Reverend Charles Koo, Senior Pastor & Cantonese Pastor 辜漢然牧師
Email Reverend Charles (Charles.Koo@cccdc.com)
Charles Koo came to CCC in 2003 from the Chinese Christian Church and Center in Philadelphia. He served there for 17 years in several pastoral capacities.
Pastor Charles received his M.Div. from Tyndale Seminary in Toronto and was ordained in 1992. He completed his Ph.D. in Old Testament Hermeneutics coursework. When he can find the time, he will finish writing his dissertation.
Pastor Charles is also trained to work in such areas as small groups, spiritual gifts, and stewardship., discipleship, leadership and church vision.
Since coming to CCC, Pastor Charles has focused ministry work on Building a People for God’s Kingdom. He believes the church can only move forward on its knees and approaching God in prayer in all things.
Pastor Charles has ministered to the needs of three congregations for several years with help from lay and guest speakers, ministry teams, seminarians, former associate pastors.
Currently, he is organizing and strengthening the pastoral leadership team to meet the spiritual needs of the congregation and the community and make CCC God’s light in the Nation’s Capital.
Besides traveling, Pastor Charles loves nature. He especially enjoys the beach, campfire, and water sports. Pastor Charles wants CCC to be guided by the words of John the Baptist, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).
Reverend Joshua Cho, English Pastor 曺富鉉牧師
Email Reverend Joshua (Joshua.Cho@cccdc.com)
Joshua Cho was born and raised in Chicago, IL. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before answering God’s call and going on to receive his Master of Divinity degree at Covenant Theological Seminary. During his seminary years, Joshua served as a pastor with The Crossing Church, a multi-ethnic congregation in St. Louis, MO. This is also where Joshua met his wonderful wife, Esther. Joshua and Esther married in 2013 and moved to Princeton, NJ, where he served as a pastor of Princeton Christian Church.
Pastor Joshua Cho was ordained in the Evangelical Church Alliance (ECA).
In 2018, following God’s new call, Joshua, Esther, and their son Caleb moved to Washington, DC, to serve as pastor of the English Ministry at Chinese Community Church (CCC). During this time, God blessed the family with a little girl, Chloe.
Pastor Joshua is thankful to God for his family, and for calling him to full-time ministry.
Pastor Joshua loves preaching the Word of God, worshiping the Lord through praise, spending time with family, friends, and church members, and sharing life together with others.
Reverend Xu Lijuan (Joanna Xu) 徐麗娟, Mandarin Pastor 徐麗娟傳道
Email Joanna (Joanna.Xu@cccdc.com)
Joanna comes from Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China. Her grandparents were devout followers of a Chinese religion called Yiguandao. But Joanna couldn’t find spiritual fulfillment on this path.
Joanna came to the U.S. with her parents in 1998. She became quite ill when her family returned to China. Her severe pain got even worse after she was involved in a car accident in 2005. At this lowest point of her life, Joanna wondered what would happen to her when she died. She met a group of Christians, one of whom taught her English. She found them very different, with exceptional warmth, joy, and love. Joanna was baptized in 2006.
Miraculously, she found lodging in Wah Luck House, a building in D.C. for low-income families. Shortly thereafter, she came to CCC.
Joanna decided to dedicated herself to full-time ministry at an AFC (Ambassador for Christ) Missions Conference in 2010. She went to Seminary the following year. After graduation, she returned to CCC for her internship and served as Assistant Pastor for the Mandarin ministries.
Joanna was ordained in May 2023 and assumed the role of Pastor for the Mandarin Congregation in June of the same year.
Pastor Joanna loves reading, cooking, decorating, gardening, and raising goldfish. Most importantly, she wants everyone she touches to know God’s love and loves to encourage young believers to grow in their faith.