Pastors and Ministry Leaders Lunch
Join AACNA's next Pastors and Ministry Leaders Lunch on Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 12-2 pm at 1795 Old Peachtree Rd. NW, Duluth (offices of The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church). All local Asian American pastors and ministry leaders (directors, staff, full or part-time, volunteer). If you consider yourself a ministry leader, you are invited!
Pastor Minho Chung will speak on “Rhythms and Rest for Ministry.” We hope to have a time of sharing stories about joys and challenges in ministry. We look forward to seeing you, connecting, and supporting one another. Lunch is will be provided and on AACNA! Let us know on the form if you have any dietary restrictions. RSVP Here.
Hope, Love, and Faith for Asian Americans
A Day with Dr. David C. Chao
Join for all or part of the day as you are able. Sign up for morning, lunch or afternoon through our Sign up Form Here.
10:00 am-12 noon: Naming the Worlds that Form Us
Most of the people in our pews are carrying something they cannot yet put into words: a father's long silence, a mother's impossible expectations, an exhaustion that no achievement ever seems to relieve. This opening lecture is about learning to name it.
Drawing on roughly one hundred and eighty oral history interviews behind my forthcoming book, Hope, Love, and Faith, I will tell real stories of Asian American Christians — a refugee boy who found hope in a single greeting, a veteran nurse doubted because of her accent, a college student whose whole life runs through his phone, a father and son ruptured for six months over a “deal” with God — and use them to give ministry leaders a way to name what our people are actually living: the joys and pains of intergenerational family life, the weight of the model-minority story, mental health, and a faith now carried through a screen.
Using the ancient Christian wisdom of double knowledge — the conviction that we cannot truly know God while remaining strangers to ourselves — I will show why learning to name these pressures is not less spiritual work but more, and how a larger language lets us bring more of a person's life to Christ to be healed. An hour of teaching will be followed by an hour of honest conversation about how this lands in your own ministry.
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch and Fellowship
1:00-3:00 pm From Pain Point to Faithful Practice: A Pastoral Discernment Workshop (limited to 5-8 participants)
The morning session names the worlds that form us. The afternoon is where we practice discernment together, on the ground, with the real pressures you carry into ministry. This is a small working cohort rather than a second lecture. I will ask each pastor or ministry leader to come with one pain point — a tension from your ministry or your family life, the thing that has been keeping you up at night.
We will select one or two cases, and we will walk through them as a group. We will listen to the story without rushing to fix it, locate it within the larger histories of migration and racialization that press on Asian American families and churches, bring it to Scripture, and discern together what faithfulness asks. Each of us will leave with one concrete practice to carry into the coming week. Rather than talk about my book, we will do what it teaches.
The cohort work is confidential and relational, and no one will be asked to disclose more than they wish. It is best suited to pastors and ministry leaders who want to think theologically about the joys and pains of Asian American ministry, and who are willing to listen and to be listened to.
*************************
Dr. David C. Chao directs the Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. A second-generation Chinese American shaped by Chinese evangelical and Korean Presbyterian churches and by campus ministry with Cru, he equips Asian American churches and their leaders through the Center's conferences, podcast, oral history research, and mental health initiatives. His family's life in America began in Atlanta, where his father came from Taiwan to study at Georgia Tech.
Community Gathering
Come and join other Asian American Christians at an informal gathering with no agenda except to share a meal and meet other Asian American Christians at a local food hall to network and foster unity across different churches. It doesn’t matter what church or denomination you attend. Just come, get your own food, and join us for fellowship and making new friends.
This gathering will take place on Saturday, June 6 from 5-7 pm at Jusgo Food Court (next to the Jusgo Supermarket, 3875 Venture Drive, Dultuh, GA). No need to sign up, just show up and look for our AACNA table signs. We’ll find a spot in the back tables near the restrooms.
Youth and EM Pastors Lunch
Are you a Youth, Young Adult or EM pastor or ministry leader at a Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Asian, Southeast Asian, Asian American, or multiethnic church? You are invited to a special lunch! We want to get to know you, learn about your ministry, and discern how we can support one another as we pastor the next generation of Asian American Christians.
Join us on Thursday, May 7 from 12-2 pm at Arirang K (7775 McGinnis Ferry Rd, Johns Creek, GA 30024. We will spend some time getting to know one another and Rev. Dr. Kevin Park, a long-time local EM pastor will share wisdom, lessons learned, and encouragement for thriving in the long journey of ministry. Lunch is on us. Sign up here.
Our Flourishing, Our Faith Watch Party Lunch
Register for free to attend virtually Our Flourishing, Our Faith: Navigating Rupture and Repair in Asian American Christian Communities: A Hybrid Conference on Mental Health and Ministry on April 10-11, 2026 at Biola University. Watch the plenary sessions on your own and then join us for lunch and discussion on Friday, April 17th at 12-2 pm at 1795 Old Peachtree Rd, NW in Duluth (The United Methodist Church Offices).
We will debrief the our learnings and reflections together from the conference. This is an opportunity to process our unique experiences as Asian American Christians and leaders. Let us know you’re coming by registering here.
Email Irene Wong if you have questions: revirenewong@gmail.com
Remember & Renew
Courageous Love
Our 2026 Remember and Renew will be on Sunday, March 22, 2026 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 pm at Korean Central Presbyterian Church (4201 N. Peachtree St, Atlanta). This is the 5th anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, the tragedy which ignited our annual gatherings. The first hour will be a community worship gathering with Joyce Koo Dalrymple as our featured speaker, who will give a message on “Courageous Love.“ Then, we will have a community meal with opportunities to meet and fellowship with other Asian American Christians from all over metro Atlanta.
