ALHAMBRA TRUE LIGHT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - Atlpc.org

31 Pages·2012·1.18 MB·English

ALHAMBRA TRUE LIGHT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

2012 MISSION STUDY
June 3, 2012

Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church
20 W Commonwealth Ave, Alhambra, CA 91801
Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 3
2 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. 4
3 Purpose of this Study ............................................................................................................................ 5
4 Who We Are .......................................................................................................................................... 6
5 Our Mission, Vision, and Beliefs............................................................................................................ 7
6 Our History ............................................................................................................................................ 8
7 Congregational Assessment ................................................................................................................ 10
8 Our Neighborhood .............................................................................................................................. 12
9 Our Ministries ..................................................................................................................................... 14
10 Our Resources ................................................................................................................................. 20
11 Our Organization ............................................................................................................................. 22
12 Challenges, Opportunities, and Direction ....................................................................................... 24
13 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 27
14 Appendix A – Statement of Confession .......................................................................................... 27
1 Executive Summary
Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church (ATLPC) is a Bible-believing, evangelical congregation with a
membership of over 300 people. We are strongly committed to teaching Scripture as the authoritative
Word of God, to sharing the gospel with those in our immediate geographical area, and to sending and
supporting missionaries worldwide. We have three ministries in different languages: English, Cantonese,
and Mandarin. While a majority of our members are of Chinese descent, and roughly half speak a dialect
of Chinese as their primary language, the church nonetheless is committed to embracing people of all
cultures. Our church is multi-generational, with several examples of families which have three
generations actively participating in congregational life. Ministry to children and youth is a high priority;
there are many dedicated people serving as teachers, leaders, and counselors, a large number of whom
are graduates of our children and youth ministry.
We have much to thank God for. We have one of the larger congregations in our presbytery by
membership. The proportion of people who not only attend worship but serve in some capacity is above
average. Our people across the board hunger for Biblical teaching, are eager to serve, and have shown
commitment to each other and to God in challenging times. We have adequate financial and physical
resources for the immediate future. We support outreach around the world, we interact with our
surrounding community in various ways, and we constantly ask, “What shall I give to the Lord for all He
has done for me?”
Our church faces several challenges in the years ahead. We are transitioning from a co-pastor leadership
model to a pastor / head of staff model. After a long period of stability in our pastoral staffing, we are in
the process of finding leadership for two out of our three pastoral positions. Our Cantonese language
ministry relies on a core of heavily tasked people to serve a large senior population and needs to expand
its ability to reach out to the community. Our Mandarin language ministry is growing rapidly with a lack
of physical space, a transient population, and a need to develop leadership from a large number of new
believers being primary concerns. English ministry comprises a large number of faithful members with
servant hearts who are looking for spiritual growth and refreshment. Recent changes in the direction of
our denomination complicate our path forward. Our campus facilities are showing wear and tear, and
may need upgrading to accommodate anticipated growth.
In light of the above, it is this study’s contention that our critical need is for leadership that will help our
church to live up to our ideals, to help us connect what we believe God is calling us to with the abilities
and talents He has given us. We know that God has blessed us with much in the way of people and
resources, but realize that we can still do better. We look for leadership that can help us take our
mission to “love God, love others, and make disciples for Jesus from all nations” and determine how
best to fulfill that mission. We wish to grow in our love for God, to truly be one congregation as opposed
to three ministries, and to share our spiritual and material blessings with the world, all to the glory of
God.
2 Acknowledgments
This Mission Study report is respectfully submitted by the Mission Study Committee with assistance
from the Pastor Nominating Committee, and the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee:
Pastor Nominating Committee Associate Pastor Nominating Mission Study Committee
Committee
 Brian Fong  Kitty Chim, CPNC
 Joe Der Member
 George Gamble
 Eliza Hemans  Tuey Lee
 Rosina Lam
 Tony Lam  Yin Wah Leung
 Kenton Lee
 Andrew Leung  Christina Wong
 Tuey Lee
 Vivian Luu  Merilee Wong
 Matthew Lih
 Ben Tran
 Clara Wong
 Elwyn Truong

