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The congregation of about 500 erupted into applause and whooped with enthusiasm.

But this wasn't a sporting event — it was a baptism.

Nine youth at Chinese Church of Cincinnati professed their faith in Jesus and spoke of their intentions to be baptized.

Though members speak four different languages — Mandarin, Taiwanese, English and Cantonese — worshippers had no trouble interpreting the joy these teenagers and young adults felt as Pastor David Wu dunked them under water.

"Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away," the church members sang after each baptism.

Elder Reginald Tsang from Hong-Kong helped found the church in 1970, and said they have another church planned in Mason.

"I think we are basically a Bible-believing church, and we emphasize that," he said of the growth he has seen in the congregation.

House churches

The All Nations service is targeted at English speakers and is the service American-raised children usually attend, he said.

The other services are in Mandarin Chinese, and members may wear headsets to hear translations of the service.

Most of the members are doctors, engineers and scientists from West Chester Twp., Mason and downtown Cincinnati, said Tsang, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati.

Tsang retired from his research

to do mission work in China and said Christianity there is growing faster than any other religion in China, though it is still restricted and monitored.

"It's two-sided," he said of the churches in China today. "It's much more open, but people still meet in house churches. Those are still persecuted and prosecuted."

There are about 80 million

Christians in China, 6 percent of

the population.

A place for confidence

The local church is also a place where people like Yun-An Chen,

of West Chester Twp., can feel

confident.

She said she has trouble expressing her feelings in English to her Bible study friends that don't speak Taiwanese.

That is why the stay-at-home mother said she values her church with many native Taiwanese speakers who understand her.

"Sisters and brothers here, they really devote themselves to the body," she said. Those people also understand the religious culture she experienced in Taiwan.

The Taiwanese people have traditionally exercised religious freedom, but she said there are also too many religions and it makes it a temptation to follow one that aligns more with the culture. Here she said she feels like she has accountability and resources to grow in her faith.

"For us, when we came here, we've left that thing behind us and we can have a new life here."

The Chinese Church of Cincinnati is at 1393 Compton Road in Cincinnati. For more information, call (513) 931-2381.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or lhilty@coxohio.com.