Church History
About Arcadia Chinese Baptist Church
Arcadia Chinese Baptist Church (the new home of the original Pasadena Mandarin Baptist Church) is an independent and autonomous Chinese Christian church in the Southern Baptist Convention. Believing firmly in the Bible, emphasizing preaching the Gospel, building up believers, and learning to have spiritual fellowship with all saints in the love of Christ; experiencing God’s presence through worship and prayer, and also witnessing God’s kindness and glory through obeying Biblical truth.
Our History
The ministry in Pasadena traces its roots back ten years to our very first home gatherings. Following the founding of the Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles on Easter Sunday, 1963, our Pasadena home meetings officially began on January 13, 1967. The work expanded significantly in 1974 with the formal preparations to establish a Pasadena branch. Reflecting on the journey from those early home meetings to the present, our growth can be categorized into four distinct stages:
I. Preparatory Period
The vision for establishing the Pasadena Branch was first conceived by Pastor John Chang (Zhang Rong-jiang). Through God’s guidance and the dedicated efforts of Pastor Chang and many brothers and sisters, this vision has become a reality today. Initially, the home meetings were formed by several families, including the Chen (慶霖), Chiang (子明), Chao (智傑), Lu (志明), and Chu (亦謙) families. These meetings were frequently held at the Chen residence every other Friday evening and were often led by Pastor Chang himself.
In June 1974, the mother church appointed a five-member preparatory committee consisting of Gong Xing-jian, Xia Chang-ren, Hsu Jian, Chu Li-da, and Hu Jia-ji to oversee all arrangements for opening the branch church. The team worked tirelessly to secure a suitable venue for worship and eventually moved toward the consideration of purchasing a church building. At that time, Bethel Church intended to sell two of its properties in Pasadena. After several rounds of negotiations, the purchase was finalized for $100,000. With a $95,000 loan from the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles officially acquired the two buildings located at E. Del Mar Blvd. and S. Sierra Bonita Ave. in April 1975, to serve as the sanctuary and the parsonage.
During the early stages of preparation, the Board of the Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles approved Pastor John Chang’s recommendation to invite Pastor Chang Chi-chung from Taiwan to lead the establishment and future development of the new church. Pastor Chang Chi-chung arrived in Los Angeles with his family on February 24, 1975, and immediately began his ministry.
On March 6, 1975, Pastor John Chang was suddenly called home to be with the Lord. His passing was a profound loss for the Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles and naturally had a significant impact on the founding and development of the Pasadena Branch.
II. The Founding Period
The Pasadena Branch was officially established on June 1, 1975. Because Pastor Chang Chi-chung was still serving as the acting pastor for the mother church and was required to preach at their 11:00 AM Mandarin service, the Sunday service in Pasadena was scheduled for 9:00 AM. There were 34 adults in attendance at the very first service.
In the early days of the branch church, in addition to Sunday worship, children’s Sunday School was held concurrently. We also held prayer meetings on Wednesday nights and fellowship gatherings on Friday nights. The prayer meetings began on April 30, 1975, and were held every Wednesday at 7:30 PM at the church. The fellowship, which had started eleven years prior meeting bi-weekly in various homes, moved its meetings to the church building in May 1975 and transitioned to a weekly Friday night schedule in October 1975. Adult and youth Sunday School classes were later launched on October 19, 1975, starting at 10:30 AM. The choir was established on November 23, 1975; in addition to providing music for Sunday services, they performed special musical worship programs for Christmas and Easter. Beyond regular visitations, the church began a scheduled visitation ministry on October 18, 1975, meeting bi-weekly on Saturday mornings to pray together and assign tasks before heading out.
The characteristic of this period was a steady increase in attendance, though the number of people involved in active service remained small; nearly every member who had been a believer for a significant amount of time held some form of responsibility. Consequently, when the families of Gong Xing-jian and Wang Ren-han moved away due to job transfers at the end of 1975, it was a profound loss for the branch and a great test of our faith. However, God’s guidance was wondrous; it was at this time that He led Sister Wang Wei-mei to join us, filling the vacancy perfectly. We truly thank God for His grace.
III. The Period of Development
The various meetings of the Pasadena Branch continued at the aforementioned times for about eight months. During this period, many people—especially non-believers—frequently mentioned to the brothers and sisters that the Sunday worship time was too early for them to attend. Consequently, after Pastor Chung Shi-hao arrived from Indonesia to take charge of the mother church’s ministry, Pastor Chang Chi-chung requested to work full-time at the Pasadena Branch. Starting February 8, 1976, the Sunday worship service was moved from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM. The Sunday School, which had previously followed the service, was moved to a 9:00 AM start time. On that same day, the youth and adult Sunday School classes were split into two separate classes, and the children’s Sunday School held during the worship service was also divided into two classes. Following this change in schedule, attendance for both worship services and Sunday School rose sharply. We truly thank the Lord for His guidance.
From its early embryonic stages, the Pasadena Branch has now begun to take clear shape. All aspects—including worship, religious education, evangelism, and finances—are gradually getting on track. This is a testament to God’s wondrous grace and the result of the prayers, offerings, and service of our brothers and sisters. However, much work remains to be started, and the needs in every area are great. Therefore, while we thank God for His abundant grace and guidance, we also desire to rededicate ourselves. May the Lord use us according to His will, so that the Pasadena Branch may truly fulfill the mission God intended when He established this church here.
IV. The Period of Expansion
On October 1, 1978, the Pasadena Branch became an independent church and was officially named the First Mandarin Baptist Church of Pasadena. Since our founding, we thank God for His grace in continually adding to our numbers those who are being saved. Consequently, as early as 1980, we began actively planning for expansion. A brief overview of the church’s expansion experience is as follows:
Inauguration of Pasadena home fellowships by the Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles.
The Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles established the Pasadena Branch and commenced Sunday worship services.
The Pasadena Branch became an independent church and was named the First Mandarin Baptist Church of Pasadena.
February: Launched Missions Ministry
May: Commenced English Sunday School
The Expansion Committee actively planned the church building expansion project.
November: The Board authorized the Expansion Committee to purchase the church property in Arcadia and to sell the former church premises in Pasadena.
December: Inaugurated the English Worship Service. (或 Started the English Worship Service)
December: Finalized the purchase of the Arcadia church property and initiated the title transfer process.
May: The sale of the former church property in Pasadena was finalized, with the Christian Zion Church as the purchaser.
July 14: Relocated to 501 N. Santa Anita Ave., Arcadia.
July 15: Commenced Sunday worship services at the new church building in Arcadia.
Establishment of the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU)
April 29: Established the Riverside Branch.
October 21: Commenced Mandarin Morning and Afternoon Worship Services.
April: Purchased the new property at the current location while simultaneously selling the former church building.
June: Membership voted to officially rename the church to "Arcadia Chinese Baptist Church" (ACBC).
July 8: Officially moved into the current location.
July 13: Held the first worship services at the new site; the English Service at 9:15 AM and the Mandarin Service at 11:00 AM.