“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out of us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
(Hebrew 12:1-2 NIV)
Beginning from “Zero”
Richmond Emmanuel Church began from “zero.” We had no land, no buildings, and no financial reserves. We had only a small group of brothers and sisters willing to become disciples of Jesus Christ. Our first Sunday worship service was held on September 8, 1996, at St. Alban’s Anglican church, which was a rented facility. From an initial average Sunday attendance of 30 to 50 people, the congregation has grown to approximately 300 worshippers today.
Over the past thirty years, we have witnessed many of God’s wonderful works, countless life transformations among our brothers and sisters, and heard innumerable testimonies. More than 700 people have been baptized over the past three decades. If our journey were to be summarized in eight words, it would be: “sowing in tears, reaping with songs of joy.”
The planting of Richmond Emmanuel Church started in 1995. At that time, Bishop Michael Ingham of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster recognized the rapid growth of Richmond’s Asian population and commissioned the Diocesan Mission Development Officer, Rev. Jim Drapper, to assess the feasibility of establishing a new ministry. He initiated discussions with two Chinese-speaking congregations—Church of the Good Shepherd and St. Luke’s Church—and three English-speaking parishes in Richmond: St. Alban’s, St. Anne’s, and St. Edward’s. The first meeting was held on February 1, 1995, followed by regular meetings approximately every one to two months.
On April 8, 1995, the first joint fellowship dinner and sharing session of the five congregations was held at St. Anne’s Church, with eighty participants in attendance. On May 17, the Church of the Good Shepherd hosted a Richmond-area parish consultation meeting at St. Alban’s Anglican Church, attended by twenty-one participants. On June 26, the first meeting of the Church Development Committee of the Church of the Good Shepherd (Richmond Mission Area) was convened, chaired by Mr. Peter Ying kit Pang, who also drafted the initial proposal for the new mission. On October 11, Bishop Ingham accepted the recommendations of Rev. Silas Ng and Rev. Stephen Leung, determining that the Richmond mission would be a Chinese-speaking ministry rather than a multicultural one. A few days later, Bishop Ingham appointed Rev. Silas Ng as Priest-in-Charge of this new church plant.
On November 8, Rev. Jim Drapper chaired the first Planning Committee meeting to promote the establishment of the new mission area, involving representatives from the five congregations. On November 14, Rev. Jim Drapper and Rev. Silas Ng convened the first planning subgroup meeting for the Richmond Mission Area to review and revise the draft proposal submitted by Mr. Peter Ying Kit Pang, Chair of the Church Development Committee of the Church of the Good Shepherd. On December 10, Richmond Bible Study Group of the Church of the Good Shepherd visited St. Alban’s, St. Anne’s, and St. Edward’s Churches. Subsequently, it was decided that the new church plant will rent St. Alban’s Church as the place of worship.
On March 14, 1996, the first youth Bible study group of the new church plant was launched. On May 3, Rev. Silas Ng began leading the “Church of the Good Shepherd Richmond Bible Study Group,” previously led by Pastor Mrs. Catherine Mok, transitioning it into the Adult Bible Study Group of the new mission area. On June 27, the first Parish Council meeting was held, chaired by Rev. Silas Ng. On July 1, Bishop Ingham accepted the proposal submitted by Rev. Silas Ng and officially named the new mission area Church of Emmanuel, formally inaugurating its ministry. On September 8, the first Holy Eucharist service was held at 12:00 noon. Rev. Stephen Leung of the Church of the Good Shepherd graciously preached the sermon; Rev. Philip Tse read the Gospel and assisted in the liturgy. The choir and many members of the Church of the Good Shepherd also participated in this historic occasion.
Starting from the “Spirit”
Church of Emmanuel began with the Spirit—the Holy Spirit. We understand that this is not a work of human effort. Therefore, over these past thirty years, we have focused on one thing only: To Listen and To Obey. During the first two and a half years, we heard the Lord Jesus instructed us to do one task: To Make Disciples. In response, we established numerous Bible study groups, discipleship training programs, and one-on-one discipling relationships. We set up one “spiritual fueling station” after another, so that new believers could be nourished with “spiritual milk,” and church members could be renewed and strengthened.
Beginning in the third year (1999), we heard the Lord Jesus gave us an additional instruction: To Release Spiritual Gifts. Increasingly, the gifts of our brothers and sisters were released as they served the Lord in the ministries entrusted to us. We launched a series of small-group leader training programs and established multiple home groups, transitioning from a fellowship-based model to a cell-group model. Today, we have more than thirty small groups, along with various courses and ministries, including Alpha Course and Experiencing God.
Beginning in the fifth year (2001), we heard the third instruction from the Lord Jesus: Build My House. We formed a Development Committee to explore how to build the Lord’s house. At our Annual General Meeting in February 2002, the congregation unanimously approved a plan to purchase land and build a church. On June 15 of the same year, our church, together with seven other Anglican churches, left the diocesan synod in protest against the synod’s decision to bless same-sex unions. On that same day, we joined the formation of the Anglican Communion in New Westminster (ACiNW).
On September 15, a Special Congregational Meeting was held, at which the congregation unanimously resolved to uphold biblical truth without compromise and to discontinue renting St. Alban’s Church. Consequently, on November 1, 2002, we began renting a warehouse-style building—with no windows at a Kumon Learning Centre for Sunday worship, along with a nearby 1,500-square-foot rental office space.
From June 2002 to February 2003, our church, together with ACiNW congregations, sought the help of an Anglican bishop willing to receive us. After much struggle and perseverance, at the Annual General Meeting on February 29, 2003, the congregation unanimously approved our being under the oversight of five Anglican Primates (from Southeast Asia, Rwanda, Central Africa, Congo, and Kenya). The Archbishop of the Province of Southeast Asia, the Most Rev. YONG Ping-chung , served as Chair among the five Primates. Support was provided by the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), which appointed Bishop TJ Johnston to serve as bishop for our church and for the Anglican Communion in Canada (ACiC). Our church became one of the four founding churches of the ACiC, and we renamed our church as “Richmond Emmanuel Church.”
