The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

The research was conducted by The University of Michigan-Dearborn Pluralism Project.

History

In 1950, Dr. William Coltman, pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church, extended his ministry to the Detroit Chinese community. With the help of an area Chinese Christian lay worker, he began small prayer groups that would in 1954 constitute the membership of the original Chinese Bible Church. As the group gathered in the apartment of one of its members for its first meeting, only seventeen people were present. Two weeks later there were fifty people in attendance and the services were moved to the Detroit Bible Institute. Later on, the church moved to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, located near the Wayne State University campus in Detroit, where it shared a space with the Detroit Bible College. When the University purchased the building, the Chinese Bible Church had to move once again, this time to share space in the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church. Services were offered in English and Cantonese, but with this move those who spoke Mandarin could hear the services through earphones. The church moved twice more in Detroit (in 1967 and 1973) before occupying its current location in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a middle and upper-middle class suburb in Oakland County. In addition to a sanctuary, the center has a kitchen, a gymnasium, a nursery, several Sunday school rooms, and a library. While many of the founders of the Chinese Bible Church were involved in restaurant and laundry businesses, now people in professional and technical fields characterize much of the congregation.

Activities and Schedule

The Chinese Bible Church offers two services on Sunday. English speaking members participate in the 9:30-11:00 a.m. worship service, followed by Sunday school from 11:00-12:30 p.m. Chinese speakers have Sunday school from 9:30-11:00 a.m. and a worship service from 11:00-12:30 p.m. Since more people now speak Mandarin, it is those who speak Cantonese who have the option of listening to the service using earphones.

The church offers a wide variety of fellowship groups for members of all ages, as well as Bible study groups in both Cantonese and Mandarin. The various groups include a Young Teen's Fellowship, which meets on Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. The Discipleship Fellowship, for high school students, meets at the same time. The Ambassadors Fellowship, for English speaking college students and young professionals, meets twice a month on Friday mornings. The Zion Fellowship for high school students, young professionals, and young married couples meets on Saturdays at 10 a.m. The Ruth Fellowship is for Cantonese and Mandarin speaking women and meets once a month. The Grace Fellowship is for all Cantonese speakers and meets on Sundays. The Evergreen Fellowship, which is for all Mandarin speaking senior citizens, meets the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m. The Mandarin Bible study Group meets the second and fourth Friday of the month at 7:30 p.m. There are prayer meetings every Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m.

In the Community

The church's activities in the community involve members with other Chinese people and groups in the metropolitan area. Of note is an area-wide evangelist crusade, which is held in conjunction with other Chinese churches. On Thursday evening the church sponsors English language classes for Chinese residents of the Detroit metropolitan area.

Membership

The Chinese Bible Church serves over four hundred people, the majority living in Farmington Hills area. However membership is drawn from a wide geographic region which extends from Ann Arbor and Bellville on the west to Utica and Rochester on the east. Its central location makes the church accessible to Chinese Americans across the Detroit metropolitan area.