Ark      International
An End Time Ministry
Preparing for the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ
ARK  International  and  the Lord's  Ministry


Our family left Ipoh, Malaysia in the early part of 1970 and lived in Taiwan for about six months before coming to the United States of America.  We arrived in San Francisco on July 31, 1970; stayed in Pacifica for about three months then moved to Santa Monica after I found a job with the architectural division of the Walt Disney Imagineering Company in Glendale, California.  That company was responsible for the design and building of all the facilities in Disney World, Orlando, Florida.  We lived in Southern California for about three years then moved to Bakersfield where we lived for seven years (1973-1980).  

While our family was still living in Bakersfield I wanted to start an architectural service company.  I prayed and asked the Lord Jesus Christ to give me a good name for the company and praise God He did.  In California the Chinese community call the architect an "arky" .  Since I had a British architectural professional degree and I intended to practice architecture not only in America but also in other countries as well so I registered the name "ARK International".  

 My American Christian friends looked at my business card and said, "That's a good name for a Christian ministry."  It is now both my Christian ministry and also my architectural service company. 

ARK International is now a Texas corporation.  In Houston, Texas my company work in association with another architectural firm and an engineering firm.  Both principals of these firms are Christians.  Together we have built a large church auditorium with 8,000 seats and several other large projects for churches of various denominations and "Christ for the Nations" in Dallas.  We have done some preliminary designs for a Messianic Jewish synagogue in Houston, Texas in 2001.  God has truly blessed our work.


My Ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ

My father Zacchaeus Wong was a minister (deacon) of the True Jesus Church in Ipoh, Malaysia.  As a preacher's kid I had followed him around quite a bit, but never did I ever thought of becoming a minister at that young age.  Although there were many miracles, signs and positive things that I have seen in my father's ministry yet our family had also been part of his struggles, persecutions and frustrations too.  He had handled them in the best possible way that our Lord Jesus Christ would have approved.

I had accepted the assignment from the church to teach in the Youth Religious Education classes yet when my name was nominated for ordination I had declined it twice.  I did not think I was worthy and ready to accept such a sacred vocation.  Here is the reason why!

My architectural firm became the largest and most successful company in Ipoh, Malaysia.  My commissions had included the development and design of Ipoh Garden (2,000 acres) with thousands of residential homes, shopping centers, schools, churches, and even a hospital.  My several other clients were corporate leaders and multi-millionaires.  I even had received commissions from the regional government to design a monument for them.  I also had a partner in Singapore and had to take care of the office there from time to time.  You can understand how I had to spend most of my time and energy in my business and professional career but did not have much time with the Lord and in the church. 

In the year 1968 my architectural practice in Ipoh, Malaysia had reached great heights.  Due to my extremely busy business schedule my church attendance was somewhat superficial.  I would normally sit next to the exit because I would be the last to enter and the first to leave the chapel.  Our Church in Ipoh used to worship the One True God every day and on Friday evenings we devoted our time to pray for the Holy Spirit and His gifts.  When the minister invited people to go in front to pray I would normally remain at the back of the chapel.  One Friday evening in May 1968 I had a burden in my heart to seek the Lord so I went to the front and knelt down close to the pulpit to pray.

I had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues when I was seventeen years old.  Although I had always prayed in tongues but was not always filled with the Spirit.  That evening I had come to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to renew His Spirit within me.  As the ministers laid hands on me I was greatly moved by the Holy Spirit.


My Vision and Calling to the Ministry

During that prayer I had an unusual experience.  My spirit was lifted up from where I was kneeling and felt as though I was flying in the air and moving forward in one direction. There was darkness all around me but when I looked below me I could see many rows of deep trenches below the earth and running from side to side.  Those trenches were very long stretching from one end to the other. They were at least twenty feet wide and twenty feet deep.  I saw many people; men, women and children, were inside the trenches.  They were all trying to get out of the trenches, climbing on top of each other.  None of them were able to get out of the trenches because they were struggling and fighting against each other to try to step on top of one another.  It was a pathetic sight.

As I continued on my journey in the air I saw many more trenches below me.  There were so many that I could not count.  They were all full of people trying to get out.  It was a horrible and ugly scene.  Out of the darkness I saw a speck of light ahead in the distance.  As I approached the light it became larger and brighter.  That light became visible like a star with four rays of light radiating from its center.  One ray at the top and another at the bottom, and two from each side.  It resembled a glorious and brilliant cross.  At that moment I began to realize what it all meant.

