Time passes, but grace endures. In the blink of an eye, EFCCA has travelled thirty blessed years. Through storms and seasons, generation after generation of brothers and sisters have gathered, loved one another and served together in the Lord, bearing witness to God’s faithfulness and love in ordinary days. The church’s second decade of growth and transformation forms a particularly vivid chapter in this history—marked by wholehearted unity in building the church, the warmth of walking together, and the wonderful leading and abundant grace of God.
On 26 October 2003, at the age of forty, I formally became part of the EFCCA family. Under the pastoral leadership of Pastor Li Zhaohui, the church was already self-supporting. Although there were only several dozen members, its structure was complete and its life orderly. A co-workers’ team had been established, together with a well-developed fellowship and small-group pastoral system. The congregation was simple and close-knit, with roughly equal numbers of brothers and sisters from Taiwan and mainland China. The elders and deacons were mainly Taiwanese co-workers, and most members gathered as families.
Although the church had begun to take shape, it had no permanent property of its own. Every worship service reflected simple but steadfast commitment. For many years we rented the hall at Epsom Primary School for Sunday worship. Early each Sunday morning, co-workers and church members arrived to carry and arrange tables, chairs and sound equipment, put flags and banners at the entrance, and carefully prepare the worship space for our encounter with the Lord. In addition to Sunday worship, the church held a prayer meeting every Tuesday, followed by co-worker training. Everyone hungered for truth and sought revival together, and the small church was filled with a fervent spiritual atmosphere.
Later, I succeeded Elder Jim Chen as chair of the elders and deacons during a crucial period of transition. This allowed me to experience and participate deeply in the building and transformation of EFCCA’s second decade. During my term I followed and personally took part in the entire process of property exchange, sale and settlement, change of use, site design, contractor selection, full renovation, and fundraising for the church building. Through the complexity, detail and pressure of the building project, we remained committed to keeping every ministry going. Sunday worship, prayer meetings and co-worker training continued faithfully so that pastoral care remained orderly and ministry continued to flourish. In the midst of change and construction, we sought to remain faithful to the Lord and to our original calling.
In 2014 the church faced an unexpected trial that also opened a new season of spiritual renewal. Mrs Chen suffered a severe cerebral haemorrhage and became critically ill. Pastor Michael Chen cared for her day and night while carrying the burden of his family, yet he continued faithfully in pastoral ministry and did not abandon the brothers and sisters entrusted to him. To ensure continuity in pastoral care, he proposed that the church employ a full-time pastor to share the ministry. A pastoral search team was formed, and all the co-workers prayed together and sought God’s leading. By God’s gracious provision, Pastor Yongjun Dong joined the pastoral team and continued the church’s gospel, pastoral and ministry work, enabling the church to stand firm through the crisis and continue growing.
Looking back on those years of deep service during EFCCA’s second decade, countless scenes of warmth, awe and gratitude remain vivid. They have become spiritual memories I will carry for the rest of my life.
What impressed me most during those ten years was the beautiful testimony of the whole church being united and working together to establish a permanent home. We moved from the hardship of renting simple school facilities and setting everything up and packing it away each week, to jointly advancing the property transition, overcoming regulatory obstacles, completing design and renovation, and raising funds little by little. We did not struggle alone; we experienced the warmth of depending on one another. Faced with complicated tasks and heavy pressure, no one withdrew or passed responsibility to others. Regardless of background, identity or personal cost, people supported one another, made room for one another and worked with one heart. Even at the most demanding stages of the building project, when people and time were stretched, we maintained our life of prayer and the order of worship, guarding the church’s spiritual foundation. Because of united love and simple faith, this small church was filled with God’s presence and renewing power. The sight of everyone labouring side by side for the Lord remains deeply engraved in my memory.
Those ten years of service brought both harvests of grace and seasons of struggle. During the building project I experienced many challenges, fatigue and inner uncertainty. The enormous financial pressure, complex property procedures, demanding change-of-use process and constant coordination of construction matters often left us physically and emotionally exhausted. At the same time, differing views about ministry and the tension of balancing pastoral work with the building project sometimes left me confused and weary. I even considered stepping back and laying down the burden. On one side was the responsibility entrusted to me as chair of the elders and deacons; on the other was an endless stream of practical problems and pressure.
Yet God’s grace was sufficient. In every low and weak moment, He never let go of me. The Tuesday prayer meeting became a source of strength. The intercession of co-workers, the companionship of brothers and sisters, breakthroughs that came in difficult situations, and unexpected peace deep within were all expressions of God’s gentle leading. Through united prayer, the care of the church family, and each matter that was brought to completion, God showed me His absolute sovereignty and gracious control. Again and again He strengthened my faith and led me safely through every storm.
