the Southeastern California Conference to join the few remaining members of this church, [which once had 200 members, but it then had only 20 people] and tried to revive the church. During this period the Chinese group forgot its founding mission to spread the Gospel to the Chinese in San Diego and continued this effort under the leadership of Pastor Samuel Huong (方傳茂). He and his wife Ruth (范慧屏) volunteered all their time and effort to go from Loma Linda to San Diego every Sabbath to help the group. During that period, several Chinese members were baptized after attending public evangelistic meetings.

On August 4, 2008 the Chinese group decided to leave the San Diego Clairemont Church as an effort to focus better its mission of spreading the Gospel among the Chinese in San Diego. The Loma Linda Chinese Church Board the approved to accept the San Diego Chinese SDA Fellowship as an outreach program. Pastor Matthew Yuen (袁福基), pastor of the Loma Linda Chinese Church, is the leader of the Fellowship.

Friday evening Bible study classes, youth CARE groups and campus ministry at the University of California San Diego campus have been organized to help the growth of the Fellowship. All these efforts resulted in several baptisms. To support this ministry the mother church donated over ten thousand dollars every year. The Chinese Fellowship hopes to become financially self-sufficient. There were 20 to 30 regular Chinese congregants in 2002. The number of attendees as of 2015 is around 40.

Since returning to the United States in late 2011, Roger Li (李博文) with his wife has been helping the Sabbath service of the Fellowship which met at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center at 4126 Executive drive, La Jolla CA 92037-1348. As of June 6, 2015, the Fellowship leased the facility of San Diego Woori Korean Church as their meeting place. It is at 4847 Mercury Street, San Diego, CA 92111. It is hoped that the Fellowship will soon become a company.

(14) Andrews University: There are many Chinese students from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Mainland China at Andrews University. Since 1992, many doctoral students such as Robert Wong Chao Chien (黃兆堅), Sim Chor Kiat (沈佐杰), John Lee Kam Hong (李錦洪), and Samuel Shiao (蕭希聖) organized a mission station. Later, there was only one Chinese Sabbath services every month. Because the Chinese students are highly mobile, it is difficult to build a Chinese church there.

(15) Fremont (菲利蒙): The Freemont Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Company has been led by Dr. Philip Law (羅木華). Throughout the years, they have met for worship every week. There were about 50 congregants in 2002. They met at 33780 Heartland Court, Union City, CA 94587. As of 2015 the service is on Sabbath afternoons. The congregation rents the facilities of Christ The King Lutheran Church at 1301 Mowry Avenue, Fremont, CA 94538. The membership as of May 9, 2012 was 82. Its email address is fremontchinesesda@gmail.com. Presently [2015] Timothy Zhao (趙星帆) is the pastor.

In 1997 the North American Chinese Church Consultative Group (北美華人教會咨議會) was founded to coordinate the Chinese ministry. In its first four years, Samuel Young chaired the Group. But many Chinese churches were so preoccupied with their own affairs, they did not work closely together. The Group only printed some religious pamphlets and accomplished some simple tasks. The Group held a tent meeting every two years. In 2002, Richard Liu (劉大同) was elected as the chair.

If the Chinese Adventists work hard and cooperate well, there are many new mission fields in North America such as Chicago, Dallas in Texas, Houston in Texas, Portland in Oregon, Seattle, Dayton in Ohio, Atlanta in Georgia, and Bakersfield in California. There are some Chinese Adventists in these places and they can help the development of the ministry. If we can raise sufficient funds to build a mission station in each of these cities, there will be as many as 30 Chinese churches in North America.

Supplemented by Wu Chook Ying (吳竹影)

The following is a report of Betty Cooney, Communication Director of the Southern California Conference, on how a church-planting project had been implemented. Around 2000, a half dozen Chinese members came together with a vision of planting a church to minister to the Chinese population of more than 150,000 living east of the 605 freeway. Beginning with Bible study groups in members’ homes, the church planters soon met with Hacienda Heights church leadership, obtaining permission to hold Sabbath afternoon services and seminars in the church fellowship hall. With the blessing of Los Angeles, Loma Linda and San Gabriel Chinese congregations, the Hacienda Heights Chinese Adventist Fellowship was born January 14, 2006. On July 1 of that year, the fellowship invited Paul Cho (卓甫剩), then president of Taiwan Adventist College (臺灣三育基督學院) and Griggs University Asia (安格亞洲大學), to serve as pastor. Arriving with a five-year plan to establish a church, Cho led members to implement the plan prayerfully and energetically, with health seminars, evangelistic series, Bible studies, fund-raising concerts involving the Training Our Faith in Unity, youth choir, and other outreach.

In 2008 the group organized as a company. Then on January 9, 2010, nearly a year before the five-year plan concluded, the Hacienda Heights Chinese Church (哈崗華人教會) was organized with 152 charter members. The organization service recounted the congregation’s history, thanked God for enabling them to full their vision and welcome more than 400 guests from Chinese congregations in the area. A gala dinner at a local restaurant capped the day.

Said Pastor Paul Cho, “The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of Chinese Adventist work in Southern California; today we are the third organized Chinese church in the area. We have a strong spiritual foundation in the six people who began our mission.”

