Chinese Baptist Church Chinese School 30^th Anniversary

Remembrance of Thirty Years - Video Synopsis 

Celebrate the King, Become like Christ, and Connect the Lost. 

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs: 22:6 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs: 9:10 

Although this year, 2010, we are celebrating the 30^th Anniversary for CBC Chinese School, CBC has been teaching Chinese for more than fifty years. 

In 1938, Houston First Baptist Church started a bible study class for Chinese children as their mission. At that that time there are only a few hundred Chinese in Houston. In 1953, many of the children had grown, and there were many Chinese immigrating to Houston. Thus, we established the first independent Chinese church, Chinese Baptist Church (CBC). 

In 1959, Pastor Lok-Tin Cheung started to pastor in CBC. Pastor and Mrs. Cheung were previously teachers in a famous Chinese school in Hong Kong. Focusing the needs of the congregation and the Chinese community, he informally started to teach Chinese during the weekends and in the summer with only a handful of CBC members. While teaching culture and language, they strove to introduce the gospel to children and their family through community outreach. In the 70’s, CBC relocated to the Memorial area with the help of Houston First Baptist Church. 

In 1980, CBC continued to grow and God blessed us with a fruitful children’s ministry, so our vision was refocused to teach the next generation their roots, including the Chinese language, culture, history and traditions. Co-incidentally, Brother Colling Tam and his family just arrived here from Hong Kong. The deacon body asked Mr. Tam to head the Chinese school as the first principal and formed the Chinese school servant team. Although most of the students at the time were from CBC, many others who came because we were the FIRST Chinese school who use Cantonese to teach. 

In 1983, Mrs. Fanny Ng (Pastor Chris Ng’s wife) became our principal. Because we were under ministry rotations at the time, Mrs. Ng succeeded the position as principal. Later, Pastor Ng left CBC to pastor with the military; they are currently in Germany. You will hear her short speech later. In 1986 Deacon Stanley Chow became our 3^rd principal. Our school grew to include more classes, outdoor and other activities, and conversational classes for older youth/ adults. Unfortunately, Stanley was transferred to Europe for business reasons, so our 4th Principal Edith Chin stepped up in 1988. 

Mrs. Chin was a parent, teacher, and principal. She first came to CBC because she wanted her son to experience and learn the Chinese culture. She got much more than that. At CBC, she found Christ, salvation, and the opportunity to serve (refer to her article in our 30^th Anniversary Special Edition Publication.) Later, she spent couple of years in China to share the gospel. 

In 1991, Brother David Cheng became our 5^th principal. Unfortunately, his stay was brief due to a job transfer to Colorado. Prior to this, he and his wife Maria had served in Chinese school as teachers for many years. They also came to CBC as parents, when their children attended Chinese school. Principal Cheng has said a few words in the video for us. 

Debbie Gee, our beloved 6th principal, graciously stepped up to the plate. Again, she was a parent, a Chinese school secretary, a teacher and a principal, faithfully serving the school and our mission for more than two decades. Her husband and son were students in our school. Besides our teacher, Janet Mak, Debbie is the second longest serving staff in our Chinese school. 

This was also a period of challenges: The school was growing, but the church was undergoing renovations. The old Education Building was torn down and a new one was built. For 2-3 years, we have to creatively find classroom space for around 160 students. Here in the FLC, we held classes with partitions. Thanks to the understanding of students and parents, we survived and it was fun. In 2002, we moved into the new building, with nice facilities that current students enjoy. In addition to mainstream Cantonese speaking classes from pre-K to grade 12, she also started Mandarin pin-yin & conversational classes. We also started the 15 minute chapel time to let students learn the gospel, applications and sing praises. To Debbie, we have to sing “To Madam with Love” (for the song “To Sir with Love”). The teachers and staff respect her passion and love to the students and Chinese school! She has a few words recorded for us. 

Then come our current (7^th) Principal, Michelle Leung (Pastor Ricky Leung’s wife, See Moo). See Moo continues to strength our Mandarin classes, adding both adult and children conversational classes. We continue to work closely with the other CBC ministries, ESL (English as Secondary Language), U.S. Citizenship classes, AWANA, and youth ministries. She will probably address more of these in her speech. 

Why do so many parents, who are not Christians, decide to send their children to CBC?  Why do they feel that children grown up in church have better habits and behavior? As Christians, we know we are all sinners, and are not perfect. Through Jesus’ love and grace, we are saved. Through his teachings, we learn to do better day by day. We teach children how to pray, learn bible verses, and depend on God, so that when they face difficult decisions in life, they will make wise decisions. (Refer to the two bible verses in the beginning; also student prayer) 

Besides language, history, culture, knowledge, and arts and crafts, we hope to instill positive virtues and values to the students, so that they will excel academically, morally and socially. Thus, they will be respectful children who honor their parents, and loving peers. Once a year, we hold a game day to help students learn through games and fun activities. We also hold calligraphy and speech recital competitions to encourage students to develop skills. The commencement program allows students to share what they learned during the year. Nowadays, where international boundaries are blurred, knowing more languages is vital to one’s success. What is better than learning Chinese, a language that more than ¼ of the world population speak! More importantly, if students understand their heritage, hold pride in their roots and identity, then they will grow in confidence. (Also refer to Pastor James Wong’s article in the 30^th anniversary year book). 

On behalf of CBC Chinese School teachers and staff, we wish all students success in learning and life. We hope the students will learn about the gospel. When life becomes an obstacle in your way, God will walk with you, and that is what counts! 

The CBC Chinese School 30^th Anniversary Publicity Team, March 13, 2010.