2022.12.10/11
From the Pastor’s Desk: Pastor Francis Chan
Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,
One evening in December 2009, my family had dinner with Rev. Williams Cheng, an aviation missionary in the USA. On that occasion, the Holy Spirit kept asking me the same question, “What are you doing?” For the next month or so, I continued to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit, whether I was having morning devotion or listening to sermons. Finally, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a Bible verse that had become the beacon of my life since I was 21 years old, exhorting me to realign the priorities of my life. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus taught his disciples, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” At that time, I felt I was a decent Christian because in various aspects of life, I had sought God’s will, and participated in the Kingdom’s work. But what I could not do is the word “first” in the Bible verse. Because of my busy workload and my love for my family, God’s business was often put after my work and my family. The Holy Spirit reminded me to obey Jesus’ command to put God first in my life. Since there were no clear indication that I should work towards becoming either a pastor or a missionary, I did not know if this “reminder” was a “call.” In the course of seeking further guidance, my then senior pastor Rev Gordon Siu told me firmly, “Yes! This is a call!” Subsequently in 2012, I left my job, my family, and my friends in HK to come to Regent College in Vancouver with my immediate family of four to study. At first, I was in the Master of Christian Studies program. According to my plan at that time, I would return to the marketplace after equipping myself with theological training, only that I would put my work and my family after God’s business when I return to the marketplace. Totally out of the blue, the Holy Spirit spoke to me again after a year and a half to urge me to become a fulltime pastor in the church. In view of this, I switched to the Master of Divinity program. Due to my old age, my poor memory, and a benign tumor in my pituitary gland that needed to be removed, I spent 6 years to complete the M.Div. program when other people only take 4. As I was supposed to graduate in April 2018, I started to look for a ministry position in Canada in December 2017. I sent over 20 applications to churches all over Canada. Since Hong Kong at that time had become a totally foreign and deeply frustrating place to me, and that my two sons were studying in Vancouver, I really did not want to go back to Hong Kong. I wanted to stay and serve in Canada. The year I was looking for a job in Canada was a low point in my life as most of my applications were without any response. It was only when I was willing to surrender to God’s will – even if I had to return to Hong Kong to serve – that a miracle happened. At that time, the pastor in charge of the Cantonese youth ministry in RCAC resigned under unexpected circumstances. By providence, there was a position in my home church that I could apply for. After two rounds of interviews, I was hired. On November 1, 2018, I joined the pastoral team of RCAC and began to serve fulltime. In the blink of an eye, four full years have elapsed. Again by providence, I will be ordained as a pastor of the C&MA in the AYAYA Youth Worship tonight (December 10). In retrospect, it was the will of God himself. Our Heavenly Father plans… our Lord Jesus Christ leads… our Comforter the Holy Spirit moves… and we, his people, respond. All is grace!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Francis Chan