History
Written by Pastor Tony Hsu in 2001In October, 1999 I attended EFCA's Easter District annual conference. One night while I was praying alone in the room somehow God gave me the thought of starting an English-only worship service in our church. (Originally I always thought our next step was to start an English/Mandarin service in addition to the current Mandarin/Cantonese service). That thought was kind of surprise to me initially. But as I prayed more it made more sense to me. After I came back to church I shared this thought with six students whose English were better than Chinese Most of them thought it was a good idea, but were not sure if that's what God wanted our church to do. (One actually believed it's her prayer got answered, but she did not tell us at that time.)
At the beginning of November and December we met two more times to exchange thoughts. We began to see a small group of people who were interested in seeking this possibility.
Starting from the end of January, 2000, we had English worship and prayer meeting once a month in my home with the purpose of discerning God's will and seeking His guidance. By the end of April, a core group of about 10 people decided that they wanted to go for it.
In early May, the governing board of the church discussed this issue. Board members spoke openly and honestly about their reservation and concern. (Because we have very limited man power and greater potential in reaching out to Mandarin-speaking students/scholars from Mainland China.) But in the end, the board voted unanimously to support the starting of the English congregation in the new school year.
So in mid August, 2000, this core group of 10 people came back one week earlier to make preparation and to reach out to the new students who arrived for orientation. That Sunday, before the returning students came back, we had the first English service. Many new students came. Many members from the Chinese congregation also responded to my request to attend the English service to give them support. In the first semester, many Chinese congregation members also provided rides to the English-speaking undergraduate students every Sunday.
We started with 10 English-speaking students. Now we have 40 to 60 people attending the English service regularly. We expect this number to grow in the next school year. The first English service for the semester is scheduled on 8/26.
Currently, most people who come to our English service are already Christians. They come from mainly three different in-campus fellowship groups: CCF (an InterVarsity group); CBS (English-speaking Chinese Bible Study Group); and Campus Crusade. We also have a few who are from Singapolian Christian Fellowship. We also have some seekers. Actually two got baptized in this school year, one in each semester.
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Address: 429 Mitchell Street, Ithaca, New York, 14853
Pastors
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Pastor Paul Epp Email
Paul Epp is the Pastor of the English Congregation. Before beginning his ministry at FICCC in August of 2008, Paul served nearly 19 years in Chinese churches in Texas and Colorado. In addition he has served as a missionary in Belize, Central America; a youth director in the inner-city of Denver and the director of the Campus Crusade at University of Houston. He is a graduate of Denver Seminary. His passion is "to develop humble servants who will love the Lord, the lost and the local church for the rest of their lives." He and his wife Hildy love to hang out with the church family and their two daughters Elise and Linnea. His ministry theme verse is 2 Corinthians 4:5: "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." Please let Paul know how he can serve you and pray for you. |
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Pastor Tony Hsu Email
Tony Hsu is originally from Taiwan. He came to the United States for graduate study in 1983. As the pastor of First Ithaca Chinese Christian Church (Evangelical Free), he has served the Cornell campus and community since 1997. He received his MBA from University of Iowa, M.S. in Computer Science from Santa Clara University, M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Jenny are the parents of two daughters. Before coming to Ithaca they ministered in Los Angeles, California. |
Core Team
The FICCC Core Team is a group of college students who serve the church by helping coordinate their respective ministries. If you have a heart to serve any of these ministries, please contact us at FICCC.Core@gmail.com |
Nathan Kwong
Nathan is a senior studying biology at Cornell. Nathan regularly participates in the worship team both at FICCC and at CBS (Chinese Bible Study). He is from LA.
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Michael Chin
Michael is a junior in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He comes from New Jersey. His interests include basketball, music, and reading. |
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Rachel Har
Rachel is a senior majoring in Biology & Society. She's from Westchester, NY and likes novels, music, and basketball. She will be on the Core Team for the fall semester, after which she will graduate... |
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Jingpeng He
Jingpeng (JP for short) is a junior majoring in Biology at Cornell. She enjoys singing, swimming, sleeping, reading, and long walks. |
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Heather Huang
Heather is a junior majoring in Theater Design at Ithaca College. She is from New York City! She loves to play tennis and volleyball. During her spare time she loves to sing and do anything related to arts and craft. She believes that it is important to live every day with joy. Lastly, she loves to meet new people and share with others of her stories. |
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Luke McDermott
Luke is a graduate student in Chemistry. He plays all sorts of sports and excels at biting off more than he can chew. He is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
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Katarina Ng
Originally from Boston, Kat is a junior studying Chemical Engineering at Cornell University. Her interests include traveling, food, sports, culture, and outdoor activities. |
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Tiffany Tsai
Tiffany is a senior studying biology at Cornell. She sings and plays guitar. She hopes to go to pharmacy school after graduating. She is from LA. |
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Vivian Yang
Vivian Yang is a junior majoring in English at Cornell. Other than eating and sleeping, she loves to watch movies, play cello, and draw. She comes from Portland, Oregon. |
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Jerry Zhuo
Jerry Zhuo is currently a third-year student at Cornell University. He is currently one of the two coordinators for FICCC's Inreach Ministry. In his free time, Jerry likes to play guitar and breakdance. |
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Ann Lin
Ann is a junior majoring in Human Biology, Health and Society in the College of Human Ecology. She has flown all the way from the other side of the world, Hong Kong, the food paradise, to become an Ithacan here. A wise decision, Indeed. Her interests include spending time with kids, playing table tennis and badminton, enjoying nature and reading. Oh and sleeping. She will be on the core team in the Spring Semester as a prayer ministry coordinator |
Contact Information
- Pastor Paul Epp or 607-229-6717
- Pastor Tony Hsu
- Church Office or 607-272-8272
- Webmaster