If I had to describe church life in those years with one expression, I would choose “in the same boat.” We were not many and our conditions were simple, but brothers and sisters from both sides of the Taiwan Strait blended together without distinction. We were in the same boat of faith and travelled the same road of service—setting up the meeting place together, watching and praying together, overcoming building challenges together, and carrying the church’s burdens together. We shared hardship, depended on one another, accepted one another’s limitations and carried one another’s burdens. Our hearts were simple and directed toward the Lord: to build His church and glorify His name. That spirit of standing together through wind and rain, united in love, became one of the most precious spiritual marks of that era.
After ten years of sustained service, my understanding of faithfulness changed from something shallow to something much deeper. At first, I thought faithfulness meant completing assigned tasks, doing my work well, achieving ministry goals and producing visible results. But through the testing of the building project and the refining of the years, I came to understand that true faithfulness is not merely the work of our hands. It is obedience and perseverance of the heart. Faithfulness means following God’s leading and holding to the original heart of service in favourable or difficult circumstances, in scarcity or abundance. It means working wholeheartedly when no one sees, without seeking reputation or reward; continuing to give of oneself under pressure; treating brothers and sisters with gentleness and grace; and allowing the simple idea of “finishing the work” to become a lifelong calling to live out faith and bear witness to the Lord’s love.
On the road of service, God has often shaped my life through circumstances I did not want and could not understand, turning them into beautiful blessing.
In 2014, when Mrs Chen became seriously ill and the church faced sudden upheaval, it was the trial I most wished I could avoid. We were deeply concerned for Pastor and Mrs Chen, while also worrying that pastoral care might be interrupted and ministries might stall. Our hearts were filled with anxiety, confusion and resistance, and we could not understand why God would allow such a storm to come upon the church.
Looking back now, however, we can see God’s hidden goodness and grace. The unexpected trial led the whole church to lay down self-reliance, look humbly to God and depend on Him wholeheartedly. We learned to carry one another and stand watch together, no longer relying on human ability but trusting God’s leading. The crisis also moved the church to strengthen its pastoral structure and begin a new chapter of ministry. A new pastor was called to continue the work, and the church’s ministry system became more mature and complete. What had first seemed like a deeply troubling storm became a blessing of renewal, growth and maturity. It convinced me more deeply that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
After decades of serving in the church, I continue to carry a strong concern for spiritual inheritance. Above all, I hope the next generation will receive three precious qualities from EFCCA: a heart of unity, a life of prayer, and the humility to serve. May those who follow never forget the church’s early days, when in simple conditions people loved one another and served with one heart. May they always draw near to God in prayer and depend on Him, embrace one another without distinction, hold firmly to sound truth and the love of Christ, and pass on the church’s pure, fervent and united spiritual character from generation to generation.
When I think back to my own early growth in faith, I remember how much I needed the church to give me guidance in truth, companionship in fellowship and opportunities to serve. My spiritual life was immature. I wanted to become rooted in truth, learn the faith, grow with brothers and sisters, discover and exercise my gifts, serve the Lord and bear witness to Him. Through service and fellowship, a young faith could take root, become stable and continue to mature.
In today’s world, where people are easily distracted and surrounded by temptation, young people especially need a church that offers rooted truth, warm fellowship and healthy values. They live amid powerful secular currents and can easily become confused, unstable or carried along by the culture. The church must nourish them with sound truth, help them deepen their faith and stand firm, accompany them with the warm love of the body of Christ, and guide them through confusion and loneliness. It must also lead them away from restless self-interest toward self-giving love, humility, responsibility and faithful service, so that they may live lives pleasing to the Lord.
After thirty years of continuing grace, my hope is that EFCCA will always be a spiritual home rooted in truth, rich in love and continually renewed. May the church remain faithful to the pure gospel without drifting from the right path or forgetting its first love. May small-group pastoral care, Sunday School, prayer meetings and evangelism flourish from generation to generation. May all brothers and sisters love one another, worship with one heart and serve together. May the church nurture life and shepherd hearts within, while proclaiming the gospel and witnessing to Christ beyond its walls. Whatever changes the years may bring, may EFCCA follow the Lord closely and remain a church that warms hearts and glorifies His name.
When I imagine the church thirty years from now, I am filled with hope. I long to see the flame of faith passed on without interruption. May the older generation’s quiet faithfulness and sacrificial spirit of service continue into those who follow. May younger believers courageously carry the church’s responsibilities, continue the work of the gospel and take up the pastoral mission. May generations worship together, love one another and build one another up. May truth flourish, prayer never cease and the gospel spread widely, while the church retains its first love, unity and spiritual fervour, filled everywhere with God’s presence and heaven’s blessing.
After ten years of sharing the same boat through wind and rain, and witnessing thirty years of God’s grace in the church, I have one message for every future member of the EFCCA family: hold fast to the original calling, love one another, follow the Lord for life, and pass the flame of faith from generation to generation.
May EFCCA, carrying thirty years of God’s faithful grace, continue to be rooted in truth, grow in love and be renewed through prayer. May faith be passed on from generation to generation, may the church never cease to live and serve, and may it shine for the Lord throughout its life and glorify His name forever.
