It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
Helen Lee wrote about church planting among Asian Americans just a few days ago. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where this is a hot topic. The mayors or vice mayors of our four largest cities, (San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland an Fremont) plus the mayors of several smaller cities are all Asian Americans. Between 2000 and 2010, the population of Santa Clara County (think Silicon Valley) added 140,000 to its Asian population. Of the 571,000 Asians living in the county, approximately 300,000 live in city of San Jose. In San Francisco, one out of three people is Asian, and some cities, such as Cupertino, home to Apple Inc, are now majority Asian cities. (Cupertino is 63% Asian). Many are first generation Americans; the vice mayor of San Jose, for example, arrived from Vietnam on a boat. Other Asians have lived in the Americas for many generations.
While many Asian Americans first arrived in cities along the Pacific Rim, or megacities like New York, others prefer quiet suburbs in places where there are jobs, affordable homes and excellent schools, just like millions of other North Americans do. Many are finding their places as politicians, scholars, scientists, nurses and more, all over the Americas.
I have spent a lot of time praying about starting churches Asians. I pray with the heart of a second-generation immigrant, grateful that New York embraced my father when he emigrated from Norway as a boy. Lately however, my prayers have expanded to include the concern that we also don’t ignore Asian Americans. I long to see more individuals thrive across racial lines as church planting coaches, assessors, and mentors. I hope for many to be offered resources and support systems equivalent to those afforded Caucasian church planters. Asian Americans lead cities where all kinds of people live, and they can lead churches where all kinds of people worship. I dream of thousands of Asian American, strategists and catalysts, and I imagine them authoring excellent church planting books. It’s about time.
May 17, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Thank you Linda, as a leader serving on the national team of an Asian-American student ministry, I think it is important that Asian-Americans not be left out of church planting strategies just because Asian-Americans are considered the “model minority”. We have learned so much from our brothers who are African-American, Latino-American, and Native-American, etc. We have learned that we can have a voice and the power to make a difference for the Kingdom, and that we can equip and empower other Asian-American leaders to reach Asian-American students for the Gospel SO THAT they can reach EVERYONE for the Gospel. We have learned that we can use our voice to ADVOCATE for those who do not have a voice, such as the recent immmigrant, those with special needs, the poor, the depressed, etc and not only in our own ethnicity but across ethnicities. When we invest in Asian-American leaders, we are investing in the next generation of minority leaders who Lord willing along with their other ethnic brothers and sisters will propel the Gospel forward to the next generation.
Thank you for this article Linda.
May 18, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Linda,
I lived in Cupertino in the late 60s and attended DeAnza College there before moving on. The number of Asians then was probably not more than 5-10%. To hear that it is now 63% is amazing. I am in the process of helping with a new church for 2nd generation Vietnamese in Orange County. One of the zip codes we will be targeting is 90% Vietnamese. Thanks for your comments and encouragement to engage this burgeoning demographic. BTW, my first pastorate was in Morgan Hill at a church that had been started as a Japanese speaking, post WWII congregation 25 years before I got there. It’s still going strong, having transitioned away from its Asian roots. The strawberry farms were replaced with houses.
Blessings,
Phil Spry
Clayton, NC
June 14, 2011 at 11:03 am
Does anyone know where to find a list of Asian American churches in the Cupertino area, say within 10-15 miles? I need to get my to older kids plugged into solid youth groups ASAP.
BTW, most Chinese churches here are targeted for 1st generation. I’m from LA and there are A LOT more AA churches to choose from e.g. in the (SoCal) South Bay area, there are a dozen to chose from. Many of the AA churches in SoCal are connected loosely through JEMS (Japanese Evangelical Missions Society), which has very strong on-campus ministries i.e. AACF (Asian American College Fellowship).
Blessings,
Ron