San Leandro
California
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Bay Area Chinese Bible Church
Mission:
Any endeavor inside or outside our local congregation including cross-cultural ministry to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ by proclaiming the gospel of Christ, making disciples, planting churches and relating to the whole need of mankind - spiritual and physical.
History:
The Bay Area Chinese Bible Church (BACBC) is one of the largest Asian churches in the Bay Area. As a "Church for the Whole Family," the emphasis is on culturally relevant and practical ministry, so that all attendees can know and live their faith in Jesus Christ. Worship services and Sunday School classes are conducted in a variety of languages: English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.
Chinese Christian Schools is just one of the many facets of the church. The church uses a purpose-driven approach to ministry: worship is conducted in multiple styles, fellowship is propagated through the Home Team structure, discipleship is fostered through Youth fellowships and specialized training courses and workshops, service opportunities minister to the Seniors and needy, and evangelism is spread where relationships are built through the Chinese Language School, summer athletic leagues, and other local and global missions projects.
BACBC has a very rich and interesting history in the East Bay side of the San Francisco Bay Area. In the summer of 1956, Pastor Sen and June Wong held a two ‘week Vacation Bible School in their duplex apartment on East 27th Street in Oakland. There was an average daily attendance of approximately 20 children and adults. That November, the Lord led the Wongs to start a Sunday School class in their home.
On the first Sunday, there were a total of 11 in attendance, including Sen and June Wong. Gradually, more attendees began adding to the small group. Soon, a church service was added, then a Wednesday prayer meeting, Sunday evening service, and the young people's club.
In February of 1957, the church moved to a house on Wakefield Avenue in Oakland, just two blocks away. Though the church had more room, in the summer of 1958 the dirt beneath the house was excavated and a basement chapel was added. This allowed the church to continue growing. In 1961, with a weekly attendance of 115, the church decided to formally incorporate.
In 1964, another home was purchased and remodeled as a church on Oakland's East 29th Street. By 1968, the church was running around 200 in attendance, but it grew to over 500 by 1979, when it decided to start Chinese Christian Schools in two small apartments next door to the church. Already one of the largest Chinese churches in the Bay Area, BACBC desperately needed additional facilities.
In 1985, the church, with over 600 attendees, and school, with almost 300 students, moved to its present leased facilities in San Leandro. Over the next 10 years, the size of the church and school have both increased to over 900 attendees at the church and almost 1000 students at the school. Through the years, the church has had strong youth ministries with an emphasis on Bible teaching. In recent years, the church has seen rapid growth in its outreach to the Cantonese and Mandarin speaking communities and senior citizens.
In September 2003, the church and school opened a 35,000 square foot educational building in Alameda which currently serves as a satellite school campus. It will eventually serve as the main site for the church and school when the ministry enters its next phase of their building program.
Almost 50 years from its first days, the Bay Area Chinese Bible Church seeks to reproduce itself by starting "daughter churches" and training up leaders to staff those new ministries. Families still play a central role but the church also bridges many cultural, social, economic and geographic barriers. The concept of smaller, localized congregations is consistent with the Chinese culture's emphasis on family and community.
Any endeavor inside or outside our local congregation including cross-cultural ministry to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ by proclaiming the gospel of Christ, making disciples, planting churches and relating to the whole need of mankind - spiritual and physical.
History:
The Bay Area Chinese Bible Church (BACBC) is one of the largest Asian churches in the Bay Area. As a "Church for the Whole Family," the emphasis is on culturally relevant and practical ministry, so that all attendees can know and live their faith in Jesus Christ. Worship services and Sunday School classes are conducted in a variety of languages: English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.
Chinese Christian Schools is just one of the many facets of the church. The church uses a purpose-driven approach to ministry: worship is conducted in multiple styles, fellowship is propagated through the Home Team structure, discipleship is fostered through Youth fellowships and specialized training courses and workshops, service opportunities minister to the Seniors and needy, and evangelism is spread where relationships are built through the Chinese Language School, summer athletic leagues, and other local and global missions projects.
BACBC has a very rich and interesting history in the East Bay side of the San Francisco Bay Area. In the summer of 1956, Pastor Sen and June Wong held a two ‘week Vacation Bible School in their duplex apartment on East 27th Street in Oakland. There was an average daily attendance of approximately 20 children and adults. That November, the Lord led the Wongs to start a Sunday School class in their home.
On the first Sunday, there were a total of 11 in attendance, including Sen and June Wong. Gradually, more attendees began adding to the small group. Soon, a church service was added, then a Wednesday prayer meeting, Sunday evening service, and the young people's club.
In February of 1957, the church moved to a house on Wakefield Avenue in Oakland, just two blocks away. Though the church had more room, in the summer of 1958 the dirt beneath the house was excavated and a basement chapel was added. This allowed the church to continue growing. In 1961, with a weekly attendance of 115, the church decided to formally incorporate.
In 1964, another home was purchased and remodeled as a church on Oakland's East 29th Street. By 1968, the church was running around 200 in attendance, but it grew to over 500 by 1979, when it decided to start Chinese Christian Schools in two small apartments next door to the church. Already one of the largest Chinese churches in the Bay Area, BACBC desperately needed additional facilities.
In 1985, the church, with over 600 attendees, and school, with almost 300 students, moved to its present leased facilities in San Leandro. Over the next 10 years, the size of the church and school have both increased to over 900 attendees at the church and almost 1000 students at the school. Through the years, the church has had strong youth ministries with an emphasis on Bible teaching. In recent years, the church has seen rapid growth in its outreach to the Cantonese and Mandarin speaking communities and senior citizens.
In September 2003, the church and school opened a 35,000 square foot educational building in Alameda which currently serves as a satellite school campus. It will eventually serve as the main site for the church and school when the ministry enters its next phase of their building program.
Almost 50 years from its first days, the Bay Area Chinese Bible Church seeks to reproduce itself by starting "daughter churches" and training up leaders to staff those new ministries. Families still play a central role but the church also bridges many cultural, social, economic and geographic barriers. The concept of smaller, localized congregations is consistent with the Chinese culture's emphasis on family and community.