Rev. Franklin Lee

Franklin Lee (Chinese name 李靈新, birth name 李寶琛) was born on August 3, 1931, in Shiqi District, Zhongshan Prefecture, Guangdong Province, China. He was the 4th child with 3 elder siblings and 3 younger siblings.

During the Sino-Japanese War, life for the Li family was very hard. In order to survive, the children were separated and sent to live with other families or to work on farms. Franklin moved from place to place until arriving at Morning Star Children's Home, a Christian orphanage founded by Christian minister Rev. Calvin Lee and his wife, Dora. Calvin and Dora came to love young Franklin and adopted him out of the 500 orphans there. They gave him the new name 靈新, meaning “New in the Spirit”.

After the war, Calvin and Dora moved their family to Hong Kong and eventually to the United States where Franklin studied psychology and engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit. He soon followed God’s calling to ministry and received his Master of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary.

The first church Franklin served in was Detroit Chinese Bible Church where he met the love of his life, Linda Hsu, a student at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. They wed on July 11, 1964, in Detroit and had their first two children, daughters Deborah and Elizabeth, before following their call to missions work in the Philippines with Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (later renamed SEND International).

In the Philippines, Franklin served as the pastor of Grace Gospel Church in Manila and the president of the Bible Institute of the Philippines (later renamed Biblical Seminary of the Philippines). Franklin and Linda also welcomed their sons, Stephen and Andrew. They served in Manila for a total of eight years before moving to Houston where he served as the pastor of Houston Chinese Church. While there, he led a thriving ministry of a growing Chinese population, established their foreign missions ministry, and saw many young people commit their lives to serving the Lord.

In the following decades of ministry, Franklin pursued his passion as a church planter, helping to shepherd a number of churches such as Dallas Chinese Bible Church, Clear Lake Chinese Church, Chinese Christian Church, and Chinese Bible Church, which is where he retired from full-time pastoral ministry. He also pursued his love of serving Chinese internationals in Port Lavaca, Texas, and in Houston's medical center by helping to start the American Chinese Fellowship.

Franklin's church ministry was only one area of his life of dedication, reward, and joy: He was able to sponsor his birth siblings from China to come to the United States, where many of their children and children's children reside to this day. He also followed Linda’s abundant generosity in opening their home to several extended family members: his adopted parents from Hong Kong, Linda's parents from the Philippines, his niece from China, Linda's nieces and nephews from China and the Philippines, and a dozen others from around the world to become as he was, “adopted” into the loving home of the Franklin and Linda Lee family.

Franklin is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Linda Lee, and his children, Deborah Lee Morrison, Elizabeth Lee Craven, Stephen Calvin Lee, and Andrew Arthur Lee. He was blessed to have spent the final decade of his life at home under the care of Linda, their children and spouses, and their grandchildren.

Through the grace of God, Franklin lived a long and fruitful life: a survivor of war, poverty, illness, and lymphoma and prostate cancer. Throughout the challenges of this world, Franklin relied daily on his steadfast faith in Jesus to guide him, his family, and his work for the Gospel.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Franklin's memory to:

- "The Rev. Franklin and Linda Lee Permanent Endowed Scholarship Fund", which provides tuition assistance for students from China or of Chinese descent attending Dallas Theological Seminary: https://tinyurl.com/yk7275y8

- The ministry of Chinese Bible Church serving Houston’s Chinatown: https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/3977064

Services:

- The slideshow of Rev Franklin Lee's long and fruitful life can be watched here: https://youtu.be/a1yP2Nj8KsI

- Here is the video of the Memorial and Graveside Services: https://youtu.be/5V0s0ATsvVE

This is an edited version of the video due to the weather affecting our Internet connection during the Memorial Service.

ORDER OF SERVICE

WELCOME: Stephen Lee

SONGS OF WORSHIP (Marilyn Lee, Pianist): I'd Rather Have Jesus, Abide with Me

REFLECTIONS & REMEMBRANCES: Wang Kay Li, Christian Hsu, Debbie Lee Morrison, Lisa Lee Craven, Andy Lee

SONGS OF HOPE: It Is Well with My Soul, Amazing Grace

CLOSING PRAYER: Dale Craven