.
3 Purpose of this Study
The purpose of this mission study is to provide a current picture of Alhambra True Light Presbyterian
Church (ATLPC) and to describe the opportunities and challenges we face, with the hope that the reader
will see how God is working in our midst. We have sought God’s guidance as we met with and listened
to the people of our congregation, as we analyzed the responses to our congregational survey and focus
group meetings, and as we have prayerfully sought to assess our hopes and dreams and the future God
is leading us towards.
This study will present:
 Who We Are
 Our Mission, Vision, and Beliefs
 Our History
 Congregational Assessment
 Our Neighborhood
 Our Ministries
 Our Resources
 Our Organization
 Challenges, Opportunities, and Direction
There are two appendices, the first containing our statement of faith, the second containing charts
extracted from a larger statistical study based on information from a congregational survey conducted in
2010.
4 Who We Are
ATLPC is an evangelical, Bible-centered church desiring to further God’s kingdom in our local sphere of
influence and abroad. Our church is one of the 44 congregations in the San Gabriel Presbytery of the
Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA). The majority of our church’s members live in the San Gabriel Valley,
which is part of Los Angeles County. One of the distinctive characteristics of our church is that there are
ministries in three languages: English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. We strive to be multi-ethnic, but most
members are of Chinese descent. We are also multi-generational, with three and sometimes four
generations of the same family at church. Each ministry has worship services, adult education, Bible
studies, and fellowship groups in its language.
The average attendance for Sunday morning worship services for the entire church averages at 330,
with approximate proportion by ministry of 50% English, 32% Cantonese, and 18% Mandarin.
Membership and worship attendance peaked in 2005 and has declined slightly since then. The church as
a whole has 331 active members (per PCUSA statistical standards), which includes both the English and
Chinese speaking ministries with approximate proportion by ministry of 40% English, 20% Mandarin, and
40% Cantonese.
There is a real and significant interrelatedness between the three ministries, each supporting the other
with its gifts and resources. This interrelatedness is most apparent and best illustrated in the vital
ministries to our children and youth. All of our children are nurtured and ministered to as one church
family through the Sunday School and youth fellowship groups. The church also comes together in our
missions program, with support for sharing the Gospel worldwide coming from a large portion of all
three ministries.
Because of ATLPC’s history as a merger of two culturally distinct congregations, and with the recent
addition of a Mandarin-speaking ministry, there is a dynamic interrelationship between ethnic, age and
language groups within the overall congregation. However, the various groups are strongly tied together
through common beliefs, friendships, and family relationships. Although the English speaking ministry is
over 80% Asian in ancestry, our faith in Jesus Christ binds together people from many ethnic and cultural
backgrounds.
5 Our Mission, Vision, and Beliefs
The reason why we are a distinct congregation within our presbytery is summarized in the Mission and
Vision Statement of Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church (ATLPC), which were adopted by Session
in August 2008 and are as follows:
Mission Statement
Our mission is to love God, love others, and make disciples for Jesus Christ from all nations. (Matt. 22:37-
39, Matt. 28:19-20).
Vision Statement
Our vision is to be a family of genuine faith and love founded on God’s Word. As a family of many
cultures we will demonstrate that God’s love has no boundaries (Col. 3:11); as a family with a heart for
the world we will demonstrate that God’s love has no bounds (John 3:16, Rom. 8:38-39).
ATLPC is a Confessing Church by vote of the Session and the Congregation. Our beliefs are summarized
as follows. (Please see Appendix A for our complete Statement of Confession.)
Belief Statement
1. We confess that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and to relationship with God.
2. We believe the Bible is the unique and authoritative witness for the church’s life. We believe that “All
scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness.” (II Timothy 3:16)
3. We confess that the Bible and Jesus Christ are clear that any sexual expression outside of a man and
woman within the confines of a marriage is a sin.
6 Our History
Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church was established in May 1996, as a result of the merger of First
Presbyterian Church of Alhambra and True Light Chinese Presbyterian Church in downtown Los Angeles,
just north of Chinatown. Both congregations had a rich history of over 100 years of proclaiming God’s
word and serving the Lord, ministering in different communities to different peoples of different
cultures. The merger was supported by the pastoral staff and congregations of both churches in
response to God’s calling for more effective ministry to the communities of the West San Gabriel Valley.
The congregations approached the merger with excitement, with much respect and tolerance, and with
a constant emphasis on unity. A generous spirit and the ability to see a bigger picture eased the
transition as we worked together to create something new out of the past traditions of both churches.
Through this process, we have confirmed that God’s love can truly bind us together in perfect unity
when we surrender to the working of the Holy Spirit. We thank God and give Him all the credit and glory
for how He successfully brought our church together.
Our founding co-pastors, Rev. Dr. Foster Shannon (Emeritus) and Rev. Dr. Peter Lai led the charge in
blending our diverse histories, cultures, traditions and structures into one church family. Thus, the first
12 years can be characterized as a time of coming together as one, and of building our new
congregational identity – one that reflects our foundational faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, our desire
