What are the opening hours?

Monday 4:30pm - 9pm Tuesday 4:30pm - 9pm Wednesday 4:30pm - 9pm Thursday 4:30pm - 9pm Friday 4:30pm - 9pm Saturday 4:30pm - 9pm

http://www.jameshomekitchen.com/

James Home Kitchen, 2901 Chatham Road, Springfield, IL (2026)

10/11/2026

Come to the Table! Another Thursday, Another Lesson ❤️

One of our visitors recently sent me a prayer request concerning his illness. I want to share a little story about this young brother and what God has been teaching me through this Thursday ministry.

When I first met him, he was a very soft-spoken young man. During our conversation, he voluntarily shared his personal health struggles and his faith in Christ. Interestingly, I never mentioned our Come to the Table fellowship to him. In fact, he heard about it from someone else!

When he told me he had heard about the Thursday fellowship at my restaurant and was thinking about coming, I invited him. But I must admit, my heart was troubled a little. Why didn’t I tell him about this ministry in the first place?

That little moment made me realize something about myself. Sharing our faith and being a witness for Christ shouldn’t be something we do simply because it’s on our schedule or because someone tells us to do it. It should come naturally from our hearts!

Since then, Lynn and I have started telling our customers about Thursday’s fellowship without hesitation. 😊

The lesson I learned is simple: Our walk and our talk should be consistent. Serving God should never become just another routine or obligation. I believe God doesn’t need anything from us, but He does want our hearts and our faith!

This young brother couldn’t attend last Thursday because of the side effects of his medical treatment. He sent me a message asking for prayers because he has been fighting his illness for a period of time.

I have to admit something else. In the past, I probably would have said, “I’ll pray for you, brother!” and then gone on with my busy life. Sound familiar? 😅 But this time, I stopped what I was doing and sent him a heartfelt prayer. His response was filled with appreciation, joy, and comfort.

It reminded me again that when we call ourselves the salt and light of the world, we really need to live differently, because Christ Himself is the source of that light!

Every Thursday, I seem to learn another lesson about humility, faith, and what it really means to have a servant’s heart. I thought we were opening our restaurant to serve others, but God has been using this ministry to teach me as well!

Now, a little update about last Thursday! 😁

We had fewer guests than the previous week. Maybe it was because of the long holiday weekend, or maybe it was the food I prepared! 🤔😂 Well, I can’t control who comes through the door, but at least I can do something about the food!

After consulting with my boss (you know who she is… Lynn! 🤣), we’re thinking about serving Honey Pork or Tonkatsu Pork, along with a vegetarian dish for those who don’t eat meat. Hopefully, that will bring a few more smiles to the dinner table! 😋

At the end of the day, all of us serving in this ministry can only do our best. We can prepare the food, open the doors, invite people, and welcome everyone with love. But it is the Holy Spirit who touches hearts and makes this ministry grow, not us!

So please, don’t feel uncomfortable or think you need a special invitation. Just walk in on Thursday evening!

You might be surprised to discover that James Home Kitchen is more than just a restaurant. It’s a place where everyone can feel at home! ❤️

And remember, you don’t have to be a Christian to come. Just bring yourself, your appetite, and maybe a friend or two! 🤗

Come to the Table! There’s always room for one more! God bless you all! 🙏

Your Chef, James

10/04/2026

Week Three: Guests Are Bringing Friends! 🤗

I still remember when we started James Home Kitchen 10 years ago. We chose not to advertise the business but simply leaned on faith and word of mouth. In fact, several close friends in Christ even told me that we wouldn’t survive six months if we didn’t follow the world’s way of doing business. 😅

Furthermore, we even shortened our business hours to dinner only, closed on Sundays and major holidays…and yes, sometimes even hunting season or motorcycle riding days. 🤪

The fact is, we’re truly not making profit, but we still feel abundantly blessed. Over the years, we have received so much love and so many blessings from customers—some we knew and some we didn’t know—who later became our close friends!