Please RSVP here.
Joyce Koo Dalrymple is an author, speaker, and spiritual director. She is the Chief of Content and Engagement at Khora Collective. Additionally, she serves as the Director of the Center for Women in Ministry at Northern Seminary. She holds a BA from Stanford University, JD from Boston College, and MDiv from Metro Atlanta Seminary. Her books include Women in the New Testament, Jesus’ Passion Week, Parables of Grace, and Redeeming Eden. Joyce enjoys traveling with her family, exploring nature trails with her dog, and having coffee with friends. She and her husband, Tim, live in Philadelphia with their 3 daughters.
Jon Tran
Dr. Jonathan Tran, Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School will be the featured Chapel speaker at Candler School of Theology at 11:00 am in Cannon Chapel on Tuesday, February 17. The AACNA community is invited to join a Lunar New Year lunch with the Candler AAPI community afterwards. RSVP for the lunch here; https://form.jotform.com/252308534880156
Can’t attend in-person? Watch the livestream of the chapel service here: https://candler.emory.edu/student-life/worship-spiritual-formation/worship-livestream/
Community Gathering
Join an informal meet-up for Asian American Christians with no agenda except to get some good food and meet other Asian American Christians from different churches in metro Atlanta. It doesn’t matter what church or denomination you are part of. We want to get to know you! Grab your dinner from the food court and join us to meet other Asian American Christians and connect with others from different churches. We’ll put out our AACNA signs to claim some tables on the right or back side of the food court, so look for our AACNA logo and join us!
This gathering will take place on Saturday, February 7 at Jusgo Food Court next to the Jusgo Supermarket (3875 Venture Dr., Duluth) from 5-7 PM. Let us know you’re coming on our Facebook Event page.
Pastors and Ministry Leaders Lunch
Joseph’s 3 Killer Questions
Join our next Pastors and Ministry Leaders lunch on Thursday, January 29, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m at Bobo Garden (5181 Buford Hwy, Doraville). Paul Tokunaga will be our speaker and his talk entitled, “Joseph’s 3 Killer Questions” will help us reflect on the challenges of ministry as Asian American leaders. This lunch is for Asian American pastors and lay ministry leaders in any capacity. If you consider yourself a leader, in your church, in the community. or in the workplace you are welcome to come! Please let us know you’re coming by signing up in advance. RSVP Here.
Paul Tokunaga is the Founder/President of MELD, LLC (Multi-Ethnic Leadership Development). He is also a former Vice-President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship where he served in a variety of leadership and management roles including National Asian American Ministry Coordinator. A third-generation Japanese American from San Jose, California, Paul is the co-author of two multi-ethnic leadership books including Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian American Leaders and is a sought after speaker.
Flourishing Together: A Gathering for Asian American Pastors and Ministry Leaders
Ministry can be lonely, especially when few understand your cultural or church context. Whether you serve in an Asian American, multiethnic ministry, or predominately Anglo setting, Flourishing Together is a one day gathering for you to connect, share wisdom, and support one another for the long journey of ministry.
Our keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Kevin Doi (Fuller Seminary) will speak on healthy and healing practices for pastors and how we can sustain our wellbeing in ministry.
This is more than a conference - it’s about building community.
Registration is free, but please sign up so we can plan for meals. Register HERE.
Remember & Renew 2025
Please join us for our Remember and Renew 2025 event!
Since our first gathering in response to the Atlanta Asian Spa shootings in 2021, we have continued to gather as an AAPI community to share our stories, be encouraged in our faith in Jesus, and seek God's healing and restoration in God's loving presence. Join a worshipful, story-telling, and gospel-centered gathering for the AAPI community (and our friends) in Atlanta.
Asian American Formation and Vocational Exploration Group for Young Adults
We will be offering an Asian American Formation and Vocational Exploration Group for Young Adults in early 2025.
Pastors and Ministry Leaders Lunch
All Asian American Pastors and Ministry Leaders in the metro Atlanta area are invited to share a meal at Korean Central Presbyterian Church on January 23, 2025. All are welcome!
Daniel Lee | Prayer & Conversations: Asian American Christianity and the Broader Church
OneRace Movement and the Asian American Christian Network of Atlanta (AACNA) invite you to an evening of worship and prayer, followed by a conversation with Dr. Daniel D. Lee of Fuller Seminary on “Asian American Christianity and the Broader Church.”
Daniel Lee | Challenges and Gifts of Asian American Christian Leadership
We invite you to join us in having conversations with Dr. Daniel D. Lee of Fuller Seminary, specifically on the topic of "Challenges and Gifts of Asian American Christian Leadership."
Pastors and Ministry Leaders Lunch
All Asian American Pastors and Ministry Leaders in the metro Atlanta area are invited to share a meal at Emory University on March 22. We will be hosted by Dr. Roger Nam, professor at Candler School of Theology, and other faculty.
Remember & Renew 2024
Please join us for our Remember and Renew 2024 event!
This year's theme is Mental Health in the Asian American Community. Since our first gathering in response to the Atlanta Asian Spa shootings in 2021, we have continued to gather as an AAPI community to share our stories, be encouraged in our faith in Jesus, and seek God's healing and restoration in God's loving presence. Join a worshipful, story-telling, and gospel-centered gathering for the AAPI community (and our friends) in Atlanta.