Three Congregations, One Family in Linda Vista
Tucked into a quiet block of Judson Street in San Diego's Linda Vista neighborhood, Chinese Evangelical Church of San Diego gathers three congregations under one roof: English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Members refer to the church simply as "CEC." Its stated vision is to be "a vibrant Christ-centered family of disciple-makers, driven by a passion for God's glory and His Word, reaching the next generation in San Diego and the world."
CEC's story began on July 2, 1978, when a small group of believers - five families among them - met for worship in the living room of Ron and Diane Linn's home. They unanimously invited Reverend Benjamin Chow to lead them, and within three weeks the gathering had outgrowing the Linn living room. Through a growing friendship with College Avenue Baptist Church, the new church moved its regular Sunday morning services - in two languages, Cantonese and English - to that congregation's facilities. The little body of believers acquired the utensils for the Lord's Supper and elected its first deacon board.
In 1982, members found an older church building for sale on a convenient Linda Vista lot with plenty of parking. After a month of steady prayer the seller agreed, and the founders - through their own labor - installed new carpet, re-stained the wood pews, and cleaned the sanctuary. That remains the campus CEC calls home. Because Rev. Chow and his wife came from Shanghai, Mandarin-speaking believers soon found their way to the church, a Mandarin worship service was established, and CEC settled into its present shape: one church family with three language communities.
Sunday Worship: Four Services Across Three Languages
Sunday mornings at CEC move from one congregation to the next in the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall:
- English Worship at 9:15 AM meets in the Sanctuary.
- English Worship at 11:00 AM meets in the Fellowship Hall.
- Mandarin Worship at 9:15 AM meets in the Fellowship Hall.
- Cantonese Worship at 11:00 AM meets in the Sanctuary.
Childcare through the children's ministry is offered at every service time. The current schedule also includes English Sunday School classes for adults, college, high school, and middle school from 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM, held in the Church Annex Rooms 5/6/7 and the Grace Cottage Patio Room.
All three Sunday services are livestreamed each week. Worshippers can watch the Mandarin service live at 9:15 AM, the English service live at 9:15 AM, or the Cantonese service live at 11:00 AM through CEC's livestream page. Recent sermons by Pastor Jimmy Lee, Pastor Allen Lin, Pastor Joseph Liang, Pastor Brandon Yu, and Rev. Luke Chen are posted in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese archives that together hold more than a hundred entries.
Kids Connect: From Nursery Through Elementary
CEC's children's ministry, called Kids Connect, exists to "partner with parents in creating an environment where children are taught to be disciples of Jesus Christ - Kids who know Jesus intimately, serve Him selflessly, and share Him passionately." Care is offered at every worship hour in Timothy Hall on the first floor.
Three tracks run on Sunday mornings. Nursery serves infants and toddlers from birth to two years, staffed by volunteers who hold, feed, and care for them during the service. Early Christian Education is for children from age two through kindergarten, taught through music, crafts, and interactive lessons; children are promoted to the next class on March 1 and September 1 each year. Elementary classes serve kindergarten through fifth grade, with two grade levels per class. During the first service these students gather for Sunday School with prayer, Bible study, Scripture memorization, and age-appropriate learning activities; during the second service they take part in Children's Jr. Worship, a large-group teaching with small-group breakout time.
On Friday nights from September through June, KIDzCLUB (Kids Into Discipleship Zealously as Christ Living United Body) meets from 7:30 to 9:10 PM to help children actively apply biblical principles in everyday life. Children's Ministry is led by Children's and Family Minister Karen Pan and Children's Ministry Coordinator Teresa Fong.
Student and Young Adult Fellowships
CEC's English-speaking student and young adult fellowships meet on Friday evenings and are shepherded by Pastor of Student Ministries Brandon Yu.
Ark & Flood Fellowship is the youth ministry for middle and high school students. Its stated passion is to see students "repent and put their faith in Christ through being saturated in hearing and seeing the gospel," and to grow them to love the lost for the glory of God. The group meets Friday nights at 7:30 PM in the Main Sanctuary.
LIFE Fellowship gathers the college students. The group's aim is heart and life transformation through the gospel of grace, equipping students to make disciples who make disciples and to influence their campuses and eventual workplaces for the glory of God. LIFE also meets Friday nights at 7:30 PM in the Main Sanctuary.
Aletheia Fellowship is for young adults. Described as a gospel-centered community, Aletheia is intentional about following Jesus, serving one another, and studying God's Word; it provides a safe environment for cultivating spiritual disciplines and growing in faith and love for Christ. Aletheia meets Fridays at 7:30 PM at the church office in Grace Cottage.
Cantonese and Mandarin Adult Fellowships
WOK Fellowship - Women of the Kingdom - is an intergenerational group of adult women who meet every Friday night at 7:30 PM in Room 6 Basement, encouraging and making disciples of Jesus Christ across every stage of life.
Among the Cantonese fellowships, Living Spring Fellowship is the young adult, college, and career fellowship. Its mission is to reach non-Christians and bring them to know and accept Jesus Christ as Savior through evangelism, caring, spiritual support, and discipleship. Living Spring meets every Friday evening at 7:30 PM, either online or in person at the Fellowship Hall.