  "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (Jn. 1:3-5) "Then Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world,  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (Jn. 8:12)

I cried out to the Lord in my prayer, "Why do You show me these things?  Who are those people in the trenches?"  I did not hear an audible voice but the Lord spoke to me in my heart.  Here is what He said:  "Those are the people in the world who are not saved."  I asked, "Lord, You are the Savior of the world.  Why are there still so many people in the world who are not saved?"  Here is the Lord's answer that shocked me.  He said, "Many people in the world are not saved because there are too many Christians in the world like you who are doing nothing to get them saved."   

The Lord showed me flashes of my past life.  I was a one year old baby with diptheria and on the brink of death.  My parents were unbelievers and the only Christian in our family was my maternal grandmother.  She told my mother to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  My mother said, "I do not know Jesus, but if He can heal my son then I will believe in Him."  My grandmother brought me to the True Jesus Church in Ipoh, Malaysia where she and a group of Indian Christians prayed for the healing of my sickness.  The Lord Jesus Christ healed me.  Praise and thank God.  My mother and several of our relatives who saw this miraculous healing believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and were baptized into Him.   

During my prayer and the vision of the bright light in the shape of the cross the Lord reminded me of another incident in my life.  I was ten years old and our family had evacuated with several other families who are our relatives to our uncle's tin mine in Kupoy,Tanjong Tualang.  We had moved to the engine shed where they flooded the mine with water and created an artificial island.  The only way to get to the mainland was to walk across a submerged pipeline bridge.  All the children were told to stay out of the pipeline.  Very early in the morning one of the men called Akee would walk on the submerged pipeline to go and purchase food and supplies from a nearby village.  One morning I got up early and followed Akee without his knowledge.  After he had crossed over I also tried to walk on the pipeline.  Somewhere in the middle of the pipeline I tripped over the pipeline joint and lost my balance.  As I was falling down into the water I began to shout very loudly for help.  I did not know how to swim and was sinking fast.  I was taught by my grandmother and mother to pray when in danger.  I gulped and said in my heart, "HalleluYah, Jesus, save me."  Suddenly my body was raised from the water.   Akee, who had crossed the pipeline earlier heard my cry, had rushed to the spot where I fell and caught hold of my hair and pulled me out of the water.  Praise and thank the Lord Jesus Christ for saving my life the second time.   

The Lord then said to my heart, "I have saved you twice in your life for a purpose.  Do you see all the people in the trenches down below who are  still not saved?  What are you going to do about it?"  I answered,  "Lord, I am an architect, not a preacher.  I cannot do anything about it."  The Lord Jesus Christ said to me, "I have chosen you to become My servant."  "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts.'" (Zec. 4:6)  Then I cried out loudly in my prayer, "LORD, send me."  The vision ended.  Two weeks later my name was again placed for nomination as a deacon and pinned on the church bulletin board.  This time I did not decline the nomination.  I was ordained a minister of the True Jesus Church in Ipoh, Malaysia on August 17, 1968.    A Non-denominational Ministry 

Let me explain the meaning of the name True Jesus Church.  The word "True" refers to God. (Jn. 3:33; 8:26; 17:3)  The word "church" is translated from the Greek "ekklesia" that means "God's called-out assembly."  Jesus is the one and only Mediator between God and men. (1 Tim. 2:5)  When the name "Jesus" is placed between the words "True" and "Church" we have "True Jesus Church."   Some just like to call the "True Church" and leave out the name of "Jesus".  Our Lord had declared: "I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."(Jn. 15:5)  There is no such thing as a True Church without Jesus.

The New Testament concept of the Church is this. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph. 4:4-6)  This "one body" represents the one church that is built by the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mt. 16:18)  Divisions within the church is wrong and is carnal minded. (1 Cor. 1:10-17; 3:1-4)  The one church of our Lord Jesus Christ is inclusive and not exclusive. (1 Cor. 12:12-27)  From these true principles taught in the Holy Bible I have come to the conclusion that a non-denominational ministry is correct.

In the mid Seventies our family lived in Bakersfield, California.  Since we did not have a True Jesus Church in that city we had to drive to Los Angeles to attend Sabbath services.  After a while we made friends with our neighbors and invited them to the family services in our home. 
As more and more American Christian friends came to our Sabbath Services we had a House of Prayer in our home.  The Lord Jesus Christ brought Christians from various denominations to worship with us on the Sabbath day.  There were Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Disciples of Christ and even Messianic Jews. 

Our family enjoyed the fellowship of all these Christians and the Lord really blessed our Sabbath Services.  During one Sabbath service a pair of twin sisters who were Catholics requested prayer for their brother in Chicago who was mysteriously paralyzed from the neck downwards. 

The doctors could not diagnose his illness and they had placed him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We prayed in one accord for this man who was thousands of miles away and we did not even know him. 

