DUARTE – “Just give us a room and a piano, and we can start a new church,” Andrew Chan says. “It does not matter whether they are Anglo or Chinese. If churches have the facilities to help us start a new work all we need is a room and a piano.”

Born into an ancestor-worshiping family in Hong Kong, Andrew serves Christ as language church starting consultant with the California Southern Baptist Convention (CSBC) Church Starting Group.

A Mennonite woman encouraged Andrew’s mother to stop worshiping idols and take her family to a Christian church. The church they attended provided Andrew with his elementary and secondary education, and he became a Christian as a teenager while attending summer camp.

“I knew that I had done some things that I shouldn’t, so I asked God to forgive my sins,” Andrew related. “I accepted Him to be my Savior and Lord. Right after I did that, I just felt that I was a new person. Jesus Christ was my Savior and Lord, and I had a purpose for my whole life. Economically I may not be that good, because I grew up in a poor family, but I have Jesus. I have everything. So I always remember that grace made a big difference in my life, and grace continues to make a big difference in my life”

Andrew is instrumental in starting two or three Chinese churches annually. He equips church starters and encourages the 71 existing CSBC Chinese churches to reach out into their communities and share Jesus with the unchurched. He also serves as a liaison between Convention life and the churches.

Every Sunday for the past eight years, Andrew has preached in a different church using one of two Chinese dialects: Cantonese, Mandarin as well as English. He feels fortunate when schedules mesh and he can preach in two or three different Chinese churches on the same Sunday.   

“We have a lot to do,” Andrew said. “We are working to have new Chinese churches in Union City, Alameda, San Gabriel, Temple City and Corona. Those are the places where we are really striving and working hard to have new churches. We need men with vision who can speak the three dialects to pastor those churches. Prayer and financial support are essential when you start a new church.”

Seeing people respond to the gospel and find a meaningful life in Christ are what keep Andrew and his wife, Edith Jean Wong, reaching out to California’s Chinese people. His desire is that more Chinese will respond to the Great Commission and catch a vision for sharing the gospel with the Chinese people of California.

Andrew has attended several colleges and universities: Canadian Bible College, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Bethel Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University and Biola University.

Andrew’s message to California Southern Baptists:
“Please ask God to protect all of His workers and churches. Be aware that there are over 1 million Chinese participating in the American Dream in California. Their numbers are growing daily. Chinese people are very interested in spiritual life, and recently our CSBC ministries and programs have greatly influenced the Chinese churches to do mission work and evangelism. By God’s grace, we usually have five to seven Chinese churches listed among the top 100 Cooperative Program givers. Chinese Christians are obedient by God’s grace to the Great Commission and Great Commandment.”

Andrew’s prayer requests:

• Pray that God will provide wisdom and strength for Andrew and Edith Chan as they are intentionally engaged in the Great Commission.
• Pray that God will send Spirit-filled men urgently needed to lead two Chinese church plants that are ready to begin ministry.
• Pray that God will revive California’s Chinese pastors with joy as they serve Him.
• Pray that God will protect the pastors from influences that would keep them from being faithful to growing their churches.
• Pray that God will give Anglo and Chinese churches the resolve to start new Chinese churches.

Andrew’s praises:

• Praise God for all of the Chinese pastors and churches in California because they are serving the Lord with sacrificial spirit.
• Praise God for the substantial CSBC ministry to the Chinese community.
• Praise God for the Basic Training and other materials in Mandarin and Cantonese provided for the churches.
• Praise God for the friendship, wisdom and insight that Dr. Anthony Ahaev has shared with me to encourage me in my ministry.

Did you know?
The North American Mission Board (NAMB) selected Andrew and Edith Chan and seven other missionaries or missionary couples as the featured missionaries during the 2006 Week of Prayer for North American Missions. They represented more than 5,000 missionaries who serve throughout North America. Missionaries such as Andrew Chan serve because three out of every four people in North America do not know the joy of a life in Christ.

Andrew’s contact information:
3064 Fish Canyon Road,
Duarte, CA 91010
626.359.1839
E-mail Andrew Chan