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New Chapter Begins at Local Church An interview with Pastor Steven Chin by Lillian Chan A few weeks ago, the 39th anniversary celebration of the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church (BCEC) took place. More importantly, perhaps, was the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. Senior Pastor Jacob Fung retired after twenty-one years of service, thereby paving the way for Associate Pastor Steven Chin to take Fung's place. I had the opportunity to meet up with Senior Pastor Chin at the church, located at 249 Harrison Avenue. When he led me across the street to his fourth floor office, we bumped into a few counselors. As Senior Pastor Chin told me, the counselors were preparing for Project Destiny, a six-week summer program the church sponsors that focuses on middle school children in the Chinatown and Greater Boston area. In his office, I couldn't help but notice the business of the room. A wall of books lined one side while pamphlets and other literature blanketed his desk. To me, it looked like chaos, but it was an ordered chaos. Senior Pastor Chin started pulling out material for me to look at. He knew just where everything was located. Elaborating more on Project Destiny, Senior Pastor Chin went on to stress the importance of focusing on young people especially those in the urban areas. The presence of gangs makes it all the more important to have programs such as Project Destiny as well as an SAT Preparation Program, run mainly by MIT students who help prepare young people for the exam. There are also young people living out in the suburbs who seemingly have everything and yet still they don’t quite know what to do. As Senior Pastor Chin said, they seem to be looking for more. All their lives they have been taught the "Chinese way" which consists of "studying hard and making money.” What the church hopes to accomplish is to give young people direction in their lives and to answer questions of what the purpose of life is. Speaking about his new role as Senior Pastor, Chin said how unusual and unique the process had been. In most Chinese churches, the Chinese-speaking pastor usually takes on the higher position, while the English-speaking pastor is the assistant. In Chin's case, an exception was made. Senior Pastor Chin had been involved with the church for the past twenty-three years. Because he was so familiar with the church and the people already, there was no question as to whom Senior Pastor Fung’s successor would be. I asked Senior Pastor Chin if he would face any difficulties in addressing the Chinese-speaking members of the church. He replied that there would be none. The newly appointed Assistant Pastor, Daniel Chan will be taking on the duties of servicing the Chinese-speaking members. Talking about his youth, Senior Pastor Chin described the typical Chinese immigrant story. His parents were originally from Toison, a province in China. Eventually, they immigrated to the United States where his father worked at a Laundromat in Harvard Square in Cambridge, and his mother worked as a seamstress. He grew up in a household where the closest thing to religion was ancestor worship and superstition. Death couldn’t be talked about in the house for fear that it would bring bad luck. "They taught me to work hard, study hard, you know, and you'll be happy...but I always felt that there was something missing," he said. Then at the age of ten or twelve, there was a turning point. Neighborhood friends invited him to a service at a Baptist church. Until then, he had no experience whatsoever with religion, but that moment moved and inspired him. After that, he started questioning the purpose of his life -- whether it was to make as much money as possible -- and if there was life after death. From then on, religion became an activity for him just like a pick-up game of basketball. After graduating from New York University with a degree in Industrial Engineering, he went on to graduate school to earn a Master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Public Administration. He returned to Boston where he worked for the State Department of Public Health as a senior planner. At the same time, he was volunteering all of his free time to BCEC. There, he became the first chairperson of Branch Fellowship, which was comprised mainly of young people. "At the time there was only one pastor who was Chinese-speaking. And, there were all these kids growing up English-speaking who didn't have anybody to help them...and they were looking up to me to help them." But, he felt ill equipped to assist the young people. He didn't know enough. At the same time, he began to question his goal in life. "I didn't want to just help some company make money," he said. In 1977, he decided to go to Dallas Theological Seminary to learn more about the Bible. After gaining a Masters in Biblical Studies, the church offered him a full-time position to assist Senior Pastor Jacob Fung. He worked mostly with youth from then on. The most satisfaction and joy Senior Pastor Chin receives is "seeing people go on to become pastors themselves...not only would their life change, but they go on to change other people." One such example is with Assistant Pastor Tom Lee. Senior Pastor Chin knew Lee when Lee was just a teenager with long hair and a mustache. "He came [to BCEC] initially to check out the girls." Since then, Lee has gone on to become a pastor. His office is right next to Senior Pastor Chin's coincidentally enough. Lee is very active within the Chinatown community. He is the Co-Chairperson for the task force to stop the Combat Zone. Speaking about Lee, Senior Pastor Chin is proud and says that Lee is the "prime example of how life has changed." We "encourage our congregation to be a blessing to people who are less fortunate." For example, over the past eight years, a Billerica couple has come to Boston every Saturday to help people learn English and more about the Bible. There are programs such as helping senior citizens by giving them social interaction as well as programs for immigrants who need help in learning English, translating documents, and adjusting to life in a new country. The church does as much as it can to accommodate its members. On any given Sunday, there are four different worship services taking place: two in Cantonese, one in Mandarin, and one in English. With membership still increasing, the church is currently looking for a bigger location. Senior Pastor Chin stressed the importance that the church remains in Chinatown, because it’s where the heart of the people lies. With all that’s been changing in and around the city, the church has remained a constant of peace. printed in the Sampan, New England's Only Chinese-English Newspaper, on July 7, 2000 |