Seattle Chinese Alliance Church Profile

Our mission is to Equip Disciples of Jesus Christ to Make More Disciples (Matt 28:19-20).

History of Seattle Chinese Alliance Church (SCAC)

Starting with a group of faithful Chinese women who met for weekly Bible Study in 1966, this group progressed to their very first worship service January 7, 1968 led by Pastor Duncan Dang.

The church grew in numbers and programs, and was officially welcomed into the Christian and Missionary Alliance family in 1974. After two moves, God opened the door to purchase our current campus, and starting on November 6, 1988, we had separate worship services for English-speaking and Cantonese-speaking members.

Three Ministries, One Church

Since the expansion to hold both Cantonese and English ministries, the church has continued to grow and adapt. In 2019, a separate Mandarin service was added to serve the growing Mandarin Chinese speaking community. As one church with now three different language groups, each of their own cultural nuances, we value collaboration across ministries. For example, while the Children and Youth Ministries is in English, it is an all-church ministry that all language groups support.

We appreciate the rich heritage that has been passed on to us from dedicated immigrants, and we look to the future, with God’s help, striving to be a church that is relevant to our church family and our surrounding community and world!

History of the Beacon Hill Neighborhood

SCAC’s congregation was birthed out of the Chinese community (specifically Taishanese and Cantonese speakers) in Beacon Hill and Chinatown. The current building is situated in the heart of the Beacon Hill neighborhood in south Seattle. Located directly south of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID), Beacon Hill has been a historically culturally diverse neighborhood filled with Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and African-American residents. In the later 1900s additional groups of Vietnamese, East African, and Hispanic/Latino immigrants and refugees arrived.

While Beacon Hill was considered one of Seattle’s most diverse, working-class neighborhoods, the demographics began shifting in the 2000s with the tech boom bringing tech workers from across the country and around the world. Gentrification caused by higher costs of living, skyrocketing housing prices, increase of new residential developments and new Light Rail train system, has changed the predominantly working-class neighborhood to become a mix of blue-collar and upper-middle class residents. These changing dynamics and demographics continue to be part of the church’s culture today.

Church Community

Over the years, the congregation shifted from a local church to a commuter church. This change occurred because of two main factors. First, families with economic mobility moved out to more affluent cities on the “Eastside” including Bellevue, Mercer Island, Newcastle, and Redmond during the 1980’s-2000’s and continued to attend SCAC. Second, of the remaining local congregants, many have been priced out of the area to move to farther regions outside of Seattle due to the impacts of gentrification (mentioned above).

Although many of the congregants no longer live in Beacon Hill, SCAC is still one of the largest Cantonese speaking churches in the greater Seattle area. We have been blessed with pastors and leaders who have a strong passion to tell others about Jesus and to serve our neighbors, both locally and internationally. With the elementary school community across the street we have hosted school uniform drives, Christmas Angel Tree gifts, after school tutoring programs, and financial assistance for families with emergency needs. We continue to ask God for creative ways to engage with families in the community and be Christ’s witness to them.

Mandarin Ministry Profile

The Seattle Chinese Alliance Church-Mandarin Ministry serves a congregation of approximately 35 Mandarin-speaking individuals and families, providing gospel-centered worship, discipleship, and serving the communities. Our purpose is to share the gospel with nonbelievers so they may come to know Jesus, and to help believers grow spiritually, deepen their relationship with Christ, and reach out to the Mandarin-speaking community with the love of Christ.

We serve a diverse Mandarin-speaking congregation of all ages and cultural backgrounds, including immigrant families with young children. The ministry partners closely with the English, Cantonese, Youth, and Children’s Ministries, as well as the Beacon Hills community, to support church unity and outreach events.

Key ministry areas include worship services, small groups/fellowship, discipleship, outreach, pastoral care, and leadership development. Our goal is to strengthen spiritual formation, expand outreach, and equip believers who love God, love people, and actively participate in God’s great mission locally and globally.

Mandarin Pastor – Posting

A. Position Summary
The Mandarin Pastor provides pastoral leadership to the Mandarin-speaking congregation through preaching, teaching, shepherding, and developing the Mandarin Ministry. This role exists to strengthen the spiritual health, discipleship, and growth of the Mandarin-speaking community within the church. The pastor serves under the authority of the Senior Pastor and collaborates closely with the pastoral team, elders, deacons, and ministry leaders, while upholding the church’s (C&MA) doctrinal statement, mission, and governance structure.

B. Ministry Target Groups
Mandarin-speaking congregants of all life stages, including immigrant families from Mainland China and Southeast Asia.

C. Essential Qualifications

• A clear and authentic calling from God to serve as a full-time pastor for the Mandarin congregation.
• A strong commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; spiritually mature with a passion for example: shepherding, teaching, preaching, caring, outreach, and missions.
• Demonstrated desire and ability to develop, train, and nurture the spiritual growth of the Mandarin congregation.
• Ability to develop evangelistic strategies and outreach events, and active participation in SCAC’s outreach ministry.
• A team-oriented mindset with strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Integration and collaboration with pastors and staff from the Cantonese, English, Youth, and Children’s Ministries.
• Experience in bilingual and bi-cultural ministry; fluency in Mandarin and the ability to communicate effectively in English for meetings and collaboration. Knowledge of Cantonese is a plus.
• Seminary graduate with a Master of Divinity degree from an accredited institution or equivalent.
• Minimum of three (3) years of relevant North American church ministry experience.
• An additional three (3) years of professional, nonprofit, ministry, or cross-cultural experience is considered an asset, particularly in contexts involving immigrant communities, multicultural environments, leadership development, or engagement with working professionals, due to the diverse background of the congregation.

This is a full‑time position with benefits.

Must be licensed, ordained, OR eligible to pursue licensing/ordination with the Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA).

Candidates from other evangelical denominations are encouraged to apply, must be willing to align with and affirm the doctrinal statement, policy, polity and credentialing expectations of the C&MA.

D. Job Responsibilities

The primary role of the Mandarin Ministry Pastor is to serve the Mandarin Ministry in the following areas (including but not limited to):

• Preach regularly in Mandarin worship services, ensuring all teaching is biblical and aligned with the church’s doctrinal statement.
• Teach adult Sunday School, lead small groups/fellowship, develop and train disciples and leaders.
• Lead and develop the Mandarin Ministry in alignment with the church’s mission and strategic direction.
• Provide spiritual care, prayer support, and visitation for Mandarin-speaking congregations.
• Implement and coordinate Mandarin ministry events and outreach initiatives to engage the local Mandarin-speaking community.
• Participate in pastoral staff meetings, deacon &; governing board meetings, ministry planning sessions, and maintain effective communication with church leaders and administrative staff.

Please submit resume to MM Pastor Search Committee – MM_search@scacseattle.org