方舟歷史

教會歷史 Church History

方舟浸信教會於1988年成立，過往的歷史可以分為三發展階段：

草創期 (1988-1997)

我們教會原名「基督華人浸信教會」，由廖仲捷牧師於1988年5月29日在 Sunnyvale 市創立，免費借用 Trinity Baptist Church二樓小教堂開始聚會。1993年因小教堂收回，教會搬到一旁300多平方呎的拖車屋崇拜，只剩下不到十個人，大家幾乎要放棄；就在大家開會討論結束教會時，一位老姊妹語帶堅定地說：「我來是要聽教會如何繼續下去的！」大家彷彿聽到神的聲音，於是打消關門的計劃，繼續堅持下去。

1997年教會開始經歷聖靈工作；在一次特會中講員引用以賽亞書第四十九章為全教會禱告－「看哪！我將你銘刻在我掌上，你的牆垣常在我面前，你的兒女必急速歸回...　至於你荒廢淒涼之處，並你被毀壞之地，現今眾民居住，必顯為太窄。」神的話大大激動弟兄姊妹，開始迫切為教會荒涼祈求。3月2日主日崇拜後有六個人受感留在拖車屋禁食禱告，淚流滿面哭求復興，感謝主垂聽，隔週開始新人不斷加入，教會也從谷底翻轉，很快地小拖車屋就如主的話所說－「必顯為太窄」，不敷使用。

開展期 (1998-2007)

1998年教會從拖車屋搬到對街 Warner Avenue 的教堂，一些年輕家庭慢慢加入，兒童和成人主日學以及小組事工也開始建立，並成立「晨星樂集」合唱團，在華人商場和教會展開聖誕音樂佈道。另外也舉辦各類福音活動，大家同心合意，興旺福音。

2001年2月，因為租用的教堂轉賣，我們再次搬至 Los Altos 市，租用位於 Woods Lane 山裡的會堂聚會。因為搬離 Sunnyvale，不再符合教會的英文名稱，因此改名為「方舟浸信教會」。另外因著孩子增多，家庭事工日漸重要，「家庭崇拜」也逐漸成形，主日崇拜全家一同唱詩敬拜，每月第四個主日改以英語講道，中文翻譯，使全家領受同樣信息。

2006年因著會堂出售而必須再次搬家，大家四處尋找場地，卻毫無結果；危急之中我們突然轉念，神既擁有天地，就必有地方給我們，倘若神讓我們選，我們又要去哪裡呢？這個問題觸動我們不看窘境，轉而從高處尋求方向。透過人口普查資料，我們發現北聖荷西谷「95131」和「95132」二郵區有一萬二千個華人卻缺少教會，是亟待開發的禾場。接著神用詩篇第60篇來印證，確立了「1312」禾場的異象。後來既經波折，總算在 Harris Way 找著一幢四千平方呎的倉庫，經過20個月的簽約和改建，終於在2007年感恩節取得執照，教會正式進入了「1312」異象的歷史新頁。於此同時，2007年2月廖牧師年屆八十退休，由孫慈俠牧師接任，繼續牧養教會。

突破期 (2008-現今)

懷著對復興的期待，教會於2008年開始在「1312」禾場耕耘，迫切禱告，廣傳福音。豈料會堂使用一年後，2009年元旦突然得知佛教慈濟基金會買下地業，成為房東，這消息有如晴天霹靂，讓人驚訝錯愕。但神賜下話語－「你不要害怕，因為我與你同在；不要驚惶，因為我是你的神。我必堅固你，我必幫助你；我必用我公義的右手扶持你。」（以賽亞書41:10）讓弟兄姊妹在困境中仍得安慰。面對驟變，弟兄姊妹無不儆醒倚靠神，靈命反倒大大提昇。在經歷20年來多次流離之後，教會一致決議要自購會堂，以免再被場地所苦。

2010年6月，位於 Montague Expressway 一幢佳美的建築要賣，開價280萬，非常適合教會發展，經過禱告確認是出於神，雖然當時只有八萬元建堂基金，但仍憑信心出價，結果我們從四個買家中被挑中，大家非常興奮。誰知後來發現此幢建築產權不清，而賣主又拒絕釐清，最後買賣告吹，我們再度陷入困境。於此同時，此建築因積欠貸款而面臨銀行法拍，我們轉而預備競標，豈料賣主在拍賣前夕將產權轉至一空頭公司，並宣告該公司破產來阻擋銀行拍賣，全案因此進入破產官司，拍賣遙遙無期。在此煎熬當中，弟兄姊妹每天中午到教會聚集禱告，日復一日，經歷信心的磨難。八個月後，破產案終於結案，銀行勝訴，並於情人節當天舉行拍賣，我們戰戰兢兢地參與拍賣，深怕遭人抬價；但是感謝主！現場居然無人出價，教會遂按底價加一分錢，以137萬超低價格得標。消息傳來，弟兄姊妹無不高聲歡呼、相擁而泣，向神獻上最深的感恩和敬拜。2012年4月8日，教會以「這一天我們見證了神的榮耀」為題奉獻新堂；神也藉這購堂的神蹟再次印證「1312」禾場的呼召。

2020年6月，灣區捷運局（BART）在教會附近設立的新站啟用，每天有二萬人次的出入，方圓一英哩也陸續興建七千戶住宅，為此禾場帶來大批人潮。求主使用教會，擴展福音，成為北聖荷西谷的祝福，也求主大大復興「1312」區域！

Ark Baptist Church was established in 1988 and our history can be divided into three stages of development:

The Beginning (1988-1997)

Ark Baptist Church began as Chinese Baptist Church of Sunnyvale. It was founded by Pastor Barjona Liao on May 29, 1988. We used one of the classrooms at Trinity Baptist Church in Sunnyvale for free to hold our worship services. In 1993, Trinity had to take their classroom back and we moved to a much smaller trailer classroom. At one point, there were only about ten members left, and everyone almost gave up. As we got ready to discuss the closure of our church in a meeting, an older sister declared, “I came here to hear how we can continue!” At that moment, we felt God was speaking to us through her, and everyone was greatly encouraged to continue to persevere.