“Evangelism outreach to the Chinese community is challenging, due to its diverse cultures,” noted Pete Lou (劉耀洲), chairman of the organizing committee. “Our members are committed to share the third angel’s message to all Chinese, including those people from other Asian countries. A fund has been established to raise funds for owning our own church building” (Pacific Union Recorder, March 2010, p. 6).

On August 19, 2011 the church purchased a 3.99-acre property, with two buildings that formerly served as a Christian school, at Chino (奇諾), for one million dollars. It original price was four million dollars. By February 5, 2012, renovation of the Chino property was completed. On February 11, 2012, the church with a membership of 204 celebrated the grand opening of Chino Valley Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church (奇諾華人教會) (Pacific Union Recorder, April 2012, p. 5; The Last Day Shepherd’s Call, September 2012, p. 33).

The address of Chino Valley Chinese church is at 4136 Riverside Drive, Chino, CA 91710. Its mailing address is P. O. Box 712, Chino, CA 91708; its telephone No. is (909) 628-6262, and its website is : http://cvcsda.org . As of April 2013, the membership is 211. According to Pastor Paul Cho, the church is planning to erect a sanctuary and multipurpose building at an estimated cost of US$1,500,000. The sanctuary will accommodate 300 people. With the completion of this project, the church will be able to render more services and ministry to the community and bring more souls to His kingdom.

Los Angeles Cantonese Adventist Fellowship (羅省粵語復臨團契)

In March 2006, a group of Cantonese-speaking members of the Los Angeles Chinese Church began their home group meetings. On March 15, 2008, the group held their first Cantonese service at their church. In December 2009, the Cantonese meetings moved to the Education Building of the church. In May 2010, the meetings moved to the afternoon.

In order to spread the Advent message to Cantonese-speaking people, the Los Angeles Cantonese Fellowship was founded on February 5, 2011, and began meeting in San Gabriel Academy Elementary in the afternoon, while the Japanese SDA Church met in the morning. Under the leadership of retired Pastor Wong Yet Chung (王溢中), Lana Lui (蘇美顔), Dr. Benjamin Tang (鄧天麟), Dr. Tim Chan (陳子武), Elder Bilta Tran (陳越慶), Rebecca Hong (洪陳越珍), Cecil Ma (馬錫強), Peter Young (楊劭頤), and others. The Fellowship was then approved by the Southern California Conference. When the Japanese Church moved away on April 23, 2011, the Fellowship changed the services to the morning. On September 3, 2011 the Fellowship relocated to Golden West Baptist Church at 4856 Golden West Avenue, Temple City, CA 91780 for their Sabbath services. A week later, with prompting and strong support of Peter Young, the English service was added to meet the young people’s need and Miles Yu (遊建睿) was invited to be in charge of the youth English ministry. In addition to the two sessions of meetings—Cantonese and English, there has also been a children English Sabbath school class.

On July 1, 2013, the “Sunshine Boulevard (陽光大道)” podcast was launched. Cecil Ma, a member of the L. A. Cantonese Fellowship, has been the producer-editor of the Cantonese podcast. There are three segments featured weekly on the 15-minute program: health by Maria Poon (李貴好), BsN, RN, Rosana Liang (梁容璧珊), and Peter Young DDS; community news by Cecil Ma; and Bible stories by Dr. Tim Chan and Lana Lui. [Rosana Liang is a hospital pharmacist, and her late father-in-law was Pastor Liang Wai Hong (梁惠康).]

Since the founding of the Fellowship, two series of evangelistic meetings were held. During the four-year period 27 people have been baptized. To strengthen the work On January 1, 2015, Jeffery Chan (陳韋豪), with his wife Delia Chu (朱盈新) and their five-year-old daughter Yet Sum (繹心), arrived to be pastor of the Fellowship. He was a missionary from Hong Kong working in Seoul, South Korea.

In 2011, the Fellowship tried but was unsuccessful to rent the facilities on Saturdays of the bigger Grace Baptist Church at 5537 Temple City Boulevard, Temple City, CA 91780. Then by God’s grace, just as the Golden West Baptist Church became problematic, in late July 2015, some members noticed the availability of the Grace Baptist Church’s facilities on Saturdays. Right away the leaders of the Fellowship went to meet the church’s pastor and successfully signed an agreement of lease for five years, with a possibility of continual of the lease. So as of August 1, 2015 the Fellowship met at the Grace Baptist Church for their Sabbath Services.

On May 2，2017 the Southern California Conference granted the Fellowship the status of Company. At 3 pm, on Sabbath, August 12, 2017, the Company held a cerebration service. There are ninety-two charter members.

The LA Cantonese Adventist Fellowship’s telephone is 1 626 677-6821 and its email address is cantonesesda@gmail.com. The Cantonese services, with an average attendant of 47 people, meet at 10 a.m. for divine service, and the Sabbath School at 11:30 a.m., the English divine service, with an average attendant of 37 people, meet at 12 noon. The English Children Sabbath class meets at 11:00 a.m. [Editor’s note: We are indebted to Cecil Ma for the history of the Fellowship.]