Set on McLaughlin Avenue on San Jose's east side since 1975, San Jose Christian Alliance Church has grown from a small Cantonese and English worship of about sixty people into a multi-campus, multilingual family that meets in seven languages across the South Bay. Its motto - "One Family, Many Languages, United in Christ" - captures a vision the church has held for five decades: that every tongue and tribe should find a home at the same table. SJCAC belongs to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical denomination with more than six million members worldwide, and is part of the Central Pacific District.
The Fourfold Christ at the Center
SJCAC organizes its life around a single mission statement: "Bringing People to Wholeness and Fruitfulness." The church teaches that Jesus came to restore people to a life that is both whole and fruitful, and that salvation is not escape from suffering but the beginning of an abundant life marked by love for God and neighbor.
Four doctrinal emblems frame that mission. The cross points to Christ as Savior, whose sacrificial death and resurrection are the atonement for sin. The pitcher of oil represents Christ the Healer, who anoints the sick for physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration. The laver stands for Christ the Sanctifier, the daily cleansing from sin by the Holy Spirit. The crown proclaims Christ the Coming King, whose return every believer anticipates. Three core values shape the daily life of the church: holiness through God's Word and Spirit, selflessness in loving one another, and generosity toward neighbors near and far.
Five Decades on McLaughlin Avenue
The church began in October 1975 when Abraham and Lillian Poon, a young couple in their twenties, gathered the first worship service in Cantonese and English at the original Willow Glen Alliance Church. They were ordained in November 1976, and the fellowship was formally organized with sixty members in February 1977. The first missionaries, Chris and Grace Kidwell, were commissioned in December 1980, the same year SJCAC became officially accredited with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
The congregation met at Campbell High School from 1982 until the groundbreaking at 2360 McLaughlin Avenue in April 1985. Phase One construction was followed by a Dedication Ceremony the next year. In January 1987 the church mourned the passing of Rev. Yan Kwong Loh, its first Cantonese pastor. A second building phase followed in 1990-1991, and the church marked its "FREEDOM" Mortgage Burning Ceremony in February 2000 while adopting the new name San Jose Christian Alliance Church.
Key ministries grew across the next decade. The Senior Center and Tutoring Program launched in 1992. Prayer Evangelism Ministries began in 1995. ESL classes started in Fall 2000, the first elders were installed in November 2001, and Healing and Deliverance Ministries followed through the Pastoral Care School in 2002. The baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit marked a leadership renewal in 1990 and shaped the church's emphasis on the Spirit's ongoing work.
In 2010, the VISION 2020 initiatives led to the founding of Gateway Preschool Academy and Word of Grace Chinese School. Founding pastor Rev. Abraham Poon retired in November 2012 and was commissioned for global pastoral care. After the passing of Rev. Ed Kwong in December 2014, Rev. Ted Kang was installed as Lead Pastor in August 2015. Two daughter congregations followed: New Vine Community Church was planted in Mountain View in September 2016, and San Jose Arabic Church was planted in December 2017.
The pandemic pushed ministry online starting March 2020; New Spring Community Church was planted as an online congregation and gathered in person in July 2021. The church re-gathered in person in August 2022. Stephen Ministries launched in January 2023. In November 2023 the College and Young Adult Ministry and New Spring Community Church relocated to the former Willow Glen Alliance Church property, where SJCAC itself had been birthed. October 2025 brought a Jubilee celebration at Mount Hermon with the founding pastor and past congregational pastors. Nueva Vida launched at the Willow Glen Campus in February 2026, English Ministry officially launched at Willow Glen on Mother's Day 2026, and New Vine Community Church became an independently accredited church of the Central Pacific District in January 2026.
Two Campuses, Seven Languages
SJCAC worships on two campuses roughly four miles apart. The San Jose (East) Campus at 2360 McLaughlin Avenue hosts Cantonese, English, and Mandarin services, along with two partnering congregations. The Willow Glen (West) Campus at 1901 Cottle Avenue hosts English, Mandarin, Arabic, and Spanish services and serves as the home for several church plants and the College and Young Adult Ministry.
