SEATTLE, WA (June 17, 2011) – Several Evangelical Covenant Church ministers and educators were among the main presenters and discussion leaders this week at Seattle Pacific Seminary’s (SPU) inaugural conference on Asian American Ministry.

The conference, which was held Monday through Wednesday, focused on the “convergence of faith, theology, and culture for Asian American Christians in the past, present, and future.”

Covenant ministers who presented included Soong-Chan Rah, Gideon Tsang, Eugene Cho, Nancy Sugikawa, and Peter Cha, who also serves as professor of pastoral theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Other Covenant academics on the program were SPU professors Brian Bantum and David Leong.

Other Covenanters attending included Linda Cannell, academic dean at North Park University, and Greg Yee, associate superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference.

Yee says the SPU program is providing a unique approach to addressing issues related to Asian American ministry. “What’s different about how SPU is approaching this new challenge is that it is seeking to not just offer courses, but also mentoring, contextualized education, cross-cultural immersion experiences, and ongoing conferences and regional gatherings.

“As the Asian American community rapidly grows, we must understand that it is a fluid community in its understanding of its identity and its place in the U.S. mission and globally.”

The September 2009 Covenant Companion issue focused on the growing number of Asians in the denomination. To read articles from the issue, click here and click here.