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Internationals

Chantilly Bible Church is purposefully a diverse body of believers. In addition to English, the world’s most spoken languages of Mandarin, Hindi and Spanish are integral parts of our ministry. The doors of CBC are open to our changing society. We believe that racial and cultural harmony reveals the reality of new life and unity in Christ. 

A Chinese ministry began at CBC in the early 1990s. Since then over 150 Chinese have received Christ and been baptized at CBC. Some have returned to China, Taiwan or their other countries of origin, but many remain here. Most of their children were born in the USA and many have grown up in this church.

Over the years, the Lord has called pastors to care for the Chinese brothers and sisters during the different stages of the developing ministry. These included Ned Donaldson and Milt Johnson. After years of volunteer service, in 2000 Isaac Huang left his high tech job for seminary. He and his wife Ramona demonstrate great compassion for Chinese people who need to know Christ. As a member of the pastoral staff, Isaac serves full time with other key men to provide culturally sensitive leadership. Several weekday home groups and frequent cultural events attract the many Mandarin speakers in our area.

For years, the church leadership had wanted to have an outreach to the growing Hispanic community. It was finally launched in 2004 when the Whittles joined the church after serving Hispanics in Los Angeles. As a member of the pastoral staff, Lew and his wife Dianne have enabled CBC to befriend many Hispanics. By inviting Hispanics to the park-like church grounds for fiestas, we now have contact with hundreds of Spanish speakers. Conversion takes time, but some homes have been opened for Bible studies and lives have been changed by the Gospel.

Each new term of our Conversational English class introduces scores of Latin American immigrants to our campus. With the assistance of bilingual church members, a growing number of Chinese students also attend this program. Quality simultaneous interpretation in both Spanish and Mandarin is provided during the Sunday services. There are adult Bible classes on Sunday mornings in both languages.

The latest cross-cultural ministry to become part of the church focuses on the burgeoning Asian Indian population in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Since the arrival and membership of several Indian families in 2007, key leaders like Manoj Mathai and Sujay Phillips have made CBC the base for a creative outreach to this community. It even touches India through frequent visits that include evangelism and Bible distribution.

All three of these ministries are an integral part of Chantilly Bible Church. None plan to become separate churches. Chinese, Hispanics and Indians serve alongside North Americans at every level of the church. The children and youth programs are fully integrated. There are immense benefits for these second and third generations. Bicultural couples are comfortable at CBC, and, as you would expect, mixed marriages are on the rise!

George Lao’s words capture the uniqueness of this church. “One day, a friend of ours told us about CBC. I asked him, 'So what’s so special about this church? It’s not another Chinese church is it?' Of course, I have nothing against a Chinese church because I was already attending one. To convince me to try it out, however, he needed to be very convincing.  My friend said, 'No, in this church, there are Chinese, Hispanics, Indians, and Americans.'  I asked, 'Are you saying you have all these people under one roof? In Chantilly?' My friend answered, 'Yep.' I told him I'd be there on Sunday. That was 2005. We just love the international flavor of this church!”