EFC Orange County held its 40th Anniversary joint worship service on September 18, 2022. Under the leadership of Rev. Alfie Tsay, the service began with passionate praise and worship, choir song dedication, special trio musical performance, followed by a special message from the founding pastor Rev. Susan Chou. Based on Hebrews 12:1-2, Rev. Chou encouraged the congregation to look back to look ahead.
In her message, Rev. Chou challenged the congregation to: 1) Lay aside every weight, 2) Confess sin which clings closely, 3) Run with endurance. Following the examples set by a cloud of witnesses of those who came before, faithful elders and deacons served in one accord during the last forty years, many brothers, sisters, seminarians, and pastors who selflessly poured out for the work of evangelism, Rev. Chou encouraged the congregation to continue to run the race ahead, which is fuller and more glorious.
Rev. Felix Liu, who was also in attendance, encouraged the congregation to review the vision the church had received and to continue to pass on the good news! As a response to two great messages, I shared a personal testimony of how I was sent out by EFC Orange County 25 years to plant a church in Canada. The service concluded as the congregation received benediction from Rev. Chou.
Immediately after the worship service was a celebration organized by various cell groups and fellowships of the church, including a photo slideshow, song presentations, hula dance, and greetings and blessings of various special guests. The celebration concluded on a high note as all the attendees gathered for group photos, each family was given a special 40th Anniversary Commemorative Publication, and everyone enjoyed sweet fellowship over lunch banquet.
