The following text is from the First Chinese Baptist Church’s 125th Anniversary Journal.
Giants Among Us
The 2005 San Francisco Giants major league baseball billboard campaign featured gigantic pictures of ball players holding small bats and gloves. When you see these signs, you feel that they are truly “giants!” When you read and reflect over the 125 years of the history of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco, you would realize that there were many “giants of the faith” that have led us to where we are today. The purpose of this historical journal is to capture as best as we could the significant events, developments, and the “giants of the faith” in order for us to grow in Christian maturity to serve in the name of Christ in the years to come.
The beginning of our church actually originates many years before 1880. Denominational mission agencies sent missionaries to China as early as 18–. When these Christian workers returned back to the United States on furlough or to recover from health problems, many of them discovered that the Chinese were coming to America seeking work and fortune in order to return to China in comfort. This was a Chinese dream giving way to thousands of Chinese sojourners in California. Once missionaries thought that overseas was where the Chinese were, they soon realized that the Chinese were here to stay.
Some of these missionaries became giants in our midst. Many of us can remember Jesse B. Hartwell as the founding pastor of the Chinese Baptist Mission. Numerous women missionaries served at our church as teachers and administrators. For a number of years, missionaries were assigned as the superintendent of Oriental Work in the West Coast. One of these was Charles F. Shepherd who spoke Chinese and founded Chung Mei Home. And for most of us today, we have been blessed by the ministries of Celia “Debbie” Allen and Astrid Peterson who were giants who walked among us and we welcomed them to become members of our own households.
In San Francisco Chinatown, all of the historic churches are those whose histories are rooted in denominational mission agencies prepared to reach the Chinese with missionaries. Two blocks down the street is the Congregational church. Two blocks up the street is the Methodist church. A few yards from the Methodist church is the Presbyterian church. These along with others comprising of 13 member churches function as the cooperative Christian council known as the Chinese Christian Union (CCU).
In the first 70 years, the church and its members all lived walking distance in Chinatown. It was self-contained. There was really no need to cross over the boundaries that kept Chinatown insulated. Beginning in the 1950s, members began moving to the residential areas of the city: Richmond and Sunset districts. For awhile, the church wondered if there would still be enough people left. With new relaxed immigration quotas in the 1960s, a new influx of Chinese once again filled the housing in Chinatown. But the remarkable development that has occurred is the return of Chinese Americans and Asian Americans driving as much as 60 miles one way to come to FCBC!
We come to FCBC not because there’s plenty of parking because there’s little or that traffic is convenient because it isn’t. We come to FCBC because God’s mission through our church is not yet finished! From the very beginning of our church when Rev. Hartwell rented a room and established an English school, we are still partnering with the City College of San Francisco to offer English and citizenship classes to our neighbors. And on Friday night, our church members teach the classes followed by an evangelistic meeting. Giants come to the church every Friday night!
In your hands is a journal that contains many old pictures of giants in the past. We recognize giants like Hartwell, Shepherd, Lau, and Chuck! But as a Baptist church that believes that we are all called as ministers of the Gospel, there are many giants. The list of living church member names identified by the year they joined our church is a list of giants. When we take new pictures of our church members and friends, they are the giants of today.
No history of any institution in San Francisco is exempted from the effects of earthquakes. After only 18 years, the first building of our church was completely destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. It was in rubbles and we were most fortunate that no one perished at the church. Literally out of the ashes of burned bricks, the new church was rebuilt with “clinker bricks” showing with its glassy surfaces how intense the fire was. Jutting out of the exterior walls, these “clinker bricks” are symbols of new life in Christ.
Only sixteen years ago, the Loma Prieta Earthquake happened in the Bay Area during a time when the Giants and the Oakland A’s were playing the World Series. Although widespread damage affected the region, our church sustained no damages at all. However, with an un-reinforced brick building, we retrofitted and completely renovated the church in 2000. In addition to the “clinker bricks,” there are now steel washers dotting the building to hold each floor from sandwiching together in preparation for the next quake. The washers appear to have raindrops reminding us to seek God so that:
May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew;
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth.
For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe greatness to our God! (Deut. 32:2-3)
The five history chapters written by long-time church members attempt to capture in their own writing styles and perspectives, about 20 years of our 125 years of history. They successfully captured the key events that tell the story. As in any historical research project, there is still more stories that can be told. One of these is researching missionary correspondences that are currently archived with the American Baptist Historical Society. And within each of the twenty years, there can be more stories that explore how our church participated in the larger stories of city, national or global significance of that day. Perhaps future aspiring church historians will consider these as their contributions to the life of FCBC.
In our recent history, two important developments are worth noting. For almost 40 years, Rev. Dr. James Chuck served as Senior Pastor of our church. In addition to this long pastorate, he served as Youth Director when he was in seminary and grew up in the shadows of the church building. It is safe to say that there will most likely never be someone who will serve FCBC with such a long and glorious pastorate! Dr. Chuck has composed some personal reflections of his years at FCBC. The second major event is the faithful planting of a new church, Sunset Ministry in 1997. As FCBC grew in membership as well as in spirit, it was answering God’s call to share our gifts, talents, and leaders in the forming of a new Baptist church. Senior Pastor Rev. Larry Jay of Sunset Ministry offers his thoughts of appreciation and best wishes to their “mother” church’s anniversary.
On this second weekend of October 7-9, 2005, we are making history by being here. We have taken time from our busy lives to come home to rededicate ourselves to ministry, to reconnect and fellowship with old friends and to make new ones, and finally to be re-commissioned to the ongoing work and mission our church in this world. The new panoramic portrait of our church family signifies our vitality and conviction to do ministry in the streets of Chinatown when we gathered 460 people strong. You might say that the small Cat’s Meow wooden replicas of our church building and both our sanctuary stained glass windows in our hands make us like “giants!” And when the Waverly Place street improvement is completed later this year, there will be bronze “monkey footprints” signifying good life will be installed in the sidewalk in front of our church to permanently commemorate our church’s 125th Anniversary celebration. As ‘giants of the faith,” we will walk on this sidewalk to claim the world for Jesus Christ!
Without the hard and dedicated service of many people, the 125th Anniversary Celebration of our church would not be possible. At the risk of overlooking some, it would also be a mistake not to take this time to acknowledge the following for exceptional contributions to making this anniversary a reality. Thank you the 125th Anniversary Committee who coordinated the myriad of activities and events for the celebration: Anna Quan Wong, Chair, Wallace Chu, Carolyn Hee, Freddie Hee, Jarrett Jang, Serena Jang, Kyle Lessler, Joy Shih Ng, Sherry Pang, Rodney Tom, Sophie Tom, and David Wong.
Thank you the Historical Committee who researched and composed the church history and timeline: Byron Chan, Chair, Pauline Chin, Sophia Chong, Wallace Choy, George Lai, and Darryl Tom. Thanks to Joyce Ng who designed and created the historical exhibits.
The publication of this anniversary journal was made possible by Joy Shih Ng who edited manuscripts, designed and layout the pages and to Jane Lam, and Pastor Kin. K. Mak who translated this journal into Chinese.
May God continue to bless the community of disciples known as the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco as we “abound in thanksgiving” in the name of the Lord and serve as “giants of the faith” in the years to come!
Pastor Don Ng