That Sabbath afternoon at about 5:00 p.m. one of the twin sisters called me.  She was really excited and told me that her brother had just called her from his home.  He could not understand how suddenly at about 11:30 a.m. in the morning he was able to move his arms, legs and whole body.  It was the exact time that we prayed for him during our Sabbath Services. 

He got out of bed and went to the nurses' station and asked to be released from the hospital.  The nurses were shocked and called the doctor to examine him. The doctor was perplexed and found nothing wrong with him. 

The hospital released him at 1:00 p.m.  He returned home and mowed the lawn in his front yard at 3:00 p.m.  This healing miracle changed my attitude towards Christians of other denominations.  Our Lord Jesus Christ have shown me that regardless of denomination, when Christians love one another, worship and pray in one accord on the Sabbath day He will honor their prayers.  This healing miracle is a fulfillment of the promises given by our Lord Jesus Christ.  
 
  "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Mt. 18:18-20)   "Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.. . . . Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants - Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant - Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My House of Prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a House of Prayer for all nations." (Isa. 56:2, 6-7)  


Feeding the Lord's Lambs in Houston

Sister Lowen informed me her family had moved to Jacksonville, Texas.  She heard that I was going on a missionary trip to Brazil and Argentina at the end of December 1979 and suggested that I stopped in Dallas on my way home to Bakersfield.  She and her husband picked me up at the Dallas airport.  That evening she invited several of her relatives to her home for dinner and I preached to them.  After the service her niece Helen told me she believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and wanted to become a Christian.  Helen had a nasty cold and ear infection. On a very cold January morning in 1980 we got up at 4:00 a.m. and I baptized her in the near frozen lake.  We rushed back to Lowen's home for the washing of feet and Holy Communion and then rushed to the Dallas airport to catch my morning flight back to Los Angeles/Bakersfield.   Three days later Sister Lowen called to let me know that Helen's cold and ear infection had been completely healed during the baptism.  Praise and thank the Lord Jesus Christ.  HalleluYah!

After returning to Bakersfield, California I had been thinking of my trip to Texas.  Not too long after Sister Lowen called me with the news that they had bought a house in Houston, Texas and invited me to visit them again.  I prayed and asked the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance and He gave me recurring dreams with the same message.  The Lord spoke to me, "Feed My lambs in Houston."  This occurred three times.

In March 1980 Minister Meishi Tsai and I visited Detroit, Michigan.  We worked with Brother Elishua Reed.  Sister Ernestine and her son Quantin saw the blood of Jesus Christ in the water during their baptism.  I went to Toronto, Canada to visit my family while Minister Tsai stayed in Detroit.  We would meet in Houston, Texas a four days later.  On the evening of the third day of my stay in Toronto I received a long distance phone call from Sister Alice McVay  in Bakersfield.  She said: "Paul, I've got serious news for you.  Come home to Bakersfield immediately.  Cecilia Joan (my wife) went to see her doctor today.  She had vomited blood.  She may need surgery.  She needs you right now.  Come home quickly, please."  I told Sister Alice we were going to pray for her.  At that time my family in Toronto immediately knelt down and prayed fervently.  The Holy Spirit was working mightily in our midst.  While we were praying my sisters were given words of prophecies.   Estella and Julie sang spiritual songs in unison: "Victory, victory, God will give you the victory." Nornie prophesied: "Have no fear.  I will heal.  Go forth, says the LORD."  I was greatly comforted by the prophecies.  I called Sister Alice immediately and asker her to comfort Cecilia Joan with the prophecies.  My family in Toronto continued to pray for her.  While I was on the flight from Toronto to Houston I continuously prayed and also believed with all my heart that she would be healed according to His word and promise.

Minister Meishi Tsai and I stayed in Lowen's new home and held Sabbath Service there.  The Holy Spirit was moving greatly.  Lisa was baptized.  We were also praying for my wife's healing.  After the service I called home to talk to Cecilia Joan.  I was so glad to hear her voice.  She said she went to the doctor again to see if she needed surgery.  The doctor examined her thoroughly and informed her there was nothing wrong with her at all.  Our Lord Jesus Christ had already healed her completely.  HalleluYah, Praise the LORD!

