LCMS World Mission Blog

“James was educated at Concordia Lutheran School in Hong Kong and went on to university, including a year at Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill. He taught and served as principal in Lutheran Church-Hong Kong Synod schools for 10 years before going to work for McDonald’s in 1974. He rose through the ranks in the McDonald’s Corporation to become their top man in China. As one of the 15 corporate sponsors for 2008 Olympics, he even had a seat reserved with all the world leaders at the opening ceremony in the ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium in Beijing. In his success, James forgot his relationship with his Savior, and he avoided his old Christian friends. His world came crashing down on him in the run-up to the Olympics when he ended up in the intensive care unit of a hospital. He had a series of physical ailments that required surgery. The most devastating news was that he had a brain tumor. Just when he had reached the apex of his career, he felt that everything had come to an end. The tumor in his brain turned out to be benign, but inoperable, a constant reminder of his human condition. He was a broken man and resigned from McDonald’s.

“He fell into a deep depression and was suicidal. During this time his wife reminded him of Matthew 16:26, ‘What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?’ This verse turned his life around. Together with the help of his wife, a Christian doctor, and faithful Christian friends including those who had gone to school with him at Concordia Lutheran, James recovered from his depression. He gave up the idea of writing a book or doing anything that celebrated his own success and has instead been moved to celebrate and proclaim Christ’s success in bringing salvation to all who believe. James and his old Concordia classmates (all of whom are now retired) have a formed a group called ‘The Messengers of Life.’ In the past two and a half years, they have given over 100 presentations to over 70,000 people to talk about Christ. Over 4,000 have come to faith and many more thousands of uncommitted Christians have been turned back to the Lord for forgiveness, life, and salvation. We would love to have James and his ministry team work with us this fall, but we will need to wait-they are booked until January 2010.

“One of the most notable things about the meeting with James and the other former Concordia Lutheran School students was the respect they held for their former LCMS missionary teachers. Former missionary Mel Kieschnick and others were remembered fondly as those who greatly impacted the lives of these men. Though these missionaries are mostly with Jesus now, their work continues as James and his group touch the lives of tens of thousands every year. James is also back in the school business for the Lutheran Church-Hong Kong Synod, this time working with Concordia Lutheran at North Point. Of course he is instituting some McDonald’s-style management there. Susan and John will meet with James and the principal next week to talk about how to organize native English speakers from our church to tutor Chinese students and bear witness to Christ. For a man who is in his 60s and retired, James Chu lives a very full life. It is full in many ways, but especially full of faith in God’s grace for him and full of the joy that flows from such faith. James said, ‘Yesterday is past tense. Tomorrow is in God’s hands. Today we do our best to accomplish the tasks God has given us to do today.’”

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