For security purposes, some of the names, details, and images in this article are vague.

On March 13, about 35 people gathered for a worship service at the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North Hills in Pittsburgh, Pa. All of the people were from China, and the service was conducted in the native language of Mandarin.

One of Jesus’ shortest parables is the Parable of the Seed in Mark 4:26-27, which reads, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows— how, he himself does not know” (NASB). Jesus teaches that the growth of the kingdom is accomplished by God in ways people often do not understand.

The Chinese ministry would have been unimaginable even a handful of years ago, but members of North Hills RPC are embracing the opportunities God provides, just as Paul did. In Colossians 4:3, Paul requested that the Colossians be faithful in “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ.”

Orlena Boyle echoed Paul’s openness when she said, “Oh, how can I say no, [when] I am not my own.” She was an RP missionary who was forced to evacuate China and go to Japan, but God enabled her, in retirement, to attend the first Chinese worship service at North Hills RP Church.

Two factors, one a recent development and the other the result of labor and ministry decades ago, led to the start of this new ministry. The recent development was the commencement of English as a Second Language classes (ESL) at North Hills RPC. About seven years ago, John Russell proposed the idea of starting ESL classes at the church. Members of the congregation had no idea if the classes were needed or if any internationals would come. After considerable planning and training, the ministry began five years ago. Every Wednesday night during the academic year, 35–50 people from various countries gather for instruction in the English language and for Bible lessons. Although attendees have come from over 30 different countries, there has always been a solid representation of people from China at the classes. Their attendance has led members of the church to befriend those in the Chinese community and to share the gospel with several of them.

Because of the Lord’s working, the church has seen several Chinese make professions of faith in Christ. When someone receives Christ, I always encourage that person to tell someone as an application of the command to verbally “confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord,” found in Romans 10:9. One of our earliest converts used a unique and precious term to describe his conversion. A couple of days after receiving Christ, this convert wanted to tell my wife about what had happened in his life. After telling her he had received Christ, he said, “I felt like my heart could breathe.”

The other factor leading to the start of the Chinese worship service goes back to the mission work the RPCNA had in China for generations. Along with other mission agencies, the RP missionaries were forced to leave the country when the Communists gradually gained control of China throughout the latter part of the 1940s. The report made to Synod at the conclusion of the formal missionary work in China ended with these words: “May we not trust Him to open the door to China once again at His own good time to the praise of the glory of His Almighty power and grace?”

Although the American missionaries were forced to leave, the vision for reaching China for Christ never died. New ministries were set up. The Reformation Translation Fellowship under the leadership of Dr. Charles Chao translated Reformed literature into Chinese and distributed it in China. Through this ministry, thousands of Chinese Christians have become interested in the Reformed faith. Dr. Chao’s son, Jonathan, also continued ministry in China through radio broadcasts and visits to China to equip and encourage Christian laborers. His influence and ministry provided many contacts for the RPCNA.

Because of these efforts, about a decade ago, it became known to the denomination that there were thousands of Christians in China who were loyal to the Reformed faith and wanted help from the RPCNA. Some of these Reformed Chinese Christians have obtained visas to study in the United States. North Hills RPC was eager to provide support to students and families, and they began attending.

One Chinese seminary student, who was finishing his studies in Los Angeles, Calif., received an invitation from a Chinese friend in Pittsburgh to continue his theological training in this city. Accepting the invitation, Matthew and his wife, Dorcas, arrived in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 2013. When they saw the ministry that was happening with the Chinese through the ESL classes, God put it upon their hearts to minister to their fellow Chinese living in the Pittsburgh area.

The ministry grew steadily as contacts were made with the Chinese through several different sources, including students at the local academic institutions. Several students and their families are now members of North Hills RPC. A second source of contacts are the many internationals living in the same neighborhood with Matthew and Dorcas. They have had opportunities to befriend many of their neighbors, leading to opportunities to share the gospel.

The ESL classes are a third source of contacts and continue to provide a vehicle to minister to people from China. Hospitality, friendship, answering questions, and serving the attendees have been used by God to open the doors to share the love of Christ. Recently, Chinese members of the church have organized themselves into teams to ensure at least one of them attends each of the five different ESL classes to make contact with other Chinese who have come for help in learning English conversation and writing skills.

A fourth avenue for contacts is a Chinese school that meets at North Hills RP Church on Saturdays. The purpose of this school is to provide instruction to the American-born Chinese youth about their native culture and language.

Finally, the church also had a booth at the Chinese Cultural Festival near the University of Pittsburgh campus. Bibles and gospel tracts were distributed, and a contact from this event received Christ, was baptized, and became a member of North Hills RPC.

Responding to the needs of the Chinese converts and contacts, Matthew started a Bible study on Friday nights. As people responded to the teaching of the Reformed faith through the Bible study and personal studies, it became obvious that the church needed to do more to respond to this door for ministry, so the church made plans to start a worship service for our Chinese brothers and sisters. Having been examined by the Presbytery of the Alleghenies and being sustained in those exams, Matthew was ordained as a teaching elder on Aug. 29, 2015, and shortly thereafter began to serve as a minister at North Hills RPC.

The children of the Chinese who are living in America often know English better than they do Mandarin, and parents are anxious for their children to interact with the American children in the church. To accommodate this desire, North Hills RPC is conducting simultaneous worship services in Mandarin (Chinese) and English, which meet at different ends of the church building. Following the worship services, the children of both groups join together for Bible school classes.

With the start of regular, Mandarin worship services for our Chinese brothers and sisters, the church hopes God will open further doors for reaching and discipling people. It is our hope that through teaching, counseling, and training we will be able to encourage, equip, and empower our Chinese friends to be faithful disciples of, and witnesses to, our glorious Lord Jesus.

If someone would have told North Hills RPC members, even five years ago, that we would have a Chinese worship service in our building, no one would have believed it. God works in mysterious ways, opening doors His people would never have expected. To quote again the final report to the RP Synod from the then-closing mission to China, with a slight edit, “May we not trust Him to open the door to Chinese once again at His own good time to the praise of the glory of His Almighty power and grace?”

Perhaps a partial answer to that plea is happening in Pittsburgh, Pa. To God alone be the glory!