Through these two buildings and four church plants, regular worship takes place in seven languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Khmer. New Vine Community Church meets Sundays at 4:00 pm in English at 360 S. Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View. New Spring Community Church meets Sundays at 11:00 am in Mandarin at the Willow Glen Campus. Nueva Vida meets Sundays at 7:00 pm in Spanish at the Willow Glen Campus, and the San Jose Arabic Alliance Church meets Sundays at 2:30 pm in Arabic at the same site. Living Word Community Church (Vietnamese) meets Sundays 2:00-5:00 pm in the Chapel at the East Campus, and San Jose Cambodian Evangelical Church (Khmer) meets Sundays at 3:00 pm in Classroom A103-104.
Sunday Gatherings
At the East Campus, the Cantonese service runs from 9:30 to 10:45 am in the Sanctuary. The English service meets from 11:15 am to 12:30 pm in the Chapel, and the Mandarin service meets from 11:15 am to 12:30 pm in the Sanctuary. At the West Campus, English worship begins at 9:30 am in the Sanctuary, Mandarin worship at 11:15 am in the Sanctuary, Arabic worship at 2:30 pm in Fireside Hall, and Spanish worship at 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary. Services last about an hour and fifteen minutes. Fresh-brewed coffee is served before services and during the transition between hours, and worshippers are invited to fill out a welcome card so the team can follow up after a first visit.
Prayer undergirds every Sunday gathering. Cantonese intercessors pray in Room A105 from 8:45 to 9:30 am, English intercessors from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Mandarin intercessors from 10:30 to 11:15 am in D103-104. On Wednesdays evening prayer continues online from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, with a quarterly intercessory training offered to those who want to grow in the practice.
The Pastoral Team
Lead Pastor Ted Kang was installed in 2015. Born in Seoul and raised in Canada, he came to faith at fourteen, traveled the world with Youth With A Mission, met his wife Sandy during seminary, and moved to San Jose in 2002 for what he expected to be a two-year internship with The Alliance. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from McGill, an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. in Leadership in a Global Context from Alliance Theological Seminary.
Pastors Alan Lee (Cantonese), YouPing Liu (Mandarin), Hou Lei (Mandarin), and Jason Tseng (Mandarin) shepherd the Chinese-language ministries. Matt Cheung (English) joined the team in 2023 after moving with his family from Queens, New York. Celine Nguyen Bower serves as Executive Pastor after eighteen years with Alliance Missions. Sam Kes leads Youth Ministry, Grace Chen leads Children's Ministry, Yessica Ortiz serves on the Children's staff, Jos Rodriguez pastors the Spanish ministry, and Bashar Haddad pastors the Arabic ministry.
Children
SJCAC's Children's Ministry meets the conviction that "children are the least evangelized people groups of the world, yet also the most receptive to the Gospel." The nursery welcomes infants through three-year-olds, and Kids' Church welcomes children ages four through fifth grade during both Sunday service hours (9:30 and 11:15 am). Saturday Kid's Fellowship gathers on the first and third Saturdays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Kids' Prayer Club meets online on Thursdays from 7:00 to 7:30 pm. Parents gather online for a Quarterly Parents Prayer Circle.
Two annual events shape the year. Kids Adventure Camp brings together PreK through fifth graders for a week of summer programming. Kids On Mission, organized in partnership with City Impact in San Francisco's Tenderloin, gives families with children in grades one through five (and older youth with Children's Ministry approval) a short-term mission experience grounded in months of prayer training. Children's Ministry volunteers are required to complete background checks, the Mandated Reporter Training certificate, and CPR training.
Youth: E2 Fellowship
The youth ministry takes its name, Elijah Elisha (E2), from 2 Kings 2:9, where Elijah asks for a "double portion" of the Spirit. The Saturday fellowship runs 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the San Jose Campus with games, worship, and small groups that follow different themes by semester. During the fall and winter semester the topics vary; during the winter and spring semester students engage in inductive Bible studies. On Sundays, sixth graders through high school seniors are invited into the multi-generational English congregations, and a pre-service hour from 9:30 to 10:45 am gives space for devotional conversation among the youth. An August Family Mixer opens the school year for parents.
College and Young Adults
Four communities cover the seasons after high school. Anchor, the English-language college ministry, meets the first and third Sundays from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in Rooms A103-104 at the East Campus. YAM (Young Adult Ministry) gathers English-speaking young adults on Fridays from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at the Willow Glen Campus. ChILL Club hosts Cantonese-speaking students and young adults on Sundays from 11:15 am to 12:30 pm in A114-115, and Morning Star serves the Mandarin-speaking young adults on Fridays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in A201.
