2022 Conference
Theme: “Fully Equipped”
The theme of the 2022 conference was “Fully Equipped”. We reflected on the threefold office of Christ as it relates to ministry in the local church. It took place on April 25-27, 2022.
Recap Video
Speakers List
- Alexander Jun (Executive Director, Korean American Leadership Initiative)
- Benjamin Shin (Associate Professor, Talbot School of Theology)
- Christopher Yuan (Speaker, Author, and Professor, Moody Bible Institute)
- Cory Ishida (Founding Pastor, Evergreen SGV)
- Hanley Liu (English Lead Pastor, First Chinese Baptist Church of Walnut)
- Harold Kim (Senior Pastor, Christ Central Southern California)
- Jason Min (Lead Pastor, Citizens LA)
- Julius Kim (President, The Gospel Coalition)
- Kim Kira (Elder for Preaching, Lighthouse Community Church)
- Monica Kim (Counselor, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation)
- Owen Lee (Senior Pastor, Christ Central Presbyterian Church)
- Soojin Park (Director of Youth Ministry and CCI, Christ Central Presbyterian Church)
- Thomas Hwang (Lead Pastor, Gospel Life Mission Church)
- Tom Lin (President & CEO, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA)
Plenary Sessions
“Embracing and Celebrating the Asian American Church”
Speaker(s): Owen Lee
Description: The Asian American (AA) church is good and beautiful, and the calling to minister in the context of an AA church is a wonderful and joyous thing! In addition, the AA church can do community, discipleship, leadership development, and mission in ways that are culturally contextualized, needed, and strategic. Therefore, the AA church ought to be embraced and celebrated!
“Christ’s Prophetic Office and the Christian Preacher”
Speaker(s): Julius Kim
Description: This talk will unpack and connect Christ’s prophetic office to the contemporary preacher as he is called to discern God’s truth, goodness, and beauty and testify to it in his words and in his deeds.
“Wisdom for Leadership Longevity in Asian American Contexts”
Speaker(s): Cory Ishida, Ben Shin, and Hanley Liu
Description: Hanley Liu will lead a panel discussion where we will glean from the wisdom of Cory Ishida and Ben Shin on the topics of leadership longevity, leadership health, and leadership accountability for Asian American contexts.
“Preaching on the Verge of Quitting”
Speaker(s): Harold Kim
Description: Psalm 42 offers an assessment of your condition – with practical prescriptions – to better preach to your own soul (and others’).
“Understanding Spiritual Abuse in the Asian American Church”
Speaker(s): Soojin Park, Jason Min, Joanna Wong, and Thomas Hwang
Description: Churches today have made national headlines due to members experiencing spiritual abuse from church leaders. But what is spiritual abuse and what does it look like in an Asian American church context? How can churches create a culture that guards against this spiritual abuse and bring healing to those who have experienced it? Our panel hopes to discuss this together from an Asian American perspective.
“Gospel Ministry: More than Evangelism”
Speaker(s): Kim Kira
Description: Because we believe that the gospel is not just about changing our eternal destination but changing our hearts, faithful gospel ministry seeks to develop a culture of care and counseling within our churches. This means helping one another find help and hope in Christ as we see our sin and suffering clearly, but see the gospel clearest of all.
“Sexual Identity: False Identity”
Speaker(s): Christopher Yuan
Description: Dr. Christopher Yuan articulates a biblical view of sexuality through the narrative of his personal transformation from an agnostic gay man to a Bible professor. He will also share on how one of the most important things missed when engaging with our LGB friends is how sexuality has become the core of our being. “Being gay” means “This is who I am.” But if this is incorrect, how does the Bible communicate who we are? Dr. Yuan articulates the correct understanding of personhood through the lens of Scripture—particularly, the image of God and the doctrine of sin—and explains the consequences of an incorrect understanding of who we are.
“The Way of a King”
Speaker(s): Cory Ishida
Description: While walking terra firma, Jesus was a manufacturer of furniture. He was a maker of disciples. He was a miracle worker. When was He a King? This talk will focus on the moments that Jesus was King here on earth and how it applies to us today as leaders of His Church. Pastor Cory will share examples of kingship from his 42 years of senior pastoral ministry.
“Resilient Leadership and Submitting our Asian American Idols to the King”
Speaker(s): Tom Lin
Description: What does leadership look like in this post-COVID, cultural moment of the church? Tom Lin will share about the primary calling of Asian American leaders to submit all of who we are and all of our leadership under the authority of Christ the King. Only then can we respond to two invitations for leaders in this season – resiliency and collaboration in leadership.
“Asian Visibility: Leading While Everyone is Watching”
Speaker(s): Julius Kim, Tom Lin, and Alexander Jun
Description: This is a conversation with two Asian American leaders, Tom Lin (InterVarsity) and Julius Kim (The Gospel Coalition), moderated by Alexander Jun. They will share lessons they have learned over the years about leadership through adversity, ministry pain, and pressure. We will also discuss the role of ethnic identity, culture, ways they guard against discouragement, and what they foresee in the future of the evangelical church in North America.
