Things change, and in big cities like Chicago or New York, things change even faster. The faster the pace, the more we become unsettled. Like a yellow highlighter, transience underscores our need for permanence. We cry out for something steady, something that remains through the change. Sometimes, after frequent exposure to change, we crave calm, but we want it fast.
Perhaps the most fast-paced city on the planet, Hong Kong is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Its population density totals 18,290 people per square mile. Hong Kong deals mainly in imports and exports. Goods routinely flood and vacate the region, and money constantly changes hands. Four DTS alumni serve the Lord in that energetic environment: Brett Hilliard (ThM, 1996), Tim LaTour (MABS, 2004), Kevin Kusunoki (ThM, 2019), and Emily Kusunoki (MABC, 2020).
These alumni serve at Island Evangelical Community Church (ECC), a church plant, which started in 1999. Since its beginning and still today, the church longs to see “the life-giving light of Jesus Christ reach every corner and heart in Hong Kong and beyond.” For the first two years, Island ECC relied on visiting speakers and elders to fill their pulpit until they hired Brett, who now serves as the senior pastor. Tim joined the church in 2004 and currently serves as a pastor, overseeing family ministries. Kevin serves as the pastor of care groups and young adults, while his wife, Emily, works as a trauma therapist and psychosocial manager at the Hong Kong Dignity Institute.
Island ECC grew, and in 2015, the church launched Bold Faith, an initiative designed to raise funds for a church building. Space remains a precious commodity in Hong Kong, with its square footage ranking as some of the most expensive in the world. Buildings stretch upward, and rent rapidly climbs—a monthly reality for the region’s inhabitants. Needing space and spending lots of money on monthly rent, the church dreamed big. They began praying for a permanent location of their own.
The Bold Faith campaign started without an address. Island ECC saved money, waiting for God to furnish the building. Their longing for a permanent church building sprouted out of the desire to provide a steady home base filled with steady believers, reflecting God’s faithful character to everyone with a location deep in the heart of a transient city.
In 2016, Island ECC leaders toured the Sunbeam Theatre, a historic Chinese opera house situated at the center of Hong Kong. It was the perfect spot. Only four blocks away from the church’s rented location, the theater enjoys easy access to a wide variety of public transits, including subways, buses, and even ferries. The leadership led the church into specific prayer, everyone petitioning God for the opera house, but the perfect building remained the impossible building. Other plans came into play, but the church never stopped praying. God moved, and the impossible turned into the possible. This past February, eight years after the congregation first began praying for the theater, Island ECC bought the Sunbeam Theatre. With its 1,000-person capacity, the theater legally and permanently reserves 100,000 square feet for the church, an investment into a spiritually dark, urban center with plenty of room for both church growth and community outreach.
When asked about the Bold Faith campaign, all four alumni stressed the importance of prayer. A sometimes-forgotten benefit of prayer is its ability to help you see God. Prayer sharpens your focus on the Father, calibrating your eyes to notice his presence, even in the seemingly little things while you wait—especially helpful when you’ve been waiting for almost a decade.
When asked to encourage others who are waiting on the Father, Brett riffed off Raymond Edman’s words, replying, “Never doubt in the darkness what you learned in the light.” During their time at DTS, Brett, Tim, Kevin, and Emily experienced God’s character over and over again. The four alumni watched lasting friendships bloom, testifying to God’s kindness and faithfulness. They witnessed their mentors and teachers passionately and energetically pursue the deep things of God while simultaneously loving his image bearers well. They learned the inner workings of the faith and the servant-hearted outworking of the faith. They traced God’s faithfulness through his Word with their Bible exposition professors and witnessed his protective, ever-present hand guiding his church throughout history alongside Dr. Hannah. Holding onto what they learned about God’s character helped sustain them through the waiting. They encourage others waiting to see God’s goodness to hold onto the truth of God’s character by submitting all things to the Lord and clinging fiercely to who he has proven himself to be.
After a decade-long wait, God accomplished the seemingly impossible. He provided a building for Island ECC at the very heart of the city. Now the church can point inhabitants to God’s steadfast character. May the God who calms anxious hearts woo Hong Kong into stillness as his faithfulness flows out the doors of the Sunbeam Theatre.
