Seattle Chinese Alliance Church

Cantonese Ministry Lead Pastor

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

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.

Seattle Chinese Alliance Church - Cantonese Ministry Lead Pastor Job Description

Ministry Context: This document is prepared assuming the CM lead pastor will work under the jurisdiction and authority of the church Senior pastor. The CM lead pastor will follow the guidance and directions set by the Senior pastor with the flexibility of working specific ministry focus and themes that are relevant and beneficial to the Cantonese congregation.

Primary responsibilities


Establish and lead the CM pastoral team

  • Oversee the work of the associate and assistant pastors regarding their areas of ministry.

  • Care: provide both spiritual and ministry support so that they can minister effectively.

  • Coach: mentor and train lay leaders to become Godly servants in the Kingdom ministry.

  • Spend quality time and dedicated effort in building up a harmonious leadership team with teamwork that resembles the biblical model of leadership. Resolve conflicts if necessary.


Build and lead the lay leadership team

  • Be the Chair of the Deacons Board. Lead the Deacons Board meetings. Set meeting schedules and initiate discussion agendas that cover the development & coordination of the ministry.

  • Establish and manage an effective Deacons team that can mobilize the congregation in the ministry direction according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

  • Mentor existing Board members, provide continued coaching, training and support to them.

  • Identify and train up new potential Deacons to provide a wider Deacons leadership base.

  • Plan a leadership retreat that aims to foster good working relationships, nurture spiritual and personal support and learning, and teamwork advancement on an annual basis.


Give leadership to exercise communications across the whole ministry organization

  • Provide excellent communications by using good communication channels and linkages to various levels of leadership and the congregation regarding, vision and ministry focus sharing, ministry related announcements and reporting.

  • Plan a retreat and orientation that aims to foster good ministry communications and promote vision and theme to lower tier leadership on an annual basis.

  • Serve as the key spoke-person for various major events and the liaison between the Senior Pastor/Governing Board and the Deacons Board. Represent the CM to attend the Governing Board meetings if needed.


Define, organize and update the existing ministry structure for better organization

  • Review periodically the existing leadership structure organizational chart (org chart) and work with the Deacons Board to initiate better working models that will enhance the ministry coordination and communication between all levels of leadership.

  • Update the org chart if there are personnel and ministry changes, and bring this attention to all levels of leadership across the congregation.

  • Concretely work out the Deacon Board members qualifications according to the biblical guidelines and recommend to work with the Deacons Board on selection and election process.

  • Carry out the Deacon Board members election and all its related tasks.

  • Review, select and approve all the fellowship group counselors with the help of the Deacons Board and/or other leadership bodies.


Oversee the pulpit ministry

  • Head up the coordination of the pulpit ministry. Encourage to utilize or collaborate with the pastoral team in developing the annual preaching theme and sermon focus.

  • Arrange preachers and manage the annual preaching schedule. Be aware of not having too many outside speakers in a given time frame.

  • Review the in-house pastors’ sermons periodically as a way to improve their preaching skills and to offer support to their preaching needs.

  • Give direction to the in-house preaching pastors such that all the sermons are cohesive and supplemental to each other along the same annual theme presented.

  • Preach regularly (at least 2 times a month).


Ministry spirit and attitude

  • Though the Senior pastor dictates the church overall theme and direction, the CM lead pastor should still cast vision and develop a long range strategy that could mobilize the leaders to achieve relevant ministry beneficial to the CM congregation.

  • Though the CM lead pastor’s main responsibility is to manage all the ministry affairs of the Cantonese congregation, he is to support the Senior Pastor to collaborate with other ministries as needed in fulfilling unity among diversity.

Personal Profile

The CM lead pastor candidate should have the following personal skills and gifts

  • Strong relational leadership, managerial and coaching skills

  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

  • Promote team approach and value teamwork, prefer a good team builder

  • Solid preaching and teaching skills

  • Value multi-lingual church model and willingness to collaborate

The CM lead pastor candidate should have the following academia, pastoral experiences, and self-development

  • A MDiv degree from an accredited Seminary or similar academic credentials

  • 7+ years of pastoral ministry experience preferably in a multilingual/multicultural church.

  • Lead pastor experience a plus.

  • Speaks fluent Cantonese; proficient in English, and speaking Mandarin is a plus.

  • Spiritually mature, continue to grow in God.


Contact: CM Lead Pastor Search Committee - CM-search@scacseattle.org