Let me name just a few blessings we have received: A retired doctor helped connect us with other physicians and specialists to take care of our health. An amazing brother always cleans our parking lot during snow season and fixes mechanical things without asking anything in return. We received so many warm cards from many of you during our difficult times. Occasionally, fresh homegrown vegetables or flowers mysteriously appear at our front or back door! And there are many, many more…😅

Whenever we open the door for business, we always try to have a joyful heart—no poker face! 🤪. If business gets too busy, we shut off the carryout phone! If business is too slow, we close early and praise the Lord for giving us some extra rest time. 😂

Believe it or not, how we started from nothing and ended up owning our restaurant was already a big miracle. What I’m trying to say is that God has a plan for both Lynn and me. We just need to remain faithful to Him.

Come to the Table fellowship is another vision that I believe God has prepared for His servants. The timing is just perfect because we need to be equipped and ready for His work.

We have never worried too much about whether James Home Kitchen can be seen by the public. What touches my heart much more is reaching those who have not yet known Jesus…it’s in His timing, not ours.

More than 55 years ago, I was a little boy excitedly carrying my small stool and waiting in school open field to watch the “Jesus Film” shown by the “A-Dor-A”, the big-nosed American missionaries, as we kids called them back then. 😅

I don’t remember much about that night, but I clearly remember crying when I saw that “good man” being brutally crucified by bad people. I asked my mom, “Why?” But she was crying too.

Without that exposure to Jesus as a little boy, I don’t know if I would have had another chance to know Christ while growing up in a country where Christians were only a very small percentage (less than 5%)of the population.

It was all part of His plan. Just as the Bible says: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV)

Now in Week Three, we started noticing something very encouraging: Guests are bringing friends! Maybe it starts like a tiny mustard seed and grows into something much bigger than any of us can imagine.

I don’t believe we can move the mountain—but God can.

Never underestimate God’s power. We may not know what He is doing in someone’s heart today. One person sitting at one of those tables may someday become our brother or sister in Christ….even if it takes 25 years, just like it did for me! Our job is simply to plant, water, love people, and remain faithful. God makes it grow.

By the way, we had plenty of food this Thursday, and nobody had to wait on the cook either! 🤗. So don’t be shy, bring a friend, and come join us this coming Thursday night! ❤️

09/26/2026

Our second Come to the Table gathering!

I’ve told people before that sometimes I’m really a man of “little faith.” 😂 About 10 minutes before 6:00 this Thursday night, I looked around and realized not many people had shown up yet. Of course, my anxiety started kicking in a little bit.

So I went back into the kitchen, kept myself busy preparing the food, and quietly prayed: “God, this is Your event. We are only Your servants. Whether it succeeds or not is in Your hands.” Basically, I passed the responsibility back to God. 😅

And then something amazing happened. Within the next few minutes, people suddenly started coming in, one after another. By the end, we actually had even more people than last time! 🤗

This ministry was started through Central Baptist Church, and I’m very thankful that Lynn and I were invited to be part of it. But today, there are also brothers and sisters from other churches joining and serving together.

So to me, Come to the Table doesn’t belong to any one church. It belongs to the Lord. What makes it happen is simply a group of people who love God and are willing to serve together, regardless of which church they attend.

Our purpose is not to pressure anyone to become a Christian. We simply want to share the Good News of the Gospel. So please don’t feel any pressure when you come. Nobody is going to grab you and force you to believe in Jesus. 😂 Whether you are already a Christian, not a Christian, or simply curious and still looking, you are welcome🤗

It’s really just a simple meal, some conversation, fellowship, and sharing about faith. In today’s fast-changing world, especially with AI becoming more and more a part of our daily lives, I sometimes feel that real human connection is becoming weaker.

Maybe Come to the Table can simply be a small place where people sit down together again, talk to each other, care about each other, and let a little love move around the room.