Next morning Sister Lowen brought me the Houston Chronicle Sunday newspaper and asked me to look for a job.  She said the Lord's lambs are in Houston therefore I should move to that city.  Meishi also encouraged me to move to Houston.  I went through the newspaper and circled three ads.  On Monday morning I called up the three architectural offices and went there for interviews.  I received three offers.  The company that impressed me the most was McGinty Partnership.  John McGinty was the president of the American Institute of Architects at that time.  It was one of the most prestigious architectural firms in America.  They were willing to wait three months for me to move from Bakersfield to Houston.  I did not give them the answer.  I wanted to consult my wife first.  When I went back to Lowen's home I called up Cecilia Joan.  I asked her what she thought about moving to Houston.  She did not like moving but said that if I could find a job then she would consider it.  I told her I had three job offers.  She could not back out and agreed to move.  I called McGinty Partnership and accepted their offer.  I was going back to Bakersfield on Thursday.  Sister Lowen said I should start looking for a house.  She and Meishi accompanied me and spent two days looking for properties.  We found the one that I liked in the Spring Branch school district and made an offer for it.  It is incredible.  I got a good job and bought a house in Houston, Texas in less than a week.  We had difficulty selling our house in Bakersfield but the LORD told us to go in faith. God was on our side.  Our family moved from Bakersfield to Houston in July 1980 and arrived here in time for the first Spiritual Convocation in this city.  In less than a week after we moved to our home in Houston our realtor in Bakersfield called us with the news that our house was sold.  Praise the Lord, HalleluYah!
Vision of the Open Door

There is a false doctrine being taught that Jesus and the church are synonymous.  They use the incident of Saul's persecution of the church as also persecution of Jesus as their scriptural support. (Acts 9:1-5)  Applying this analogy to evangelism they say that if you preach the church it is the same thing as preaching Jesus.  So the main theme of their gospel is the church.

Any Christian who can read and understand the Holy Bible will see there are vast differences between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church.  Let us look at some of them.

1.     Only Jesus and the Father are one and the same Divine Being because Jesus is  God. (Jn. 10:30)  You cannot say that for the Church.
2.    Jesus is the builder of the Church. (Mt. 16:18)  The builder is not the same as the building or organization.
3.    Jesus is the Savior of the Church. (Eph. 5:23)   The Church cannot be the Savior of Jesus.
4.    Jesus is the Head of the Church which is the body. (Eph. 5:23,30)  The Church cannot be the Head of Jesus Christ.
5.    Jesus rules over the Church, but the Church cannot rule over Jesus (Eph. 5:22-24)
6.    Jesus is the True vine and the Church forms the branches (Jn. 15:5)  The Church cannot be the True vine and Jesus is the branch.
7.    Jesus is the good Shepherd who gave His life the sheep – the Church. (Jn. 10:11)  The Church cannot be the Shepherd that gave its life for Jesus.
Ever since our family immigrated from Malaysia to the United States I have made the Church the central theme of my preaching.  My  purpose was, of course, to increase the membership of the Church.  God knows that I had worked very hard but saw very little results especially in bringing people other than Chinese or Asians into the Church.

One morning I was burdened by the failure of my ministry and sought the LORD's guidance by going into a deep prayer.  I asked the LORD to show me why I had failed so miserably in my ministry.  The LORD answered my prayer by showing me a vision.  I saw myself kneeling in front of a wall.  The room was stuffy inside so I pounded the wall with both my fists, trying to break through the wall so that I could get out of that room.  I kept on hitting the wall with all my might until my two hands hurt very badly but the wall stood there unmoved.  I was frustrated that nothing happened so I prayed to the LORD to show me what I should do.  Then the LORD spoke to my heart; "Stop pounding the wall and move away from it."  I obeyed and got up and started looking around the room.  I saw a huge door in another part of the room.  The door had always been there but I just did not notice it because I thought that by pounding the wall it would open up.  I opened the door and walked into the sunshine and the fresh air and I was filled with joy.  The vision ended here.

After seeing the vision I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to give me its interpretation.  I opened the Holy Bible and the vision became clear to me.

"I am the Door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." (Jn. 10:9)

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:  These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens'; I know your works.  See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." (Rev. 3:7-8)

That stuffy little room in the vision represents the self-centered church that looks to its own importance and refuses to believe God can work outside of its walls.  My pounding the one wall with both fists until the hands hurt represents my stubborn way of preaching the Church to no avail.  There is no way out by preaching the same stale messages that people on the outside of the Church cannot hear.  The Doorway represents the Lord Jesus Christ who has always existed. "If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture ."   When I preach the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Savior and make Him the center of the Gospel I can go in and out of the Church and still find spiritual food and nurture.
The vision of the "Open Door" was the turning point of my ministry.  I can work and serve the Lord Jesus Christ in the True Jesus Church and also ARK International/ARK Forum very successfully. 

Praise the LORD, HalleluYah!  Amen.
 

How  ARK  International  was  formed

Paul  Wong
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