Orville Ortiz, SCC treasurer/CFO, presents a check for $3,000 to the church to support evangelism efforts in the local community. Photo by Addison Huong.
Orville Ortiz, SCC treasurer/CFO, presents a check for $3,000 to the church to support evangelism efforts in the local community. Photo by Addison Huong.

"We cannot help but acknowledge it is only by God’s grace that we are able to worship here today in this sanctuary,” said Daniel Choo, Chino Valley Chinese church (CVCC) head elder and building committee chair.

Choo spoke to a standing room only congregation during the dedication of CVCC’s new building. The service focused on God’s providence throughout the building project and His leading to a debt-free conclusion.

The CVCC building committee first met in 2012, and much work has been done. “From the time we started our journey until today, in every step we have found that the grace of God is sufficient for us,” said Paul Cho, senior pastor.

The congregation has seen a steady upward trend of membership growth over the past 10 years. From 2008 to 2010, the congregation almost doubled, and the rapid growth of this congregation did not go unnoticed. “The growth was faster than expected according to statistics,” said Velino A. Salazar, SCC president. “However, today we can say that we are here by the grace of God and the receptiveness of God’s people here.”

(From left to right) Pete Lou, Pastor Paul Cho, Elder Velino Salazar, Honorees Windy Hwang and Amabel Tsao, and Daniel Choo. Photo provided by Amabel Tsao.
(From left to right) Pete Lou, Pastor Paul Cho, Elder Velino Salazar, Honorees Windy Hwang and Amabel Tsao, and Daniel Choo. Photo provided by Amabel Tsao.

An important and central component of this congregation’s growth is its outreach with programs that meet the needs of their local community, like cooking classes, marriage seminars, and more. “This church has been very relevant to the mission in the context of this community,” said Salazar. The $3,000 gift provided by SCC’s treasurer/CFO Orville Ortiz during the dedication ceremony was intended to encourage and grow these efforts.

The members’ faith in God and His infinite mercy was hard to miss as they dedicated their new sanctuary. “By building their church debt free, the CVCC proclaims three things,” said John H. Cress, SCC executive secretary/ministerial director. “First, the leaders and members refused to look to debt to provide the things they wanted, but trusted that God would provide.” Cress continued by saying that, secondly, the church embraced Gods’ mission and, thirdly, they cultivated a culture of giving.

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony on the evening of the dedication, a special banquet honored two team leaders who, along with their teams, were instrumental in this project: Windy Hwang and Amabel Tsao. “Even though it meant a lot of hard work, it’s taught me over and over again that God has His own schedule and is in full control,” Tsao said. This statement sums up CVCC’s journey: God is in full control!