Building Churches After God's Heart — A Growth Testimony from Dynamic Evangelism Church
Interviewee／Rev. Caleb Lin
Interviewer／Linda Pang, Sandra
Compiled by Sandra
Photo courtesy of Dynamic Evangelism Church
Dreaming of Building an Acts-style Church
Many surveys show that younger generations are leaving the church in large numbers, while congregations are steadily aging. At this time, the Dynamic Evangelical Church (DEC), located in Rowland Heights, California, is thriving—displaying remarkable energy and vitality.
Many second-generation Christians and pastors' kids have witnessed Christians' inconsistency between words and actions, failing to practice their faith in society and culture; they have gradually lost trust in the church and even in the faith itself. Some have even said: "God is real, but the church is fake." Senior Pastor Caleb Lin, as a fourth-generation Christian, has also been disappointed with the church. However, when invited to establish DEC in 2020, God's Spirit moved him: seeing the church's imperfections should not lead to losing faith in the church, thinking "all churches are like this"; rather, one should see God's heart for the church and believe "the church should not be like this." Therefore, he should rise up to build a church after God's own heart, not only to change people's wrong impressions of the church, but also to enable people to see God's glory through the church.
During his journey of seeking God’s will, on July 21, 2020, while doing his devotional reading, he came across the words: “On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai…” It felt as though God was speaking to him personally: “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory.” (cf. Haggai 2:1, 6–7)
Pastor Lin knew clearly that this was God strengthening his faith and directing the path of his ministry. With courage and boldness, he began planning and establishing DEC in the midst of the pandemic.
However, what is a church after God's own heart? In prayer, Pastor Philip Lin heard the Lord say: Go read the book of Acts. He suddenly understood that the prototype of the church designed by God is the Jerusalem church and the Antioch church in the book of Acts. God's desire is to build DEC into a church like those in Acts! Pastor Lin said: "Although at that time we didn't yet have a complete understanding of what an 'Acts-style church' was, nor were we clear about how to take each step, we had a deep and simple desire to become the church that God truly wants. Even if we could only see a little bit of direction, we were willing to take the first steps forward."
Returning to the original blueprint of the Church
In light of the issues Pastor Lin had observed in his previous ministry—that the problem was not that people didn’t love the church, but rather that they loved it too much—conflicts often arose when different directions or opinions emerged without a unified way to handle them, sometimes even leading to division. Pastor Lin realized that only a clear vision and mission statement could give the church a strong sense of direction. Thus, he wrote the “Dynamic Declaration” and composed the song “Song of Dynamic.”
We believe: Jesus Christ is Lord. We value: love and unity; biblical truth; the work of the Holy Spirit. Together we worship, edify, and evangelize. You will be filled with vitality, influence, and heavenly power. In your family, in your workplace, in your community, shaking heaven and earth for the Lord, shaking all nations.
The church emphasizes worshiping God, loving one another, and building healthy and vibrant believers: a group of disciples who are healthy in spirit, soul, and body, filled with heavenly vitality from the inside out; a group of spiritual people who can influence lives with their lives, dissolve misunderstandings with love, and reduce the misconceptions about God among those around them.
Pastor Lin deeply understood that to realize the vision of an Acts-style church, the first priority is clarity of direction, followed by effective communication of the vision, and whether the entire church is "united in heart and mind." Therefore, DEC specifically designed the vision communication as a three-tier structure, interlocking at every level:
• Core Decision-Making Layer: Board members, district pastors, and district leaders meet monthly. All major directions and decisions are made through united prayer, joint discussion, and mutual confirmation by this group of church leaders, ensuring the vision comes from God.
• Vision Implementation Layer: Pastors and small group leaders meet every Monday evening. On one hand, they assist in preparing Bible study content; on the other hand, they share the church's vision and latest developments, helping frontline leaders effectively drive implementation.
• Vision Execution Layer: Through Sunday services, recent ministries and their underlying vision and principles are reported to the entire congregation, enabling brothers and sisters to understand "why we do it," not just "what we are doing."
These three levels of vision communication are indispensable and are key to DEC's ability to grow rapidly and advance steadily.
DEC started with a few dozen people borrowing a company space to begin meeting. In just six months, the congregation grew rapidly and needed a larger venue so everyone could worship together. The entire church prayed in unity, God provided abundantly, and DEC acquired its own building.
