Eager to Do Good
Titus 2:14
I used to have a Sears Eager 1 lawnmower. In Pennsylvania, when summers are hot and humid, the grass grows really fast. It would be high, thick and heavy. With a yard about a quarter of an acre, it would take me two to three hours with no breaks to mow the lawn. Although my lawnmower was an Eager 1, nobody in his/her right mind was eager to mow it!
When we were planning to move to San Francisco, one of things that I didn’t want was another lawn to mow. We intentionally sold the house with Eager 1 thrown in. I don’t have any grass to mow anymore!
In Titus 2:14, Paul reminded his young worker that God calls us to live upright and godly lives in the world, while we are waiting for that blessed day when Jesus Christ will appear again. Because of Christ, we have become God’s people who are “eager to do good.”
The best word to describe the state of our church in 2003 is “eager.” We have many people who are eager to do the work of God’s plan through our church. Another Bible version of this verse is “a people who are zealous for good deeds.” We are a people who are driven to want to serve. Perhaps that’s the reason why we pastors often feel out of breath trying to catch up with the passion that you have for ministry at FCBC!
On almost every Sunday morning, up on the third floor, you would see So Be and all the other teachers working eagerly with the 50 or so kids from our community and our church families. The teachers are teaching them fun songs, others are getting the snacks ready, still others are lining up the children for recess to the playground. You can feel the commitment to reach out to every single one of these children. I can only wonder how many of these children will become those in our church today who were once these little ones up on the third floor. The kids will know God’s love because you have shown his love with them.
I think about the Sports Ministry that we have at our church—and we don’t even have a gym! Thank God for the Y! It’s sweat and sore muscles passion that provides different kinds of opportunities for all of us to go for the gold! We have basketball to volleyball, golf to tennis, softball to Kids Games Day. Much credit goes to John Tom whose leadership and drive to offer athletic activities to our church’s ministry that has created the well-rounded and balance program that we have.
No annual report should go by without the recognition of the important ministry that happens on Friday nights. I know that those who teach and organize the Friday Night School are not eager to be there in human terms. They have worked all week and all day and on Friday nights they make their way down to Chinatown to teach our new neighbors English skills and the meaning of becoming an American. It’s hard work—no doubt about it. But their eagerness to be here is grounded in their own faith in Christ Jesus as their Savior. Through their efforts in the classrooms, the fellowship conversations around the dinner tables, and the worship at Joshua Fellowship, they eagerly want their students to know Jesus Christ in their hearts as their Savior too. God is pleased with this historical ministry of our church.
The Music Ministry of our church is highly acclaimed around the churches in Chinatown. If you are looking for good music, people come here. The CBC Choir is probably the longest ongoing choir in Chinatown—and they still sound pretty good. We have a solid and upcoming Cantonese Choir that sing with passion and joy. We have the only “gospel choir” that swings and snaps!” Our Children’s Choir has sung with other choirs in the region. We have a Bells Choir that can compete with Old St. Mary’s bells! This doesn’t just happen—I know because I can’t sing! Each one of our choir directors, Wallace Choy, Joy Shih Ng, Wendy Quan, and Melanie Low eagerly works hard and faithfully with children, youth, and adults to sing praises to God.
One of a number behind-the-scene operation of the church is our management of funds. Every time a bill is paid, a pledge is made, a memorial gift received, I get my paycheck, people on your behalf are working. This happens every week. For the past two years in a row, we have successfully reached and surpassed our pledge goal. I believe that you believe in our ministry and the integrity we have in the management of our funds. When you give, you have the utmost confidence that these contributions will be used for the glory of God. Many people continue to eagerly maintain the financial health of our church for which I am very grateful. But the one person I want to recognize is Marian Hom who literally has converted one of her rooms in her house into a church office in order to maintain the record-keeping function for our church.
Finally, I want to recognize the fact that we know how to eat at this church. Thanks to Faye Wong and David’s birthday, we ate good today. No other church in Chinatown serves breakfast but we do. Joe Chan comes very early on Sunday morning to cook the Spam and along with Gil Qoung mix the batter for the waffles. And now you even have converted Lakita to be in the kitchen too. The Social Committee and Jimmy Yee continue to outdo themselves with delicious meals at the Church Picnic and Thanksgiving Luncheon. They are eager to cook and we just can’t wait to eat!
By a long shot, I have only mentioned a few of our church’s many ministries. I invite you to take the Annual Reports and read the many programs and activities that happened last year. You would be impressed as I am. It seems to me that “eagerness” is a contagious disease that has beautifully infected all of us.
Looking Ahead
As we begin 2003, we are seeing that our ministries are expanding. In November, we hired Jane Lam as our new Community Outreach Worker to strengthen our Friday Night School ministry through training, coordination, and outreach to our neighbors. We see this as continuing in the rich tradition of Debbie Allen and Astrid Peterson and the effective ministry that Wally Poon continues to provide on Monday to Thursday nights. We pray that with Jane’s leadership and her eagerness to reach our community for Christ that we will see more people becoming Christians and abiding in our church.
And just a few minutes ago, you approved another contract position for a Young Adult Ministry Coordinator to connect, communicate, and coordinate the ministries we have for and with English-speaking young adults. For us to grow in this population, we need to give special attention to their needs and interests. By having this person on staff, we believe that we will begin to attract young adults to participate in our community of faith. With your support and prayers, we are eager to see this come to pass.
With increasing attendance in our worship services, we will need to look at the capacity question again. It is vitally important for all members, all friends, all visitors to know that if they want to come to church for worship that there would be a place for them. There are times when this is not the case. Worshipping God is why we come. We want everyone who would like to worship at FCBC to know that they can come and know God in their lives. The staff has been discussing ways that we may worship in a larger facility so that more people can come in for worship. We will be exploring these options and will share them with you in the near future.
For the past two years, the Deacons have been in discussion of developing a different way in the distribution of our mission giving. People today want to have more of “a say” in what their giving is supporting. We want to personalize and put a human face to mission giving. During this year, the Deacons will be reviewing and interviewing mission organizations and projects that will be presented to you for approval when the 2004 budget is proposed. This will be an exciting time to learn more about the different mission projects that represent an extension of sharing the Good News of Christ far beyond our church walls.
There’s a saying about, “not letting grass grow under your feet.” It means that when you are so busy and eager to do things that you wear out the grass under your feet. We don’t need a Sears Eager 1 lawnmower to keep the grass down. Our lives are like eager lawnmowers, always ready to serve, always willing to give, always open to following God’s ways, always not letting grass grow under our feet.
The state of the church is well due to the eagerness in ministry that you have displayed in 2002. We thank God for his grace in the salvation of all humankind. With God’s grace and mercy, we are living upright and godly lives in this world as we anticipate the blessed day when God’s glory is made known in the return of Christ. But in the meantime, with Christ himself who has rescued us to become God’s people, we are eager to do good.