Rev. Donald Ng
The Year 2000 will not only be remembered for the excitement of the beginning of the new millennium. At First Chinese Baptist, it was also the beginning of our renewed passion for ministry following a period of major change. Perhaps the closest comparison to the tremendous changes that we have experienced this year is the devastation of the church in 1906 by the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire and the rebuilding of our church building in 1908. With the exception of Mrs. J.S. Chu, our oldest living member, none of us can say we remember how that was like!
Experiencing Exodus
The people of FCBC continued to worship at the Gordon J. Lau Elementary School on Clay Street (began in July 1999) while our building was under construction. Our three Sunday worship services were held at the school auditorium with the dedicated and consistent assistance of Mike Wong, Bill Leong and others who set up the public address system every Sunday morning. The older children Sunday school classes met in the school cafeteria and the adult classes upstairs in classrooms. The nursery children met at the YMCA and the youth remained at CEC. We are grateful for the cooperation of our neighbors who kindly allowed us to use their facilities during this time of relocation. Our thanks to Helen Chin at the Lau school, Peter Chong at the YMCA, and May Huie at CEC.
The Friday Night School program of teaching English and citizenship to community residents by our church continued at City College rented facilities on Clay Street. Our appreciation to Joanne Low and Brian Tom of City College in making this possible.
From July 1999 to July 2000, we experienced our own exodus experience! We found worship and learning in unfamiliar surroundings difficult but with God’s grace and guidance, the ministry continued unhindered.
Rebuilding God’s House
The start of 2000 was the continuation of the retrofit construction that began in September 1999. Although the main part of the sanctuary was only affected with the installation of new posts for seismic reinforcement, the rest of the building was completely gutted down to the original studs. Highlights of this major project are:
*Four new steel posts with a number of cross beams installed to maintain our brick building’s ability to withstand an earthquake.
*Hundreds of through-bolts tied together by angle bars inside the building and capped with washers on the outside to prevent the danger of “pancaking” during an earthquake.
*Fire sprinkler system on the stairs and handicapped accessibility beginning with the front entrance, full-size elevator to all four floors and two handicapped accessible rest rooms.
*All new heating systems (4 new furnaces), new plumbing and water heater, new electrical system and lights, and a new roof.
After all of the finishes (walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, etc.) for the retrofitted building were selected, we realized that there were additional special projects that were needed to complete the renovation. An appeal was sent out for special gifts to purchase:
*Pews and moveable chairs for the sanctuary.
*Allen organ for the sanctuary.
*Wolf range, grill top and ovens, sink, stainless steel counters and storage, and commercial style dishwasher for the kitchen.
*Computer and phone systems for the church offices.
*15 Waverly door security entry system
Many people caught the vision of our church’s mission and gave generously to support both our Continue the Legacy campaign and the appeal for special projects. While the scope of the original campaign of $1.3 million included the expenses of the stewardship campaign, planting of Sunset Ministry, and architect’s fees, we soon realized that the actual cost of the retrofit construction was more than originally estimated. A “Follow-Up Campaign” was launched to invite contributors to give an additional $300,000. This too was met with enthusiastic support.
By June 2000, we finally began to see the construction coming to completion. Empty spaces began to look like rooms. Carpets, tiles, and linoleum covered the floors. We began to envision the end of our exodus and the beginning of moving back into our new church home.
Preparing to Move Back
To save on some costs, we decided to clean the building ourselves before moving back in. Members from all of our different fellowship groups came down to scrub windows, dust windowsills, re-stain the redwood paneling, clean bathrooms, and to share in the excitement of a newly renovated church.
During the construction period, the church furniture, equipment, and files were stored in homes and a commercial locker. With the help of Wallace Choy who drove the truck and many other able bodies, we slowly moved everything back into the church. When City College offered to purchase new tables and chairs for their and our use, we discovered that we didn’t need all of the tables and metal folding chairs that we had. Donations of surplus furniture were made to the American Baptist supported Today’s Youth Matter project and to the SF Park and Recreation Centers in Chinatown.
We resumed worship services in our sanctuary on July 16, exactly one year after our relocation at the Lau school. After participating in a joint bilingual worship in a standing room only school auditorium, we marched down to our church carrying signs, the sanctuary cross, the pulpit Bible, offering plates, hymnals and Bibles to celebrate our first communion in our retrofitted church home. This was an exciting day and a precursor of more exciting things to come.
Rededicating Our Church Home and Ourselves
For our church to have undergone such tremendous tasks, it was important to celebrate and give praise to God’s continuing grace and blessings. For an entire weekend of September 29, 30 and October 1, we celebrated by welcoming home old friends, meeting new friends, giving building tours, and remembering our historic heritage. Highlights included:
*Christian Artist Concert with Darrell Adams and the 11:15 Praise Team.
*First sit-down dinner cooked in our new kitchen.
*An Evening of Testimonies and Appreciations on how God is working in our lives.
*Historical displays.
*Two Sunday morning worship services and The Lord’s Supper
*Rededication of our Church Home service that included many guests from our community and American Baptist friends.