M & M Fellowship, the Mandarin adult fellowship, gathers every Friday from 6:30 to 9:15 PM at the church office in Grace Cottage.
Two senior and adult ministries round out the Chinese fellowships. Cantonese Bible Study gathers Cantonese adults for Bible-focused study. Evergreen Fellowship serves Cantonese seniors, meeting on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 10:00 AM via Zoom. The Chula Vista Bible Study meets Cantonese-speaking believers on the second and fourth Sundays at 4:00 PM, also via Zoom.
Cantonese Online Programs and Friday Bible Study Groups
For members who gather by video, CEC runs a coordinated set of Cantonese online programs on Zoom, in addition to the Evergreen and Chula Vista groups above. The Cantonese Prayer Meeting meets the second Saturday of each month at 9:00 AM. Three Friday Bible Study groups for middle-aged adults - Amy, Cyrus, and Le - meet Fridays at 7:30 PM. A Sunday School class for seniors meets Sundays at 9:15 AM. Since June 2022, the Cantonese Sunday worship livestream has been available by request to those who need it; inquiries go to Pastor Joseph Liang.
Cantonese Ladies Group is a bi-monthly gathering on Saturdays from 8:30 to 11: AM that rotates between sisters' homes. Activities include singing, sharing, praying, biblical learning, a gospel movie, praise dance, and December shoebox ministry. The group is coordinated through Cyrus Chan and Lucinda Wong.
What CEC Believes
CEC's statement of faith is grounded in historic Christian orthodoxy. The church confesses one God - Creator, eternal, almighty, and unchangeable - who exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It affirms that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the eternal Word made flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, truly God and truly man, crucified and risen, who reconciles the world to himself.
The Holy Spirit is confessed as a Person possessing all the distinctively divine attributes: he convicts of sin, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and sets believers apart to a holy life, keeping and empowering them day by day. The church is described as a living spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members, universal in its invisible form and visible where believers assemble for worship, edification, growth, and service.
CEC practices two ordinances. Baptism is a means of grace in which water testifies that God has cleansed the believer from sin and received him into his church. The church takes no official position on the mode of baptism; the choice between infant baptism and dedication is left to parents. The Lord's Supper is a memorial act of remembrance, a means of grace when received with searching of heart, confession, and assurance of forgiveness.
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are received as inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life. Salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; all who believe and repent are declared forgiven through his shed blood and born again by the Holy Spirit through the Word. CEC also affirms the personal visible return of Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection of the just to eternal fellowship, and the bodily resurrection of the unjust to eternal separation from God.
Pastors, Elders, and Deacons
CEC's pastoral team is led by Senior Pastor Jimmy Lee. Pastor Allen Lin shepherds the Mandarin congregation, and Pastor Joseph Liang shepherds the Cantonese congregation, supported by Cantonese Minister Florence Tam. Pastor Brandon Yu oversees student ministries. Children's and Family Minister Karen Pan and Children's Ministry Coordinator Teresa Fong direct Kids Connect. Jacob Swing serves as Video / Social Media Coordinator.
Six lay elders shepherd the church alongside the pastors: Bill Lin, Joseph Leonard, Andy Leong, Damon Lou, Louis Lin, and Steven Chiu. The deacon board leads specialized work across facilities (Perry Tuey), finance (Stephen Wu), human resources (Sarah Hui), membership (Christine Lee), and technology (Jason Tong). Ricky Lieu chairs the Missions Committee.
Day-to-day operations are managed by Director of Operations Jim Yee, Admin / Pastoral Assistant Emily Ip, Administrative / Facilities Assistant Jessica Chiang, and Finance Manager Nathan Seto. The administrative team handles facility use, weekly bulletin items, prayer requests, audio/visual check-out, and questions directed to pastors, elders, and deacons.
Reaching the Linda Vista Neighborhood
CEC's stated desire is "to share the love of God to our community in San Diego and build positive relationships with our neighbors." The church does this through tutoring, an annual community carnival, and a vacation Bible school. CEC's own framing of its outreach is simple: "we hope the community will not see us as just another San Diego Chinese church, but a place where people can experience Christ's unconditional love in a real and tangible way."
Visiting Chinese Evangelical Church
CEC sits at 2585 Judson Street, San Diego, CA 92111, in the Linda Vista neighborhood, with a large parking lot on the property. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 4 PM; phone (858) 277-9622 or email info@cec-sd.org. Worship services run in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin each Sunday morning, with children's programming at every service. Three-language livestreams run Sundays at 9:15 AM (Mandarin and English) and 11:00 AM (Cantonese), and sermon recordings in all three languages are archived online. Giving can be made online through the church's giving portal.
Prospective volunteers and staff can learn about openings - including current searches for a Cantonese Minister and a Student Ministries Pastor - through the Join Our Staff page. Visitors seeking fellowship can contact the relevant ministry leader directly; the church's administrative team at admin@cec-sd.org answers general questions.