In February 2021, the church received the keys to the new building. Pastor Lin's heart was immediately filled with a beautiful expectation: to dedicate the building on Easter! After the entire church worked together on renovations and preparations, nearly everything was ready two weeks before Easter, except for one thing: the internet.
At that time, it was still during the pandemic, and for DEC with its many young members, wanting to do live streaming but having no internet was not just a technical challenge—it could potentially lead to the loss of congregation members. Due to the surrounding urban planning and the original design of the building, installing internet cables was not easy and would take nine months to complete. Pastor Lin felt deeply disappointed, realizing they wouldn't make it in time for the Easter dedication. He came before God in prayer. During prayer, he realized: the church in Acts did not begin on Easter, but was born on Pentecost!
Unexpectedly, the very first day after Easter, Pastor Lin suddenly received a call: the contractor was coming to install the internet. Even more surprising was that construction began that same day and was completed in just three days!
This experience helped Pastor Lin understand: It wasn't that God couldn't have the internet connected before Easter, but that He had His own timing and intentions. This experience was God personally confirming DEC's church vision, and it was also an experience of "I believe, but help my unbelief." On May 23, 2021, on Pentecost Sunday, Dynamic Gospel Church International held its building dedication service.
Worship as the Core
Since its establishment in 2020, what Pastor Caleb Lin values most and has invested the greatest effort into during DEC's four-plus years of development is Sunday worship. He was deeply inspired by the late President Timothy Lin of China Evangelical Seminary: "If a church's Sunday worship succeeds, the church is halfway to success." Pastor Lin deeply believes that the primary purpose of the church's existence is to worship and glorify God; Sunday worship is precisely the moment when the entire church collectively fulfills this purpose.
DEC's preaching philosophy for Sunday services is: "Christians can receive it, and non-Christians can also understand it." Preaching is not just about conveying knowledge, but also about enabling people to be fed and find joy in it. Only when brothers and sisters are first fed by God's Word can new friends be attracted when they come and be willing to stay.
The three core elements of DEC's Sunday worship are:
- Man to God: Worship and prayer, bringing people into the presence of God;
- God to man: through preaching, we receive the Word of God.
- Man to man: welcoming new friends, sharing Sunday news, and building connections.
In addition, an evangelistic Sunday is held once every quarter, with messages and programs specifically designed for those who do not yet believe. Many of the current brothers and sisters in the church first came as invited guests on a Sunday, continued attending, and eventually came to faith in Christ. After becoming Christians, they, in turn, invited their family and friends to the house of God. Those newcomers also stayed, joined the gatherings regularly, came to faith, and started another wave of evangelism. As a result, DEC has developed a pastoral model that helps seekers “come in, stay, grow, and go.” Currently, both Sunday worship services are already full, and the church plans to launch a third worship service on Saturday evenings starting in October 2025.
Learning through serving, growing through serving.
From just a few dozen people at its beginning to over 700 congregants by 2025, DEC’s journey has been truly remarkable—filled with God’s grace and wondrous guidance every step of the way.
As the church has grown rapidly, the needs for ministry have also continued to increase. The majority of DEC’s congregation consists of young people, which Pastor Lin does not see as a challenge but as a blessing from God. Young people are closely connected, full of energy, and—most importantly—they come because of a vision, not merely out of personal ties. Pastor Lin often says, “If a church relies on personal relationships for service, it will eventually become a web of obligations; but if God draws people through vision, He Himself will build the church.”
He shared that the core philosophy of DEC’s ministry team is not “the congregation sets the stage for the pastor to perform,” but rather “the pastoral team sets the stage for the congregation to perform—before the eyes of the world and the angels.” He believes that the most precious thing in the church is the presence of God, followed by the gifts and talents of its members. The church’s role, therefore, is to effectively identify and develop these gifts so that every member can participate in building up the church.
To help members discover their gifts and interests and encourage them to serve in suitable ministries, DEC holds a “Ministry Sunday” as part of its four themed Sundays each year. On that day, the behind-the-scenes operations of various ministries are opened to the congregation, allowing everyone to see the service processes and teams that are usually not visible. Members are free to visit, observe, and experience firsthand, gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning of service and finding the roles that best fit them.
In addition to matching members with areas of ministry according to their interests and gifts, DEC consistently seeks God’s guidance through prayer. Beyond discovering spiritual gifts, the church emphasizes training and mobilization, walking alongside those who are willing—so that they may grow through serving.
