PASTOR'S BIO

Pastor Steve Chin
Pastor Steve Chin was born in Seoul Korea and immigrated to the USA in 1976.  He is currently a ‘tentmaker’ pastor (like the Apostle Paul) and works at Shell Chemical Company and also leads the ministry at WCC.  Pastor Steve has a Masters of Divinity from Houston Graduate School of Theology.  He was ordained in 2003 at New Covenant Fellowship Church in Maryland.  Other degrees Pastor Steve has are a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Education
University of Chicago, B.A. Chemistry
Columbia University, M.A. Chemical Engineering
University of Houston, M.B.A.
Houston Graduate School of Theology, Masters of Divinity

Family
Has a wife, Ashley Chin and two daughters, Christine and Nicole.

Pastor’s Testimony (Shared During Ordination, 2003)
This testimony is about my life journey so far in Christ.  I believe all of these things came to pass because of the steadfast prayer of those in my family that have prayed for so long with so much love and dedication.

Neither of my parents were involved with church in their lives.  My great grandfather on my mother’s side (Sung Doo Lee) first translated the Old Testament into Korean.  My great grandmother I am told was also a woman of great prayer and spent many mornings praying for my father and my grandmother. The Chin family was a very intellectual family.  Both of my parents graduated from SNU (Seoul National University) in Korea, considered the best college in Korea.  Both of my parents lived difficult lives in that my mother’s mother died when she was young and my father was an illegitimate child raise in the care of my grandfather’s home without his mother. 

The source of strength in our family came from our intellectual prowess.  Books, education and knowledge were what mattered in our family.  We had no time for religion and really felt we were in some sense above God.   God was just another aspect of life and there was so much living to do, who had time for God. No one in my family went to church on a regular basis although my mother had recollections of going to church when she was young and had fond memories of Christmas in the church.  My parents did not give us any guidance regarding religion and expected us to find our own paths. My younger sister of the two older sisters I have was the first to become saved in our family during high school.  I owe much of the rest of this testimony to her steadfast prayers for our family.

When I was in junior high school in Korea I first started going to church. I didn’t really have any reason to go.  If anything it was to fill the need for social interaction.  I enjoyed going to church especially to meet girls.  I always felt so out of place.  I knew when others prayed they really seemed to be praying to God.  When I prayed it seemed I had no basis for a relationship with God.  No one really took the time to explain to me what Christianity was about.  It could be I heard it but didn’t really relate to it.  I always felt that either I was not ready for it or I was above religion.

I would go in and out of church.  Mostly I felt hypocritical that I was going to church for the wrong reasons.  At least I had a conscience! When I came to American during my junior year in high school I started to go to church following my sister.  The reason again was mostly social.  There were so many cute girls in church.  My reason for going to church was to show off to other people who I was; smart, talented in sports, great family background, etc. The one thing I saw in church was that the people there had a genuine quality about them.  They may not be the perfect people but they had a standard by which they tried to live good lives and I respected that.  I actually envied that in these people but didn’t feel like it was for me.   I think deep down I felt like I didn’t want to be restricted by a code or a way to do things but wanted to do what I wanted to do, without God. I guess deep down I was afraid if God was real He would change me to something I didn’t want to become.

Throughout college I went to church from time to time.  I had respect for church but felt that it was being too narrow minded to follow a Christian God.  I went to a liberal arts school which taught us to explore all possibilities and various truths.  I was not ready for one truth.
After college and graduate school I came down to Houston for my first job with Shell.  It was a great time.  I had money, a girl friend, a steady job and lots of time on my hands.  I went to KCCH (Korean Church of Houston) for a long time.  I went there for social reasons and never really drew near to God.  I drank and smoked and partied regularly.

My purpose in life was to show off to the world all the things I had going for me and that I had it all
1)A beautiful girl friend
2)A great steady, well paying job
3)A world traveler who spoke French, Japanese and traveled to Paris regularly
4)A nice car (BMW)
5)Good sportsman in soccer, tennis, basketball, etc.
6)An intellectual who could hob-nob with the best of them.
7)A wine connoisseur who knew all the latest and greatest wines and varietals.

I was really stuck up.  Where ever I went I wanted to show off all the things I had and all the things I had done.  I just kept pushing the envelope for the next trip, the next relationship, the next car, the next wine, the next experience.  Why?  Because I didn’t know what else life offered but to ‘make it’ in the eyes of others. I remember going to Seoul Baptist Church in 1988.  The pastor at the time suggested I should come to church more often.  I had the audacity to tell him I would come to church only on Sundays I don’t have a soccer match.

I used to think about God from time to time.  I used to get metaphysical and say why is God playing with man.  He is running the show, he gives us free will but ultimately knows what we would have decided anyway.  It didn’t really hang together for me.  I didn’t realize what He wanted was a real relationship with me.  Between the U. of Chicago and with my friends in Houston, religion was a topic of intellectual stimulation at best. I used to say; if God is so full of love and He loves His creation He will save me in due course of time before I die.

In my relationships with women,  I was sensitive and caring but ultimately I was in it for my needs; for companionship, for my ego, whatever.   As a result I hurt many people who loved me.  Since I didn’t really know what I wanted and was constantly moving on I was not satisfied with relationships but had to find others.  I didn’t really know what commitment meant.
After Ashley broke up with me and I was headed into marriage with a women I didn’t really know or care about (arranged marriage).  I spent many nights drinking late into the night.  I spent most of one evening drinking at a Karaoke bar and then went on to another bar by myself.  It was about 2:30 in the morning when I left the bar.  I knew I was quite drunk by then.  But strangely that night nothing really seemed to matter anymore.  I really felt like I had lost the will to live.

As I was speeding down the street toward home around 80 miles per hour it started to rain slightly and visibility was poor.  I somehow drove off the road into a field.  What was strange was I could not or would not take my foot off the accelerator.  I made no attempt to brake either.  So I was headed straight for a power generator at 80 miles per hour.  Of course I did not have a seat belt on either.  I felt that the end was coming for me as I sped toward impact.  At the point of impact there was strange stillness and everything seemed to stop for a moment.  I sensed something pulling me with a strong force.  I thought I heard Satan say, “You are mine forever.”  I didn’t cry out for God but I remember thinking about God at that moment and hoping He would do something to help me. 

God literally caught me because at the point of impact my car became totally wrapped up in the wire fence that surrounded the generator.  My car was totaled; all the windows were broken, the tires busted, and there was nothing much left of the car.  I bumped my head into the windshield, my hair was covered with glass, I broke my ankle but didn’t know it until the next day.
It was a true miracle that I lived.  God was telling me that He made good on my dare to save me before I died because of how great His love is for me.

That night I learned;
1)There is life after death
2)Satan and Hell are real. 
3)God exists and loves me
4)God has given me a second chance to do life right

This fateful night was in June 1991.  I accepted Christ that year.  Married in 1992 and was baptized together with Ashley on February 14, 1993.  Although I have much further to go in terms of my growth and faithfulness as a Christian, I am thankful everyday to a loving God who gave me a second chance at life.  What I am really thankful for is I know how real Heaven and Hell is.  Because of my experience I have no doubt that God exists and no doubt how great His love is.  I am thankful that God has burst through all the intellectual nonsense in my life and has shown me the truth of who He is and what life is really all about.
I pray that I may be the kind of faithful servant He wants me to be.