The Holy Spirit began to move in the church in 1997. In a special meeting, the speaker used Isaiah 49 as a prophetic prayer for our church. “…See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Your children hasten back… Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people…” God’s words ignited a spiritual revival and prompted us to pray fervently about the desolate condition of our church. On March 2, 1997, six brothers and sisters stayed after the Sunday service to fast and pray in the trailer church. Tears streamed down their faces as they cry out for spiritual revival. The Lord listened and had mercy on their prayers. New people began to show up the following weeks and the trailer became too small to hold our congregation, as it is written, “now you will be too small for your people…”

Development (1998-2007)

We moved out of Trinity to a small church across the street on Warner Avenue in Sunnyvale. Some young families began to join our church during that time. We also began children’s Sunday school, adult Sunday school, and small group ministries. Morning Star Choir was formed to spread the gospel through Christmas music at the Chinese supermarket and church. In addition, various outreach activities were held, and everyone is of one heart to advance the gospel.

In February 2001, the small church we were renting from was sold to another church. We then moved to Los Altos, renting from a church in the Woods Lane area. Since we were no longer in Sunnyvale, we changed our name from Chinese Baptist Church of Sunnyvale to Ark Baptist Church. As more children came, family ministries became increasingly important, and “the family worship” began to take shape. On Sundays, the whole family can sing and worship together, and the fourth Sunday’s messages were preached in English with Chinese translation, so that the whole family can listen together.

In 2006, the church we were renting from notified us that they were selling their facility and that we needed to look for a new place. We began looking everywhere but to no avail. In the crisis, we suddenly changed our thinking. God owns the heavens and the earth, surely He will have a place for us. If the Lord gives us a choice, where would we choose to go? This question spurred us not to look at our difficulties, but to seek direction from above. Through statistics from the census, we spotted two zip codes (95131 and 95132) in the North Valley San Jose Area. There were 12,000 Chinese Americans but few Chinese churches to serve them. God used Psalm 60 to confirm this vision. We located a 4,000 sq. ft. warehouse on Harris Way and began a 20-month lengthy process of contract signing, assembly use conversion, and permit application. The Lord’s mighty hand carried us through the process, and we attained a use permit on Thanksgiving of 2007. Ark entered a new chapter with the vision of “1312”. During the same time, in February 2007, Pastor Liao retired at the age of 80, and Pastor Joe Sun succeeded him as the pastor of Ark Baptist Church.

Breakthrough (2008-today)

With the anticipation for spiritual revival, the church began working in the "1312" ministry field in 2008, praying fervently and sharing the gospel. Unexpectedly, on January 1, 2009, after we moved into the new facility for one year, we were notified that the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation had purchased the whole building and was our new landlord. We were shocked by the sudden news, but God’s word again gave us comfort. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) This notice put us more on guard and made us totally dependent on the Lord. As a result, we experienced great spiritual revival. We then made a decision to purchase our own building so that we could focus on proclaiming the gospel without being interrupted by facility issues.

In June 2010, we found a building for sale on Montague Expressway. The asking price was 2.8 million dollars. After much prayer and other confirmations, we believed it was God’s guidance and moved forward to make an offer even though our building funds were a mere $80,000. We were selected by the seller among four offers and signed a purchase contract. But we found out that the title on the property was not clear, and the owner was not willing to clear it. The contract was voided. The door of opportunity was shut before us. However, we then received information that the Montague building was on the auction list because their loan was in default. So we started preparing for the auction. To our surprise, right before the auction the owner transferred the property title to a newly established corporation and declared bankruptcy. Consequently, the auction could not continue. We did not know how long the bankruptcy proceeding would drag on; we could only return to our Heavenly Father in prayer. Every day, from Monday to Friday during lunch hour, our brothers and sisters gathered to pray, experiencing the trials of faith. Eight months later, the bankruptcy case was finally closed. The bank won the case and held an auction on Valentine’s Day. We participated in the auction with fear and trembling, afraid that others may raise the price; but thank the Lord! There was no other bidder there, so the church won the bid at one cent over the base price with an ultra-low price of 1.37 million. When news reached those who were praying and waiting at the church, the brothers and sisters all shouted with joy, hugging each other and wept, offering their deepest gratitude and worship to God. On April 8, 2012, we dedicated our new church building with “This day, we have witnessed the glory of God” as our theme. This miraculous experience greatly confirmed our vision for this “1312” ministry field.

In June 2020, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) opened a new station near the church. There will be 20,000 people coming and going every day on BART. Within 1 sq. mile of the church, there were built 7,000 new residences, bringing a large number of people to our ministry field. May the Lord use the church to spread the gospel and be a blessing to the North Valley San Jose Area. And may the Lord bring a great spiritual revival to “1312”!