The church emphasizes: “Learning by doing; growing by serving.” Pastor Lin often says, “God does not call the qualified, but He qualifies the called.” This culture not only prevents pride that can come from qualifications but also keeps the church motivated to continue nurturing those who serve. Ultimately, it allows brothers and sisters to be built up, shaped, and continually grow through hands-on ministry.
In the course of serving, interpersonal friction and challenges are inevitable. DEC does not avoid these issues but chooses to face them directly and handle them proactively. Each year, the church designs themed teachings tailored to different age groups and stages of faith, helping members learn—through biblical truth—to accept, connect with, and build up one another.
Faith inheritance and social concern
DEC promotes a “whole-life, whole-person discipleship” that spans from early childhood, elementary, and youth to adulthood, family, and senior life. It emphasizes that each stage builds the foundation for the next and should not be separated from one another. To help members grow spiritually in a healthy way, DEC continually encourages the practice of personal and family devotion. Pastor Caleb Lin believes that what truly transforms people is not more knowledge or activities, but the shaping of a spiritual culture—and devotion is the foundation of that culture. Devotion is not a religious ritual confined to the church, but a genuine encounter with God in daily life—listening to His Word and receiving His guidance for one’s present circumstances.
DEC promotes the use of Living Life as devotional material, with versions for different age groups, encouraging family devotions to pass down the faith. Every summer, DEC establishes a "Family Month," suspending all small group activities and encouraging parents to return to their families to lead their children in devotions together. To strengthen the transmission of faith, DEC places special emphasis on the next generation's spiritual sense of belonging. Pastors often tell the children: "This is your church, not just your parents' church." They deeply believe that this generation of children will accomplish even greater things in the future.
While focusing on building up believers, DEC also actively responds to community needs. Over the four years since establishing their building, the church's community care ministry has continuously adjusted and updated according to needs. Currently, DEC collaborates with Chinese Christian Herald Crusades to organize community activities and hosts a gospel outreach called "Golden Years" for Chinese seniors every Wednesday, enabling more people to encounter faith and come to know Christ through the church.
Through holistic lifelong pastoral care and compassionate action, DEC is step by step fulfilling the calling to "become disciples of the Lord, renew spiritual life, transform lives, and accomplish the mission," becoming a church with a solid foundation, love, and action.
Returning to the Original Heart, Renewed by Grace
The growth and development of DEC can be described as a spiritual journey. From the peak of the pandemic, when everyone was fearful and retreating, a pastor obediently responded to God's Word, leading believers with faith and courage, and ignited the spark of revival.
When discussing the reasons for the church's rapid growth, Pastor Caleb Lin clearly states: DEC is not a perfect church, but simply a church that purely desires to satisfy God's heart and bring glory to God's name. Everything is God's work.
"If it weren't God doing this, God opening the way, I would have been depressed long ago!" he said with a laugh. Besides God's grace, the atmosphere of loving unity in the church is also an important reason. A church must be like a family to attract people to stay. Now after Sunday services end, many brothers and sisters are reluctant to leave, conversing with one another and expressing care. This allows people to truly feel: this is not just a community of faith, but a home for life.
Pastor Caleb Lin said that DEC received great grace from God in its first five years. What is most needed now is to maintain the simple heart of the beginning, continue to humbly follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, and constantly measure things by whether they are "after God's own heart." September 2025 marks DEC's fifth anniversary, and the church is encouraging all co-workers and brothers and sisters to "return to the original heart" so as to be "renewed by grace," so that the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.
God is the Lord of DEC, and the Lord of all churches! May the grace God has given to DEC be multiplied upon every church that simply loves the Lord, building churches after God's own heart.
To learn more about Dynamic Evangelical Church, please visit the church website (https://dec4u.org/home/), and feel free to watch "Song of Dynamic" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TwzAm3s78I).
Interviewee Profile
Pastor Caleb Lin was called to full-time ministry in 2006. From 2009-2020, he served at Great Commission Church International in Los Angeles as Executive Director and Director of the Equipping Center. In September 2020, he planted Dynamic Evangelical Church and serves as Senior Pastor. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Logos Evangelical Seminary, with his dissertation topic being "Discipleship Training for Postmodern Young Adults in North American Chinese Churches."