*Sidewalk Reception that attracted over 300 people
The weekend was accented with performances by the Red Panda Acrobats and the Yellow River Drummers. A Church Unity Quilt featuring squares from each of the church fellowship groups united together with a center Cross now proudly hangs in the sanctuary. And to remember our special weekend, a Commemorative Program booklet was published.
The success and achievement of sponsoring this festive rededication weekend was only made possible by the willingness and commitment of a host of people who gave many hours and days planning and preparing. Amazingly, everything happened as planned and even surpassed all of our imaginations. It was a great weekend and will be remembered as a time when we rededicated ourselves to the work of the Kingdom.
Joining New Partners in Ministry
In April, our administrative secretary, Anna Lee resigned to assume new responsibilities in a position that utilizes her accounting skills. We are thankful for Anna’s abilities and willingness during our time of relocation to permit the church office to be temporarily located in her home.
In July, we welcome Wendy Luo as our new Administrative Assistant with primary responsibilities to manage the church office and provide secretarial assistance. We are glad to have such a capable and dedicated staff colleague in our office who will help us to develop the necessary systems for an efficient church.
Our Minister-in-Training Susan Criscione, a middler at the American Baptist Seminary of the West completed her field education year with us in May. For the summer, she worked as a Summer Intern where she staffed Day Camp, provided leadership at Youth Camp, continued to assist in morning worship, and planned the Fall Christian Artists Series. We are deeply appreciative for Susan’s love for the Lord and her talents in ministry that she was able to share with us.
After a national search for probable candidates, we unanimously called Christine Otani as our new Minister of Christian Education in August. A graduate of UCLA and Fuller Seminary, Chris has worked with Asian American Christian Fellowship (AACF) and is a skilled small group facilitator. We are very pleased to have Chris join our pastoral staff and in the short few months that she has served our church, has made a significant difference in our youth, young adults, and Christian education ministries.
With the resumption of City College sponsored evening classes utilizing our classrooms from Monday to Thursday in the Fall, Joseph Wong is now serving as interim Night School Coordinator. We are thankful for Joseph’s willingness to assist the students with their many questions and concerns as well as to represent our church during the weeknights.
Pastor Kin K. Mak’s ministry with our Chinese-speaking members and friends continue to progress with good results. An emphasis on evangelism has led a number of participants to be trained for giving witness to their faith with others.
Making New Covenants
In the midst of such tremendous changes that we experienced last year, the programs and ministries of our church continued and in fact, expanded. Rather than recoiling and retreating, our ministries and giving grew. You will have the privilege in reading about these many new efforts in the reports that follow. I was impressed and I know you will be too.
In Year 2000, the Adult Committee with the leadership of Susan Criscione sponsored for the first time a series of Christian Concerts. With our newly refurbished sanctuary, we featured Darrell Adams and the 11:15 Praise Team during our rededication weekend. In October, the Covenant Players and the Xtreme Spirits band from Thai/Laotian Baptist Church in San Rafael shared their faith with us. And in December, a Messiah Sing led by Wendy Quan and accompanied by Joyce Moy and Joy Shih Ng attracted many from our sister CCU churches.
In the past year, we also saw a greater desire to study the Bible. Regional Bible study groups for both English-speaking and Cantonese-speaking participants met in different locations around the bay area. These groups are continuing to meet with special studies during the seasons of Advent and Lent. From these ongoing groups, we believe that our lives will become deeply rooted in discipleship for Christ.
After challenging ourselves to sacrificial giving with the stewardship campaign, the follow-up campaign, giving to special projects, and maintaining our annual mission budget giving, we were not sure how we might envision the 2001 Budget Canvass to be. To our great surprise, as of January 7, 2001, we have received 203 pledges reaching over 93% of our goal of $435,637 in pledges. Praise God for how he is transforming our lives to give to the vibrant mission of our church! With that enthusiastic response, the membership voted on December 3rd to pass the proposed budget as our 2001 operating budget. With “glad hearts, God is continuing to add to the mission of FCBC!” (Acts 2:46-47)
After being in Exodus for a long time, it was time for Israel to enter the land with a new generation of leaders and with a renewed covenant at Shechem. Our church discovered that the Year 2000 was our time to re-enter our church home and to rededicate ourselves for the work of the Lord.
When Joshua gathered all the tribes at Shechem to see if they were ready to serve and obey only the holy God, the people said,
“For it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land
of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight.
He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples
through whom we passed. Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, for he is our
God.” (Joshua 24:17-18)
The future of our ministry will continue to receive God’s blessings for we have obeyed and believed in God in our lives and through our church. Year 2000 has been a gift from God where God has made evident for us how he is actively and faithfully working through and among us in the world.
Inasmuch as the large stone that Joshua took to set under the oak as a sanctuary of the Lord to be a witness to Israel’s covenant to obey and serve God, may our newly retrofitted and renovated church home serve as a public witness of our Christian faith to God’s mighty power in our lives and our commitment to serve Jesus Christ all the days of our lives. May God continue to bless us in 2001!