to build up the Body of Christ, to uphold the Word of God, and our desire to reach others for Christ. As
part of this blending we established a parallel ministry model to allow the Cantonese and English
ministries to develop in their unique ways.
In 2002, Rev. Eric Hoey was called as the Co-Pastor to the English speaking ministry to succeed Dr.
Shannon following his retirement in 1999, and to work alongside Rev. Lai, Co-Pastor to the Chinese
speaking ministry. Both co-pastors were faithful leaders, sharing the responsibility and effort to build up
our church body. In 2006, the entire church recognized our 10th Anniversary with joyous celebrations
throughout the year.
With the merger and with the passing of time, our pastoral staff continued to grow, change and impact
the church in many areas including ministries to students, the children, and to the local community. Rev.
Hoey served over 5 years before accepting a call in May 2007 to be the Director of Church Growth and
Evangelism at the PCUSA headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. This was one of several pastoral and staff
changes that occurred in 2007. One such change was embraced with special excitement by our church
as a whole as we proudly witnessed Rev. Ken Ly, a young man, who grew up within our own
congregation, being ordained and accepting the call to be our Associate Pastor for youth ministry. We
thank God for His faithfulness to him and to us.
In 2009 we were led to start a Mandarin-speaking ministry to complement the existing Cantonese-
speaking Chinese ministry. This allowed us to respond to a change in demographics as an increasing
number of Chinese immigrants arrive from mainland China speaking Mandarin as a primary or
secondary language.
In 2010, Rev. Lai retired after thirty years of devoted service to the Lord and the church. As we prepared
for his retirement and looked to our future pastoral needs, we saw that we had grown past the parallel
ministry model adopted at our founding. While the model served its purpose in allowing the two former
congregations to merge together smoothly, it did not encourage our current ministries with all our
diversity to work together. Perhaps the clearest indicator came from the voice of our congregation, who
consistently stated that they wanted to be more unified, to truly work together as one congregation,
one church, rather than several ministries bordering on individual congregations sharing one roof.
Responding to God’s leading we changed our model to that of a unified ministry with a lead pastor to
oversee the entire church and associate pastors to provide leadership to portions of the congregation.
Since then we have seen some encouraging signs that God continues to work in our midst. After a long
search we hired a Director of Children’s Ministry to provide leadership and guidance for those
ministering to our children. We called Rev. Dr. Foster Shannon to return to minister to us as interim
pastor. We continue to see people come to faith in Christ and join the church as members, particularly
in our Mandarin ministry. In the past year we have seen an increase in the number of people attending
our various prayer meetings, and this is perhaps the most encouraging sign of all, as we know that God
often works through the prayers of His people.
7 Congregational Assessment
We are grateful to our congregation for their participation in providing information in the areas of
personal background, church participation and relationships, and spiritual life, all of which helped to
form a profile of our congregation. This information and personal reflection was gathered through a
congregational survey of 231 persons (conducted in October 2010) and through follow-up conversations
with individuals who indicated interest in providing additional information or comments. We also
dialoged with the congregation in several structured focus group meetings which represented a cross-
section of our church. Our purpose was to gain firsthand knowledge of the people of the congregation of
ATLPC.
The October 2010 Congregational Survey provided much insight into our congregation. It is worth noting
that the three language ministries were in strong agreement on what is important to us and what
concerns us. Here are some observations as to the strengths, weaknesses, and values that our
congregation possesses:
7.1 Biblically-based Worship, Preaching and Teaching
If there was one thing the congregation would never want changed, it would be a desire to keep focused
on Christ and the Bible. This was a clear priority of the majority of respondents as well as their chief
cause for concern. There were concerns over the effectiveness and relevance of the sermons as much as
over doctrinal issues. This reflects how strongly the congregation identifies itself with Biblically-based
principles, and how deeply it guards those principles. There is a strong desire that our pastors be people
that believe in the inerrancy and authority of the Bible and who can effectively articulate this teaching
and these principles from the pulpit. This was a constant across all three ministries.
7.2 A Stable, Committed Membership
Over 90% of respondents stated that they participated in some church activity at least once a week, with
28% participating more than once per week. Over 80% attend worship service on a weekly basis. 40% of
the respondents stated that they spend six or more hours a month in church activities other than
morning worship, and 30% are involved in leadership or are members of a church committee. 36% of
those responding have been a member for 21 years or more (including years in First Presbyterian and
True Light). A strong sense of commitment is also visible among the youth. In a focus group meeting
with the high school fellowship, the students expressed a strong desire to be given a more active,
responsible role in the church’s ministry.
7.3 People of All Ages, Strong Fellowship
Worship service is attended by people of all ages and, based on the responses received, there is a near
uniform age distribution (ages 11 to above 65) of those who attend. Being multi-generational and
relational are unique and treasured characteristics of our congregation. The majority of respondents
indicated that the multi-generational aspect of our church is one of our most favorable characteristics.
Our fellowship, fellowship groups, and a warm, inviting atmosphere are all areas the congregation