LETHBRIDGE CHINESE ALLIANCE CHURCH

Within one month of my arrival in Lethbridge, Paul Bartel, a former missionary to China and Hong Kong, stopped by the church to introduce himself.  He said that he realized I had just arrived in Lethbridge, but he wanted to plant a seed in my mind regarding reaching out to the Chinese community in Lethbridge.

That seed began to germinate over time.  Having met the pastor of the Calgary Chinese Alliance Church in 1972, I invited him to come to Lethbridge for a meeting.  In January 1973 the Calgary Chinese pastor and a choir from his church came to Lethbridge for a Sunday afternoon service.  We placed an ad in the Lethbridge Herald announcing the service.  Five Chinese from the city, plus some members from our church attended.  The folks from Calgary were so encouraged that five Chinese came to the service that they said they would be willing to come back for another service.  They came again in March, with a few more Chinese from Lethbridge in attendance.  In May, a Chinese university student came from Calgary to Lethbridge for a few weeks and visited some of the Chinese in the city.

In August James & Esther Chuang, a young Chinese couple, graduates from Prairie Bible Institute that spring and married in July, arrived in Lethbridge and became the full time pastor of the Chinese church, which consisted of a handful of people.  The fellowship of Chinese Alliance churches in Canada agreed to pay one third the pastor's salary, with the Western Canadian District paying one third and the Lethbridge Alliance Church paying one third.

James & Esther Chuang & daughters 1979

The Lethbridge Church owned an old duplex next door to the church, so one half became Pastor James and Esther Chuang's living quarters and the other half the pastor's office, etc. The Chinese church saw growth under the Chuang's leadership.  After a few years the Chinese congregation purchased a church building.  A few years later the Lethbridge Chinese Alliance Church gave birth to a Chinese church in Medicine Hat.

James and Esther went on for further studies at CBC/CTS in Regina, SK and then to overseas ministries.  They have remained good friends through the years and James comes often in the fall, staying with us for a week, relaxing by doing some salmon fishing.

James with one of the salmon he caught in 2012

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