ABOUT
about james
James Wong began serving in local church ministry in Greater Vancouver, Canada, since 2009. Born in Hong Kong, He moved to Canada at age seven and became the first Protestant Christian in his family at a young age. James earned a BA in French and Asian Studies from UBC and later completed an MA in Theological Studies at Regent College in 2018. He was baptized at the age of 19 in a Baptist church (Canadian National Baptist Convention connected to the Southern Baptists), began his ministry at that same church, and later was credentialed as a minister of the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. James is married to his wife Serena, and they have two young children.
In 2024, James transitioned from his local church pastoral role to focus on itinerant preaching/training and launching Church Reform Today; this non-profit organization is currently under application for Charity status with the CRA. His ministry calling centers on the Reformation of the North American Church, aiming to encourage biblical faithfulness and spiritual renewal. Because of his bi-cultural upbringing, James also feels a burden to share resources with Chinese churches in Canada and in the United States to help them overcome intercultural and intergenerational issues. James currently resides and ministers in Greater Vancouver, Canada.
Local Church Ministry Experience:
Surrey Chinese Baptist Church - Youth & College Ministry Worker
Willingdon Church - Pastor of the International Language Ministry
South Vancouver Pacific Grace MB Church - English Ministry Pastor
Westlynn Baptist Church - Interim Pastor during the Senior Pastor’s Sabbatical
Pastor Scott Harris’ Influence on James’ life
Although there have been a lot of spiritual mentors in James' life, one man stands out whom he must give public recognition: Pastor Scott Harris. Right at the foray of James' ministry, the Lord brought Pastor Scott into James' life to be a spiritual father to him, to support him, pray for him, and encourage and train him to serve God's people in pastoral ministry. After many years of battling Leukemia, the Lord took Pastor Scott home on October 1st, 2025. James had the privilege to honour this man of God by speaking words of appreciation at his memorial service on October 11th, 2025 in Waco, Texas （see video below).
From Pastor Scott's influence, James learnt that godliness means being Christ-like in each of our God-given relationships, in humbly serving without complaint or bitterness, and intentionally sharing the gospel even when the status quo is silence and the privatizing of our faith. James' current passion to support Mandarin-speaking churches came through Pastor Scott since he and his wife JiYoon had dedicated their whole life in building up Chinese believers and reaching Mandarin speakers with the gospel.
about the burden
for Church Reform
Although James did not grow up in a Christian home, he was raised in the church and came to personally follow Christ in his youth. His burden for church reformation came during his time in college where he developed a “holy discontent” over the state of the Western church. We see the evidence all around us—scandals that have shaken churches over the past decades, the departure of young people raised in Christian homes who have walked away from both the church and the faith, and the increasingly negative perception of Christians in society. Where once the church was seen as relevant or at least neutral, it is now often met with skepticism or hostility. Clearly, the church today needs reform.
As James continued to serve in local churches, his conclusion that the greatest stumbling block in the North American Church is worldliness. Worldliness is a pattern of thinking (worldview), priorities (heart) and practices (actions) in conformity to the world's and in conflict or contradiction to that taught in God's Word. Aside from obvious deviation from God’s Word such as deviation from major doctrines (e.g. rejecting Scripture’s teaching on marriage) and compromise in ethics (e.g. dishonesty, sexual sin etc.), the church has compromised gospel ministry in its pursuit of church growth via secular, business standards of number of attendance, money and even fame rather than pursuing what God considers successful: personal godliness, simple living, radical generosity, genuine community, life-on-life discipleship, and courageous and gracious preaching of the gospel to the Lost. As a result, many churches are marked mainly by a program-centered model rather than pursuing the simple priorities above. Individual Christians have also compromised by compartmentalizing their faith as an add-on rather than living for Jesus by obeying Scriptural commands as their central pursuit in life. Instead, many other priorities have replaced Christ’s priority of personal holiness, devotion to God’s Word and prayer, building up God’s people in meaningful fellowship and life-on-life discipleship, and evangelism.
current steps
for church reform
In 2024, James made a transition from local church ministry in order to share this vision of church reform with local churches in Greater Vancouver through his itinerant ministry and with the broader Church via the Church Reform Today Youtube Channel. The hope is that more pastors, church leaders, local churches and individual Christians would catch this vision in order that they may pursue Bible-centered church reform in their local church setting. James also regularly preaches at local churches and offers training on biblical exegesis, how to teach and apply the Bible and how to shepherd/disciple others. He also provides consultation on how to reform a local church.
future steps
entrusted to the lord
God-willing, James hopes to eventually start a residential-based Pastoral Training Institute in order to train up/re-train pastors, elders and lay leaders in God’s Word, teaching/preaching, shepherding, personal godliness and biblical wisdom in leadership so that more churches would have equipped individuals in order to facilitate church reform for their local community.