It also reminds me of more than 35 years ago, when I had just come to America and was first introduced to Christianity. My English was very limited at that time. I wanted to learn English, and some brothers and sisters from church invited me to meals and spent time with me. Even though communication wasn’t always easy, I still remember the warmth they showed me.

What shocked me even more was that after I became a Christian, they started calling me their “brother.” For a young guy who had just come from Taiwan, that was actually a huge cultural shock…..I recorgnized that my English wasn’t good, my skin color was different and I came from a completely different culture and background. But none of that mattered. In Christ, they simply called me their brother.

Later I realized they really had no choice. 😂 Of course, they did it willingly! Because that is what God calls us to do. When we have received love, we should learn how to pass that love on to someone else.

By the way, the food service went much smoother this time than the first one. But I did learn one very important lesson:

Next Thursday…..MORE James’ signature CHICKEN WINGS! 🤪. They disappeared way too fast!

I also want to thank the brothers who came early to help arrange the tables and chairs, and then stayed afterward to put everything back the way it was. You guys are awesome! ❤️

I don’t think Come to the Table is trying to do something huge or change the world overnight. Maybe it is simply reminding us of something very basic: Love needs to be passed on. And faith cannot only be something we talk about.

If we really believe the Gospel, then people should be able to see something different through the way we live and the way we treat others. Faith cannot just come from our mouths. It has to show up in our actions. Thank you to everyone who helped make Come to the Table possible, and to everyone who came. And thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve.

For Lynn and me, Thursday has become a day we truly look forward to every week. We’ll continue Come to the Table every Thursday through Thanksgiving, and then bring this season to a close. 🤗

So next Thursday, we’ll Come to the Table again!

May God bless everyone with peace and good health, and may we continue passing along the love that we ourselves have received. ❤️

Your Chef, James and Lynn

09/19/2026

1st Night of Come to the Table! ❤️

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about our first night. I even took the day off from work to get everything ready. The night before, several of our ministry friends came to help move tables and chairs and prepare for the dinner.

Our menu was bone-in pork chops, asparagus, my famous potatoes 😋, and of course, everyone’s favorites—James Signature chicken wings and my wife’s famous Crab Rangoon!

We had about 30–35 people come that night. I think some people are probably still watching and wondering what this Come to the Table thing is all about 😂. But I was very happy with the turnout.

To me, numbers are never the most important thing. Faith is.

I believe Come to the Table gives us a different way to reach people who may not have a church or different faith background. Maybe even more importantly, it gives us a chance to reconnect with people who once had faith but, for whatever reason, have drifted away from church.

In Taiwan, there’s something about food that naturally brings people together. We sit around the same table, eat, talk, laugh, and get to know each other. No pressure. Just people spending time together, hopefully experiencing a little of the love and warmth of God’s family. ❤️

This ministry has also reminded me of something very important: the church is not the building……the church is God’s people.

Because of work and other responsibilities, I haven’t been able to attend church regularly. So what does God do? He brings brothers, sisters, and friends to my restaurant instead! 😂

We may gather in a church building, in someone’s home, or around a table in a little restaurant. The place is not what makes us the church. When God’s people come together in Christ, love one another, encourage one another, and welcome those who are searching, that is what the church is really about.

Maybe that’s one of the special blessings of Come to the Table for me: sometimes we go to church, and sometimes God brings the church to us. 🙏❤️

Now I do have one confession 😂. The bone-in pork chops were a little drier than I wanted. Apparently nobody wanted to hurt the cook’s feelings because nobody complained! 🤣 Don’t worry, I learned my lesson. Next Thursday should be better!

Thank you to everyone who came and to everyone who helped make our first night possible. And please don’t feel any pressure about coming. Just come, enjoy some food, meet some people, talk, laugh, and enjoy the evening with us.

To give is a blessing, and to receive is also a blessing. Both are God’s grace.

See you next Thursday! 🤗❤️🙏

Your Chef, James

09/16/2026

Come to the Table – Free Outreach Program

Starting tomorrow, September 17, James Home Kitchen will co-host the “Come to the Table” outreach program every Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. through Thanksgiving.

