Our Story
The Pioneers Ministry (明日之光) was born out of an annual ministry formerly known as the Young Adults Conference (1991-2000). Both ministries were sponsored by the Southwest Chinese Baptist Association (SWCBA).
The Young Adults Conference (YAC) was a single annual event that targeted primarily college students and included both evangelical and revival programs. The vision for this ministry came from the late pastor Caleb Tang who had hoped to use this event to raise and equip ministry leaders for the Chinese churches. The programs for the YAC were coordinated primarily by the pastors' fellowship within the SWCBA.
In late 2000, the pastors' fellowship had decided to end the ministry of the YAC after a 10 year run to introduce a new ministry for a broader audience and a more targeted focus to raise ministers for future generations. At the time, a noticeable trend was emerging where more and more Chinese churches are without pastoral leadership and care. Along with a vision from the Chinese Baptist Fellowship to plant more Chinese churches in the U.S. and Canada, the challenge to raise and equip pastoral leaders for Chinese churches was raised. Led by the visions of pastor Ted Lam, the Pioneers for the Next Generation, or Pioneers Ministry (明日之光) was born to help meet this challenge. The ministry had its first conference held in Eunice, LA in the Spring of 2001.
In the years that followed, the Pioneers Ministry has expanded beyond being merely a single conference event in May. The need to help local churches bring idle Christians into active ministry became a focal point in much of the ministry’s efforts leading to the development of the ministry goals, with a ministry identity, to "influence God's people towards God's will."
During the decade from 2011 to 2022, as the ministry continues to support its goal of influencing Christians towards more active ministry participation, it also began to develop programs towards a broader goal of supporting the local churches in its struggle against church decline. In late 2019, the Pioneers Ministry formally announced it’s new initiative to expand its ministry goals to include support for church health and church planting programs.
Pioneers Ministry is currently an all-volunteer-based ministry. All of the coworkers for this ministry are lay leaders or members from various local churches who have volunteered their time and their spiritual gifts in support of the ministry identity and goals.