Caring for the Neighborhoods
SJCAC's outreach to its surrounding communities takes shape through ESL classes, after-school programs, a homeless ministry, senior support, and a school. ESL classes are offered free on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:00 pm at the Willow Glen Campus, and additional tutoring runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 pm. Kids Club and X Club meet at Stonegate Elementary School on Thursdays at 12:30 pm, leading elementary students through games, music, and Bible discussion. The Homeless Ministry serves quarterly on Saturdays at the San Jose Campus. Senior citizens receive one-on-one help with citizenship preparation on Sundays.
The Stephen Ministry pairs trained lay caregivers with congregants and neighbors who are walking through difficult seasons. Nexus Mentoring offers a ten-session group experience for adults in their twenties and early thirties, led by seasoned mentors. Gateway Preschool Academy (Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:30 pm) welcomes children ages two through PreK with a Christian-centered curriculum, and Word of Grace Chinese School offers Chinese-language lessons and enrichment classes on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons.
Formed in Scripture
SJCAC disciples its members through a layered set of formation pathways. Time with Abba (TWA) is a two-decade-old practice in which the church reads the same four passages each day (Psalms, Proverbs, an Old Testament passage, and a New Testament passage) in a journey through the whole Bible once a year. Read, reflect, respond, and rest shape the rhythm.
The Discipleship Academy guides students through a three-year study of the Life of Christ, a one-year study of Paul's life and letters, and a one-year Pentateuch track. Leadership training courses prepare elders, deacons, and preachers through A.W. Tozer materials and C&MA doctrinal resources. Stephen Minister training equips lay caregivers for six months of preparation in Christ-centered care. The Certificate in Christian Ministry, offered through A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary in Mandarin, fulfills the minimum thirty-credit educational requirement for C&MA ministry licensure. EMPOWER, a women-led developmental certificate, runs three tracks: EMPOWERone (a nine-month foundational year), EMPOWERengage (applying those truths), and EMPOWERproclaim (preaching the Word).
Students and recent graduates can apply for a Summer Student Internship, an Academic Internship (two to six months), or the Graduate Church Residency - a two-year program in partnership with Crown College that pairs a fully funded master's degree with twenty-five hours of weekly ministry at SJCAC. Each pathway assumes mentorship and pastoral shepherding alongside the practical training.
To the Ends of the Earth
Missions sit at the center of SJCAC's self-understanding. The church describes itself as "All of Jesus for All the World" and supports missionaries through the Great Commission Fund of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Short-term mission trips, ranging from neighborhood service to cross-continental partnerships, are organized each year with pastoral approval and are tied to a four-stage disciple-making pathway: giving, supporting, preparing, and going. The annual Missions Conference, held in mid-September, gathers the church around global workers and local outreach partners, with pastoral discretion exercised about which sessions can be livestreamed in order to protect workers in sensitive regions.
Church planting is both a product and a means of that mission. Four church-planting daughters have grown out of SJCAC: New Vine Community Church (independent as of January 2026), New Spring Community Church, Nueva Vida, and San Jose Arabic Alliance Church. Each began as a language congregation under SJCAC's umbrella and is now extending the same multilingual family model to new corners of the South Bay.
A Life of Generosity
Generosity is one of SJCAC's three core values. Members and friends can give online through the church's secure giving page, by mail or in person by check, or through gifts of stocks and bonds coordinated with the treasurer. Gifts can be directed to the General Fund (which sets aside 20 percent of its annual receipts for developing future leaders and planting churches), the Mission Fund (which supports C&MA missionaries sent out from SJCAC), the Kingdom Expansion Fund (established in 2023 to multiply ministries across Silicon Valley through church planting, ethnic partnerships, leadership development, and next-generation mentoring), or the Benevolent Fund (which assists members facing financial crises).
Becoming a member begins with a three-session "Discover SJCAC" course offered throughout the year, after which applicants submit a Membership Application to a pastor or the church office. Baptism candidates share their testimony through the Baptism Application. The "It's All About Jesus" cross, pitcher, laver, and crown remain the daily reminders of why the church gathers across so many languages - that every neighbor on McLaughlin and Cottle Avenues, and every tongue represented in between, would come to know Christ as Savior, Healer, Sanctifier, and Coming King.