When there’s so much strife and division in today’s world, unity seems too lofty to attain or becomes a simple platitude that does not move into action, much less action for the cause of Christ. But especially because of where our country is right now with respect to race and minority voices, several Asian American campus ministries felt a desire to make a coalition for lasting partnership and change for our community.
Asian American campus ministries generally have had two origins in evangelicalism. The more prominent ones have started from predominantly white institutions such as Cru: Epic Movement, Navigators: Asian American Network, or InterVarsity: Asian American Ministries. Those organizations were birthed from a need to reach into specialized audiences that hadn’t been previously reached, including athletes, ROTC, or an ethnic/racial group. Thus the Asian American ministries were developed for each of these respective ministries.
Ministries like the Asian American Christian Fellowship, which was formed under the leadership of Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society, met on college campuses to focus specifically on Asian Americans.
In 2019, as the discussion around race become more mainstream, leaders from these four different campus ministries grabbed some Korean BBQ in Southern California to discuss how Asian American campus ministries need to find a voice to further the Gospel to Asian Americans. We felt the need to be unified in understanding the role we play in the Great Commission, and even planned a special conference in March 2020 for several of our leaders to meet to create and share resources on evangelism to Asian American college students.
But as COVID-19 ravaged through the world and unequally affected people of color around the US, we saw even more directly the need for unity among our groups. Specifically, people of Asian descent recorded a significant rise in Anti-Asian racist incidents. Some were physically harmed or threatened, while many faced micro-aggressions reminding us that we are perpetual foreigners in America.
As a coalition of Asian American campus ministers, we decided to pivot our in-person gathering into finding ways we could distribute resources to helping our communities address these new realities.
Some of us as individuals had the opportunity to participate in the forming of a statement on Anti-Asian Racism along with our friends at the Asian American Christian Collaborative.
Our campus ministry coalition decided to take it one step further together. We created a prayer guide for Asian Americans during the time of COVID-19. It was a chance for each of our ministries to express their strengths and voices, and we shared the resource with all people concerned with Asian Americans. This was our initial way to move beyond simple platitude when we cannot minister in-person.
We formed this coalition to solve real issues that Asian American students encounter in evangelism and discipleship. We continue to have the unique opportunity in this historic moment to stand against racial injustice towards black people as we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are just getting started! As Asian American campus ministries, we feel there is a distinct part to play to heal our nation, advocate for the underprivileged, and bring God’s justice and salvation through Jesus to all.