This program was introduced to me by a dear friend and sister in Christ from Central Baptist Church. I originally thought it would be a one-time event, but after returning from Taiwan, I learned that it would continue every Thursday through Thanksgiving😅

Around the same time, my wife fell and needed hip surgery. I thought the program might have to be canceled, but she encouraged me to continue. Through God’s grace and everyone’s prayers, she has recovered remarkably well, and we are thankful that this program can move forward.

Everyone is welcome, and no reservation or church membership is required. The event is completely free. We will serve traditional bone-in pork chops, our signature potatoes, asparagus, my wife’s crab rangoon and chicken wings. If we run out of food, I will make fried rice—no one will leave hungry!

Most importantly, we hope everyone will have an opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ. As Isaiah 55:1 says:

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy w**e and milk without money and without cost.”

Volunteers will be available to help, and there is no pressure at all. If you cannot come tomorrow, that is perfectly fine.

This free outreach program will be held every Thursday. We warmly welcome you to come to the table!

We’re glad to serve you again!

Your Chef, James

08/30/2026

One Week After Lynn’s Hip Surgery — A Week of Progress, Love, and Gratitude ❤️🙏

Today is exactly one week since Lynn’s hip surgery.

This past week has given me a lot of feelings that I really never thought much about before. One is how important it is for husband and wife to support each other when difficult things happen. The other is that both Lynn and I have really felt the care coming from so many different directions. Some of you we know personally, and some of you I probably couldn’t even call by name, but your messages, encouragement, and especially your prayers—we have truly felt them.

Lynn’s improvement every day is something I can actually see.

The first few days she was frustrated. There was the pain from surgery, and suddenly so many simple things she used to do by herself became difficult. The road of recovery seemed very long to her. I kept telling her, “Don’t only look at how much it hurts today. Look at what you couldn’t do yesterday and what you can already do today.”

She also knows how many people are caring about her and praying for her (I read every one of your notes to her), so she knows she has to do her part too and take her rehabilitation seriously. I also keep reminding Lynn to look back at this whole experience from the beginning. There were so many things that surprised us.

From Urgent Care, to being transferred to the hospital, to all the tests and finally the decision for surgery, somehow everything seemed to connect one step at a time. We didn’t even realize until afterward that the surgeon (Dr. Matthew Gardner) who operated on her was very experienced and highly respected. Dr. Garner gave us what I believe was the best recommendation, and the surgery went extremely well.

Looking back now, it is very hard for me to believe that everything was just coincidence. I believe God was watching over us and leading us through the whole process, even when we couldn’t see it at the time.

Of course, temporarily closing the restaurant affects our income. But now I actually believe it was one of the best decisions I could have made. Money can be earned again later. But when my wife needs me, if I’m not there for her, no amount of money can make up for that later.

And maybe Lynn also discovered something new—that her normally loud, easygoing husband who sometimes drives her crazy actually has a very gentle side too! 😂

Every night before bed, I’ve been washing and taking care of her feet. At first she was embarrassed and kept saying, “No, no, you don’t have to do that.” But after a few times, apparently it felt too good to refuse anymore. 😂

To tell you the truth, I also have a little secret plan behind this. I’m trying to build up some “husband credit” ahead of time. So next time I make her mad, maybe she’ll remember how well I took care of her and forgive me a little faster. Hopefully I can get at least three free passes out of this! 😂😂 Just kidding…

Finally, I really want to thank all of our customers, friends, brothers and sisters who have been thinking about Lynn. During this past week, we have felt so much love. Your messages, encouragement and prayers have meant more to us than just saying “thank you” can express.

Her rehabilitation is not finished yet, but seeing her getting a little better every day already fills my heart with gratitude.

Thank you for caring about Lynn, and most of all, thank God for watching over us every step of the way. 🙏❤️

Your humble Chef, James

08/26/2026

Dear friends and customers,

I honestly can’t believe we have to close the restaurant again for two weeks (may change as needed), especially so soon after returning from Taiwan.

