About

Statement of Conversion
I was born in a Chinese family that practiced traditional folk religion and ancestral worship, but brought up under the Catholic school system in Hong Kong. Hence I understood the concept of sin at an early age, but had erroneous notions about God and how to inherit eternal life. To me God was a stern Judge, whom I must please by being good enough to qualify myself for heaven.

However, that changed when I came to Canada for university in 1968. In my third year I began attending an evangelical church on campus, and slowly learned about the love of God in Christ. I began reading books on the basics of Christianity, and realized that God loved me even while I was a sinner actively opposing Him. I learned that no matter how hard I try, I can never do enough to make myself acceptable to God. Yet Christ had freely offered to pay for the penalty of my sins with His own life because He loved me. I realized that I did not have to struggle to earn my way to heaven, as all that were necessary had already been accomplished by Jesus on the cross. When the light of that revelation finally dawned on me in 1972, I knelt to give my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. A deep sense of joy and relief flooded over me. That private confession of faith was followed by a public declaration during Easter 1973, via water baptism at People’s Church in Montreal.

Statement of Call to Ministry and Christian Experience
My call to the ministry came in stages. First was a call to discipleship during a series of revival meetings in my home church in 1976. I responded to a call to follow Jesus wherever He leads. This started my lifelong love to study the Scriptures and share with others what I have learned. I began serving in church in different capacities, including small group bible study leader, adult Sunday school teacher, joining the evangelism team, becoming a deacon, and doing lay preaching at a men’s shelter.

The second stage was a call to be equipped. My employer transferred me from Montreal to Toronto, which opened up the opportunity to better equip myself for ministry through evening studies. I enrolled in Ontario Theological Seminary in 1987, and completed the MTS in 1996 after nine years. During that time my wife and I transferred from a Caucasian to an ethnic Chinese church, as we were starting our family and wished that our children would establish roots within their cultural heritage. I joined our church’s leadership, serving as a deacon and church board chairman.

The third stage was the call to full-time service. I was quite successful in my career, first as a finance professional and then as a consultant to the financial services industry. However, in 2002 our senior pastor left and our church had not been able to find a pastor for the next three years. When my daughter graduated from university in 2005 I felt my financial obligations as a father turned a page and planned to take early retirement to serve God full-time while I still have energy. My initial plans were in missions or Christian education, as friends and church leaders have encouraged me over the years. However, upon hearing my plans our search committee approached me to consider taking up the pastor’s position in our own church. After several months of prayer and consultation with family and respected leaders, I came to the conviction that this was the Lord’s call and began pastoring in Feb. 2006.