History
The First Seeds of Faith Planted
In 1944, a young pastor named Dr. R. Paul Caudill was called to pastor First
Baptist Church of Memphis. Armed with the grace of God and a letter of
introduction from the Chinese congregation he so lovingly ministered to in Augusta,
Ga., he took his first steps to develop a
Chinese church, which today has blossomed into First
Chinese Baptist Church.
Fueled by his passion for winning souls to Jesus Christ, he visited and
shared the gospel with the Chinese living in Memphis.
Within the first few years, the fruits of his labor were evident in the baptism
of two Chinese converts, Ellen and Susie Wong.
Assisting Dr. Caudill were men and women like Eldon and Lorena Roark, Mr. M.
B. McGee, Roy and Ione Pierce, Mertie Chapman, Marie Jones, Maude Dabney and
countless others. Chinese workers were also called to participate in this
growing ministry. Among those who answered the call were Dr. Jachin Chan, who
served from 1960-1962; Rev. Ulin Ho, 1962-1965; and Rev. Joseph Yip, 1975.
The Early Years
The first official Chinese services began March 6, 1960, with Dr. Jachin Chan
delivering sermons on the first and second Sundays of each month in the First
Baptist Church
chapel. After many years of interim Chinese pastors, the church appointed its
first full-time pastor, Rev. Chee Wu.
Rev. and Mrs. Chee Wu came from Cleveland, Miss.,
in September 1967 with their sons, Jonathan and Terry. Under Rev. Wu's
leadership, regular Chinese worship services were established, meeting each
Sunday afternoon. Soon thereafter, Jonathan and Terry organized a choir called
the "One Way Singers." The choir also served
as the foundation for a youth ministry.
In March 1969, Mrs. Wu started a Chinese school which met every Sunday
afternoon at First Baptist
Church. A women's ministry, and the
first meeting of the Women's Mission Union (WMU) was conducted at the home of
Mrs. Joe T. Fong. In 1974, Rev. and Mrs. Wu retired but continued to serve the
congregations in Memphis and Cleveland
before settling down in California.
Following Rev. Wu's departure, Rev. Paul Wong served as interim pastor,
commuting on weekends between Memphis
and Louisville, Ky.,
where he was attending seminary. He served until February 1975 and returned to Hong
Kong upon receiving his doctorate.
In his absence, Rev. Joseph Yip served as interim pastor. Dr. Wong returned
to Memphis in January 1976 with his
wife Frances and their children, Frances, Paul Jr., Katherine, and Luke, to
become full-time pastor of the Chinese Fellowship (CF). Under his leadership,
numerous ministries and activities were started.
One of these new ministries was the Mandarin Fellowship, organized in
October 1976. Under his direction, the Chinese Fellowship adopted an
organizational structure which included the election of church officers, an
annual budget, and regular business meetings. Recognizing that the youth were
the backbone of the church, he began a youth ministry called "The
Truthseekers" to train disciples and leaders. Monthly meetings were held
which evolved into weekly Bible studies. Many activities were organized,
including trips to the Youth Evangelism Conference, cookouts at Mrs. Roark's
home, youth retreats, scavenger hunts, and after-meeting dinners. One of Dr.
Wong's goals was to lead the Chinese Fellowship to become a church with its own
mission and vision.
The Birth of First Chinese
Baptist Church
After many years of searching for a suitable home, the church purchased a
building on Stratford Road.
The Chinese Fellowship was officially constituted as First
Chinese Baptist Church
on May 1, 1988, with 102
charter members.
The first service was held at the Stratford Road
church home on June 19, 1988.
As the church grew, more Sunday School classes were
added. After 15 years of faithful service, Dr. Wong announced his retirement.
He continued to serve the church in an interim capacity along with Rev. Paul
Li, who served as a temporary minister preaching on Sundays.
In the fall of 1992, Dr. Kenny Yau of Plano, Tex., accepted the call to be
our third full-time pastor and began his pastorate on January 1, 1993. His
wife, Sophia, joined him later. Under his leadership, the church added Howard
Campbell as minister of education and Chris Moore as youth minister.
Building on Faith
In time, the church outgrew the Stratford Road
facilities and made plans to move. Recognizing our need, Berclair
Baptist Church
graciously extended their facilities for our use. As a result of the move to
Berclair, we expanded our Sunday School classes and
began two Sunday worship services, one in English and the other in
Cantonese/Mandarin. New programs were added including the Evergreen fellowship,
the Mandarin fellowship, the Cantonese II fellowship, Friday Night Life Growth
fellowship, and an annual family camp.
On November 1994, the congregation embarked on a building project with the
purchase of 5.2 acres of land on Macon Road
in Cordova. By the grace of God and the sacrifice of friends and members of the
church, the first part of our building program has been completed. April 5, 1998 was a historic day for First
Chinese Baptist Church
as the first worship services were conducted in the new building in Cordova.
Biblical verses to consider:
2Cor. 5:7
Matthew 16:18
Hebrews 13:8, 15-16
Ephesians 4:5-6
1Peter 2:5
Philippians 1:6