My wife unexpectedly had hip surgery this past Monday. About two weeks ago, she accidently stepped into a pothole and fell twice while working in her garden but she still kept working! That evening, I noticed her limping and asked what happened. She just said, “I fell today, but I think I’m okay.”

Well, she definitely wasn’t okay, but somehow, she kept working for almost two more weeks! I finally insisted that she get checked out. She refused to go to the ER but agreed to go to urgent care. From there, everything happened very quickly. The urgent care doctor sent us directly to the hospital, and we were told that she needed surgery the next morning. Even the surgeon couldn’t believe she had continued working for two weeks with a fractured hip!

We’re so thankful to the Springfield Clinic team for arranging everything so quickly and to everyone at Memorial Hospital for taking such wonderful care of her. The good news is that she did not need a hip replacement. Dr. Matthew Gardner said her hip joint was still very healthy, so he repaired the fracture by inserting two pins. After getting those two pins, she officially became my “Six Million Dollar Woman”! 😂

The surgery went very well, and she was already walking with a walker the next day! We have certainly been through quite a journey lately, but God’s grace and all your prayers have carried us through.

We feel a little embarrassed about closing again since we were already closed for a month in July. But right now, I need to stay put and take care of my wife, because she is definitely not going back to work this time! 😂

Thank you so much for your patience, prayers, understanding, and continued support. You are more than just our customers…..you are our friends and part of our restaurant family. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Chef James

08/15/2026

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month since we returned to the U.S. after traveling to Taiwan to say goodbye to my mother.

When we reopened James Home Kitchen, we honestly didn’t know what to expect. We hadn’t done any advertising and had been closed for quite a while. But what touched us the most wasn’t just that so many people came back—it was that so many of you came with kind words, heartfelt hugs, and condolences for our family’s loss.

Your love and support have meant more to us than we can ever express. You’re not just our customers—you truly feel like family.

Thank you for standing by us during this difficult season. Your encouragement reminds us why we love doing what we do. We promise to continue serving you with the same care, the best quality food we can make, and the warm hospitality you’ve always known.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. May God bless each and every one of you. ❤️

James & Lynn

07/26/2026

A Surprising Journey 2: What Felt Like a Disaster Turned Out to Be a Blessing

Thank you, everyone, for your concern about the iPad Pro I lost at the Seattle airport, and also for all the suggestions you gave me.

I actually did almost everything I could. I turned on Find My, put it in Lost Mode, left my phone number, and even added a reward message. What made it even more frustrating was that, before the battery died, I could keep tracking it, and the location continued to show that it was still somewhere inside the Seattle airport.

When I passed through Seattle again on July 25, I had checked just three days earlier and it was still showing inside the airport. I was very confident that I would finally be able to bring it home. But after going to Lost and Found and speaking with airport staff, no one could locate it. They also could not explain why my iPad was still showing on the map as being somewhere in the airport.

I also wrote to the airport office and the airport police. I did everything I knew to do. In the end, I still had to leave Seattle with some disappointment.

But now I am at peace with it.

If it is meant to come back to me, I believe God has His own time and His own way to return it. If not, I have decided not to keep worrying about it. Looking back on this trip, I realized that I received something much more valuable than an expensive iPad.

Spending three weeks in Taiwan also helped me see the place where I was born from a different point of view…

There is no question that Taiwan today is a very modern and convenient place. The high-speed rail, MRT system, easy access to almost everything, great food, and busy streets all make the country feel full of energy.

But this trip also helped me see another side of life there. Housing is very expensive. For an average family, a slightly nicer home can easily cost more than $500,000 in U.S. dollars, and most of the time it is only one unit in a building. If you want a detached home with a front and back yard, the price can become a burden for a lifetime.

At the same time, average income has not kept up with the rising cost of housing, so the pressure of daily life can be very heavy.

