Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church is a multi-generational church serving the local Scarborough community and beyond seeking to be a blessing to all peoples.
To make disciples of all nations for the glory of God.
We are a home of the Christian faith, hope, and love. Our community draws reverently to God, each other, and our neighbours.
We believe…
- That the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired and inerrant Word of God and is the final authority for Christian faith and life.
- That there is but one true and living God who exists in the past, the present, and forever throughout eternity in the Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- That God is the creator, sustainer and governor of all creation.
- That Jesus Christ, the only begotten eternal Son of God, is given to humankind as the only salvation. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. In Him perfect humanity and deity is found in one person. He is the mediator between God and man. He was crucified on the cross for the sins of all humankind and His blood was shed to fulfill the requirements of God’s righteousness. He rose again bodily from the dead, and ascended to Heaven. In the last day, Christ will return personally to earth as He has promised, to judge the living and the dead. There will be a bodily resurrection of the dead, with the believers inheriting eternal life and blessedness, and the non-believers eternal punishment and condemnation.
- That the Holy Spirit convicts men and women of their sins, leads them into salvation in Christ, and as their counsellor, He continues to transform their lives by comforting, helping, teaching, enlightening, and equipping them with gifts.
- That humankind was created in the image of God. Since the first man Adam sinned against God, all humankind have come short of the glory of God, have lived in sin, and cannot, by their own effort, attain righteousness in the presence of God. Salvation of humankind depends solely on the finished work of Christ who once and for all, poured out His blood on the cross as a vicarious atonement for the sins of humankind. Those who confess and repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour shall be saved.
- That the universal church comprises of all believers set apart from the world to belong to Christ. With Christ as her Head, the universal church shall follow Christ’s teachings and commandments. Local churches are autonomous and independent organizations of believers who are endowed with the gifts of God’s grace to build up fellow-believers, to preach the Gospel and to become the salt and light of the world.
- That marriage, based on the teachings of the Scriptures, is exclusively a union between one man and one women.
History
| 1967 | A core group of 3 families began praying and planning to launch a church in the Toronto Chinatown area. The first Chinese speaking worship service was in November, with 12 in attendance. Rev. Andrew Wong became the senior pastor of the Toronto Chinese Baptist Church (TCBC) which grew under his leadership and shepherding. By the mid 80's, the "original bunch" did not have any grand vision nor specific direction other than that they should grab the opportunity to branch out since the downtown church reached saturation and various attempts to expand locally failed. |
| 1986 | Two opportunities presented themselves to the leadership: (1) a church site on Birchmount Road was on sale at an affordable price, and (2) Scarborough was where huge new influx of Hong Kong Chinese immigrants gravitated towards. Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church (SCBC) became an "expansion" from TCBC having her first worship service at 2610 Birchmount Road on April 6th. |
| 1987 | SCBC inauguration on October 8th. |
| 1988 | SCBC started with being under the same pastoral team and church government as that of TCBC. God sovereignly multiplied us into two churches fulfilling different purposes. On January 1st, Rev. Warren Lai joined as the Senior Pastor for SCBC. |
| 1990 | SCBC grew rapidly into a multi-generational, multi-lingual, multidisciplinary and multi-congregational model under one church government. More space was needed and the existing building expanded with the addition of a new Education Wing. |
| 2002 | Discussions by deacons and pastors on charting a new course into the new millennium began since 1997. After many years of long exploration, deliberation, and prayer, the "Move & Grow" initiative was overwhelmingly agreed upon by the church. God's providence: in the search of land we considered at least more than 7 options ranging from redevelopment of the old Birchmount site, purchase an existing Jewish private school on Leslie Street, to buying large buildable lots. Feasibility studies by consultant were made. Three offers were attempted to purchase and all were turned down one way or the other, including the current Kennedy site. When we were seeing no way out, the Kennedy Road property reappeared on the market 1 year after it was conditionally sold to Wal Mart. God gave us this land. He provides in His own time and He ultimately controls all things and directs all things to work for the good of those who love Him. June 16 - approved land purchase and appointment of the New SCBC Building Committee. November 15 - closing date for the land deal. |
| 2003 | September 28th - approved sale of the Birchmount property. Building design of the new church campus approved. |
| 2005 | New SCBC ground breaking ceremony on July 24th. |
| 2007 | September 11 - moved into the new church campus. September 16 - the first Sunday worship services. |
| 2012 | SCBC celebrates 25 years - From Glory to Glory |
| 2017 | SCBC celebrates 30 years |
