After his completion of studies at Canadian Bible College in Regina, Joe Ottom returned to Vancouver and started a new ministry in the Tenth Avenue Alliance Church in 1960. The ministry was to outreach to the local Chinese immigrants through the English and Bible classes held in the basement of the Tenth Avenue Alliance Church.
As the number of attendance grew to about 70 people, Joe realized that they should call a Chinese pastor to take over the leadership of the ministry. In 1966, Joe extended the invitation of call to Rev. Augustus Chao, who was serving as the senior pastor of the Regina Chinese Alliance Church. Eventually Rev. Chao accepted the call and arrived in Vancouver with his family in June, 1966.
Rev. Chao worked diligently for the Gospel of Jesus. Besides the morning service at the Tenth Avenue Alliance Church, he conducted another Chinese service in the center of Chinatown, Vancouver in the afternoon. In January 1967, the Vancouver Chinese Alliance Church was officially established under the leadership of Rev. Chao.
In 1970, the current site of the Vancouver Chinese Alliance Church (3330 Knight Street) was purchased. In the next year, the congregation grew to 200 adults, and the construction of the new church began. The construction was completed in 1972, and there were about 300 people present at the first service. Seeing the need to minister to the growing numbers of English-speaking Chinese, the English speaking worship began in March 1975. Various fellowships and ministries started to flourish.