Taiwan’s national health insurance is certainly something to be proud of, but every system still has areas that need improvement. I believe that many problems could slowly change if society/industry had a little more compassion and a little less selfishness and greed…yeh, I dream for it😅

What surprised me most was that me and my wife had a little desire that we might want to retire in Taiwan someday.

But after these three weeks, my wife and I both felt the same way…..we wanted to go home. Back to America!

It was a strange feeling. Taiwanese blood runs through me, and I was born and raised there, but America has already become our true home.

I kept asking myself why I felt that way. Later, I realized that maybe the answer was not the economy or convenience.

Maybe it was the relationships between people. In America, I have been blessed with many sincere friendships and many people I can trust and depend on through life.

As a Christian, I believe that what truly changes people is not only a system or material things. It is a changed life.

When a person’s life is changed by God’s love, there is more acceptance, more forgiveness, and more genuine love between people.

That is one of the reasons I have come to appreciate America so deeply.

On the day I returned, I was exhausted while riding the Chicago subway and train. The ride was rough, and I saw many people dressed in all kinds of “unusual ways”.

For some reason, I just kept smiling. Many of them smiled back or nodded at me.

At that moment, I suddenly thought: I am really home.

I do not love this country because it is perfect, or because it is richer than every other place.

I love it because I feel a sense of acceptance here, and because I often see people sincerely respecting one another.

I truly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to travel and see other parts of the world.

Not to decide which place is better, but to understand other people, other cultures, and yourself a little more clearly.

Finally, may God bless all of you. And please do not mind that I usually do not post much on Facebook.

For one thing, I cannot write during work. For another, my wife already has all of my free time fully scheduled. 😂

Thank you again for all your concern, and thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. May God bless you all, and may we learn to treasure the people around us and every day we are given.

07/26/2026

A Surprising Journey: What Felt Like a Disaster Turned Out to Be a Blessing

Maybe because of the jet lag, I woke up very early this morning. My wife did too, but the first thing she wanted to do was go to the restaurant and check on her garden. I was happy just sitting down with a cup of coffee and enjoying my first morning back home.

When I opened Facebook and looked at the post I shared yesterday, I was honestly shocked. I never expected so many people to see it or leave so many messages. I was deeply touched and really didn’t know what to say, especially because I didn’t even recognize many of the names. I have to admit, my wife is much better than I am when it comes to connecting with people. 😅

I also want to share a few things that happened during the past few weeks and some lessons I learned from them.

On the first day of my trip, while I was waiting at the Seattle airport for my flight to Taipei, I used the extra time to read some office emails on my iPad Pro and reply to a few important messages. I never imagined that I would leave my iPad Pro at the airport. I didn’t even realize it was missing until two days after I arrived in Taiwan.

At first, it felt like a disaster. But later, I started to see it as God’s mercy and grace.

God knows I am a workaholic. He also knew that this was a time when I needed to be fully present with my family and help take care of everything after my mother passed away. So maybe my iPad Pro had to disappear for a while.

In the past, whenever I took time off, I always brought my laptop or iPad Pro with me so I could stay connected to work. My wife was already used to it and knew she probably could not change me. But this time, God gave me a lesson on the very first day.

My frustration slowly turned into thankfulness. Without my iPad Pro, I had more time to be with my family and to truly experience every minute I had in Taiwan.

That was when I suddenly realized how much work had quietly taken over my life. This may have been the first vacation I ever took without checking work online!

At first, it felt strange. But little by little, I began to understand how easily our phones, computers, and work can slowly take away some of the most precious parts of life, especially family, friendship, and real time with the people around us.

So yes, I lost an expensive iPad Pro, but I gained something more valuable. I had time to slow down, pay attention, and truly experience the things happening around me.

Some were good, and some were painful, but all of them were part of life. Sometimes we do not realize what really matters until we are forced to stop.

Thank you for taking the time to read and share this part of my journey with me.

James Home Kitchen

10/11/2026

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