Brian Tung, left, the English pastor of First Chinese Baptist Church of Dallas in Dallas, looks at the IMB’s Annual Statistical Report. Chris Derry, right, holds up copies of the report in multiple languages. Derry is the IMB’s director of church and network mobilization.
Eli Choi, the pastor of Home Church in Frederick, Md., said that after attending the NextGen Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Asian American Pastors’ Summit at the International Mission Board (IMB) headquarters, he has a renewed commitment to cooperative Southern Baptist missions through the IMB.
On Sept. 7, 14 NextGen pastors traveled to Richmond to learn about the IMB and the missionary task, discover ways to get involved and establish connections. NextGen refers to second-generation Asian Americans who were born in or moved to the U.S. as children.
Just 24 hours before the summit, Choi and other pastors voiced what they hoped to walk away with after the summit. The pastors expressed a desire to learn about the IMB and its strategic goals, put faces to names, understand the assessment process for new missionaries, discover ways to get their churches involved, learn where their financial gifts are going so they can communicate that to their congregations, and form connections with other NextGen Asian American pastors that extend past the event.
The men said they were not disappointed.
During a session where IMB leaders shared the many pathways to go to the mission field, Choi said he texted a 17-year-old student and a retired couple in his church to encourage them to consider serving with the IMB. He said they had communicated their interest before, but he now felt confident and excited to recommend the IMB. Choi was also excited to see minority representation in IMB leadership, staff and missionaries. Choi and several other pastors said it helped them see they have a place in the IMB.
From left to right, Brian Tung, Jason Nam, Robert Gardner and Peter Yanes touch the marble globe in front of the IMB’s headquarters. Tung, Nam and Gardner are NextGen pastors who visited the IMB for the NextGen SBC Asian American Pastors’ Summit. Yanes is the executive director of Asian American relations and mobilization for the SBC.
Brian Tung, the English pastor of First Chinese Baptist Church in Dallas, said he is now more confident in promoting IMB to his congregation. Instead of just sending money, he looks forward to communicating how offerings are being used.
Augustine Hui, campus pastor of Metairie Church in Metairie, La., said he appreciated the opportunity to connect with other NextGen-ers who are also called to ministry. Before, Hui said he felt isolated and didn’t know of many, if any, second-generation Asian American pastors.
Daniel Jung, associate pastor of Tidewater Korean Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, said he wanted to meet like-minded brothers serving in a similar context who are also wrestling with what it means to be a NextGen Asian American pastor in an immigrant church.
Hui, Jung and the other pastors are now in a messaging group and will continue the discussions that were begun during their visit to the IMB.
Although Samuel Noh’s church, Grace Redeemer Church in Anaheim, Calif., is a new church plant with limited financial resources, he said that his commitment to giving to the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon offering was strengthened through the visit.
“I can confidently say I’ll add extra zero to [the offering to] the IMB,” Noh said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is, and this is how we can actually be a part of the Great Commission.”
One of his church’s new members is interested in long-term missions, and Noh is excited to share his new contacts at the IMB.
They were a part of history in the making, Chris Bae pointed out, and that was one of the things that excited him the most. Bae is the youth pastor at Connect Church in Cary, N.C. This was the first summit of its kind, and Bae said it laid the foundation for what is to come for ongoing NextGen Asian Americans’ involvement with the IMB.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Tessa Sanchez writes for the IMB.)
