TCBC History
God has given Chinese Baptist Church of Orange County (CBCOC) in Anaheim, California a vision for planting new churches. On Dream Day 2014, action plans were made to plant a church in the Inland Empire area since demographic studies showed the eastward movement of Chinese into Inland Empire and there were only a few Chinese churches there. A church planning team was recruited. The motion to appoint Raymond Chow as church planter and to recruit a sending team to start a church planting effort in Eastvale was approved at the Oct 2014 business meeting.
During 2015, the planning team have met and prayed regularly to firm up the church planting effort. The decision was to target the city of Eastvale as the church planting site since there is a large influx the people moving into the city with a high percentage of Asian population.
Raymond and Teresa Chow, Andy Kwan, and Pastor Eng had made contact with Kirk Overstreet – Southern Baptist church planting catalyst, Inland Empire and Orange County, Deryl Lackey – Director of Mission, Inland Empire Baptist Association, Robby Pitt – North American Mission Board (NAMB), Los Angeles Region, and Jeremy Sin – NAMB, National Church Planting Catalyst to secure help for the Eastvale church planting effort. The Church planting application to NAMB was initiated by Raymond Chow in January 2015. Initial application was approved. Financial support from CBCOC and NAMB was secured for the new work.
Raymond Chow is an experienced church planter. He planted three Chinese Baptist Churches in the Oklahoma area from 1983 to 1998. He left the ministry to go into business but God orchestrated to close down his business. He answered the call by CBCOC to be a church planter. He obtained a M.A. degree in Biblical Studies from the Truth Theological Seminary in June 2015 and was ordained as a pastor by CBCOC in July 2015.
Searches were made for a meeting place. In June 2015, inquiry at several schools and churches in Eastvale were made and proved not receptive. But God opened the Turning Point Community Church in Norco as a potential site. The Turning Point Church agreed for the mission church to start meeting in the school gymnasium.
There were 15 brothers and sisters who have committed to serve in the sending team. On January 31, 2016, CBCOC commissioned Pastor Raymond Chow, Teresa Chow and the sending team to serve at Norco. The first worship service was conducted at the Turning Point School on February 7, 2016. The church was incorporated in February 2015 and its name “Truth Chinese Baptist Church” (TCBC) was secured.