As a result of these significant changes, our original church-building plan was temporarily suspended. After a year and a half of worship in the warehouse-style facility, both attendance and offerings continued to grow. In February 2004, the Development Committee resumed exploring viable ways to fulfill the calling to “Build My House,” including the possible purchase of land or an existing church building.
Because of these major changes, the original building plan was temporarily paused. After one and a half years of worship in the warehouse-style location, attendance and offerings continued to grow. In February 2004, the development committee resumed exploring feasible ways to fulfill “build My house,” considering either purchasing land or an existing church building.
During this period, Rev. Silas Ng initiated a “100 Days of Morning Prayer and Holy Communion” campaign. The entire church united in prayer for a new church location, seeking God’s will. Those who have genuinely experienced God through that campaign trusting that when we pray in faith, he will answer according to His will. Praise the Lord, many obstacles before us were, one by one, miraculously removed.
Eventually, the Development Committee unanimously discerned that the Lord Jesus had prepared 7451 Elmbridge Way for us to rent as our new church location. This building, formerly a government facility in Richmond, has a total area of 24,000 square feet. The sanctuary seats 400 people, the parish hall accommodates 80, and there are 26 additional rooms of various sizes. In the decade before our tenancy, the building had been leased to two churches.
At the Annual General Meeting on October 3, 2004, the vertry approved the plan to rent 7451 Elmbridge Way as our new church location starting November 1. Within one month, the congregation gave a special offering of $200,000 towards renovation and the purchase of equipment for “building the Lord’s house.” In December 2004, by the grace of God, Richmond Emmanuel Church moved from the warehouse facility into its new home at 7451 Elmbridge Way.
After relocating to the new premises, Richmond Emmanuel Church continued to experience steady growth. In February 2007, Rev. Silas Ng was appointed by AMiA Chief Bishop, Rt. Rev. Chuck Murphy as Principal Missionary of the Asian Initiative in North America. In April of the same year, the Rev. Ng accompanied Archbishop YONG Ping-chong and Bishop TJ Johnston to San Francisco to explore the feasibility of church planting. Beginning in April 2007, with the assistance and leadership of Rev. Philip Tse, two Bible study groups were launched in the San Francisco Bay Area. After one year of effort, due to various regulatory and procedural constraints in the United States, the decision was made to discontinue this ministry.
In October 2007, Rev. Silas Ng initiated exploration for a second Asian church-planting effort in North America. On March 3, 2008, Toronto Emmanuel Church was established at the Richmond Hill Christian Community Church, where three adults were baptized, and four adults received Confirmation through the laying on of hands by Archbishop Yong Ping-chong. From that day, Toronto Emmanuel Church formally began its ministry. Pastor Jonathan Li was invited to lead a Monday evening Bible study, through which the church was gradually built.
On September 9, 2009, at the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California, Rev. Silas Ng was consecrated as a bishop by Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop Yong Ping-chong, and several bishops from Congo, Tanzania, and AMiA in the United States. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church preached the sermon at the consecration service. Bishop Ng represented AMiA Archbishop Chuck Murphy in overseeing both English-speaking and Asian congregations of the Anglican Mission in Canada.
On September 20, 2009, accompanied by Archbishop Yong Ping-chong, Bishop Ng ordained Rev. Edmund Ho to the priesthood in Toronto. He appointed him as Rector/Senior Pastor of Toronto Emmanuel Church. Toronto Emmanuel Church thus officially became a parish on that day. Since its founding, the church has maintained an average Sunday attendance of over one hundred worshippers and has developed multiple ministries and small groups. A few members of the congregation also participate as the Board of Directors of the Vintage Garden Toronto, an integrated seniors’ housing project. Phase One of the project was completed in 2005, comprising 185 residential units, as well as the sanctuary and facilities of the Toronto Emmanuel Church. Phase Two was completed in 2025, adding 173 residential units.
In 2016, Chief Bishop Chuck Murphy retired, and Bishop Philip Jones succeeded him as the Chief Bishop. In the same year, the Anglican Mission in Canada (AM Canada), succeeding AMiA, became a diocesan chapter under the Anglican Mission Society Global. On October 1, 2016, Bishop Silas Ng was installed as Chief Bishop of Anglican Mission in Canada at a service held at Richmond Emmanuel Church, presided by Archbishop Yong Ping-chong, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, Chief Bishop Philip Jones, and several AMiA bishops.
United in One Heart, Building God’s House Together
From its first Sunday worship service on September 8, 1996, through the end of June 2023, Richmond Emmanuel Church worshipped in rented facilities. In 2013, we received the vision of “United as One,” encouraging members to give sacrificially toward the purchase of a permanent church property. Praise to the Lord as our Protector and Provider, more than $4 million was raised. On July 1, 2022, we successfully purchased three third-floor units at President Plaza, totalling 5,800 square feet, to serve as our permanent base—the “Promised Land” given to us by the Lord.
We give thanks to the Lord for granting us an inheritance in the very heart of Richmond—a prime location surrounded by shopping centres and with convenient transportation access. This is the provision God has given us: a Church in a Mall.
May each one of us look back with grateful hearts on the past thirty years, remembering the abiding presence and companionship of our Heavenly Father, the miraculous guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. With humility, may we look ahead to the future, standing united and working together, so that Richmond Emmanuel Church may continue to be a beacon of light in Richmond, expanding the Kingdom of God and bringing glory to Him and blessing to all.