Core Values

For any local church, a clearly articulated philosophy of ministry functions like the heart of a human body. As a healthy heart continuously circulates oxygenated blood throughout the body, a well-devised philosophy of ministry continuously infuses the church with renewed momentum, revived commitment, and refreshed vision. Consequently, a philosophy of ministry defines the corporate character of the church and its mission.

In the earlier years, a number of us have spent a good deal of time together thinking and praying about our philosophy of ministry. In this process, we deeply felt that our reflections and dialogues should be guided by two principal courses: Scripture and our Asian American experience; or, the “text” and the “context.”

Also, as a church that is committed to the task of outreach to Asian Americans, we believe that our ministry must be informed and guided by the unique Asian-American context. Hence, our philosophy of ministry, as articulated below, seeks to address particular strengths/needs, joys/pains, and hopes/challenges that arise from the Asian-American experience.

God-Honoring

As a church, we acknowledge that our highest call is to glorify God and to enjoy Him.

As a Asian-American church, we will grow in honoring and enjoying our Heavenly Father through a worship experience that is uplifting and intimate and in a prayer life that acknowledges our deep needs and His abundant grace.

Evangelism

As a church, we affirm that God loves all people and desires each person to be reconciled to Him and to each other.

As an Asian-American church, while welcoming people from other ethnic backgrounds, our task is to effectively reach out to unchurched and previously-churched English-speaking Asian Americans by encouraging friendship and lifestyle evangelism and by developing culturally relevant evangelistic resources.

Fellowship

As a church, we seek to build a community of faith while recognizing and responding to the uniqueness of each individual.

As an Asian-American church, we seek to establish a family of God in which “spiritual” uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters will love and serve one another, creating an atmosphere of love and mutual respect that allows each person to grow as an individual uniquely fashioned by our Creator.

Nurturing in the Word

As a church, we are committed to communicating Biblical truths in an authentic manner that is relevant to life.

As an Asian-American church, we are committed to that task of bringing together Scripture (text) and the Asian-American experience (context), affirming those aspects of our cultural heritage that uphold Scriptural values and principles while exposing those elements that require genuine repentance.

Lordship In Life

As a church, we are committed to helping each other mature in Christ in order to bring glory to God in all aspects of life.

As an Asian-American church, we are committed to helping each other to grow in our understanding and application of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives, motivated not by our sense of obligation, duty, or responsibility, but by our deep gratitude, joy, and love.

Team Ministry

As a church, we are built on the team concept where every believer is a minister with God-given gifts who is capable of and should be involved in the building of the Body of Christ.

As an Asian-American church, recognizing that some Asian cultural values and mores discriminate against gender, race, socioeconomic class, and age, we will affirm that all are equal before our heavenly Father and that all must seek to be good stewards of God-given gifts by developing and exercising them.

Ministry of Mercy and Justice

As a church, we acknowledge that our heavenly Father has a special concern for the poor and the oppressed, thus we are committed to the ministry of mercy and justice.

As an Asian-American church, we are committed to the task of serving the poor and the underprivileged while challenging racism and other forms of injustice which perpetuate poverty and other forms of oppression.

World Evangelization

As a church, we strive to work together with the worldwide community of believers in order to accomplish God's deep desire to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to the whole world.

As an Asian-American church, we seek to maximally utilize our bicultural identity and cross-cultural experiences in identifying our unique and strategic niche in the task of world evangelization.