This was an eventful year for SOLA Network. Our beloved outgoing Editor, Hannah Chao, bid us farewell with the annual magazine, and we welcomed Ashley Kim, Jee St. John, and Heidi Wong to the Editorial team. On the Editorial front, we kicked off the year by hearing from a new generation of voices: the Young Writers Cohort. Led by Soojin Park, this cohort (Ashley Kim, Ben Chow, Carissa Samuel, Christine Song, Emily Law, Matthew Fang, Michael Park, and Rosia Li) blessed us with several series, including “Letters to,” Lent, Suffering, and an Open Topic. We were thrilled to work with this group of talented individuals, and are excited to see how they continue to share their voices.
AALC 2024: Writing the Next Chapter
In April, the SOLA Network Conference team hosted the AALC 2024: Writing the Next Chapter. You can find keynote sessions here, as well as breakout sessions and interviews at our Youtube Channel. At the conference, SOLA Network released the paperback version of A Letter to the Asian American Church.
In case you weren’t able to attend, a few attendees shared about their experiences via articles. Ben Chow and Carissa Samuel, members of the Young Writers Cohort, shared their post-conference reflections as members of Gen Z. Daniel Jung and Helicon Kuan shared their distinct perspectives as members of the KALI and CHCC communities, and the benefit of having a unifying vision at AALC. A number of the attending leaders gathered together before the conference to discuss threats and opportunities for the Gospel.
First Time Authors
Throughout this year, we heard from a number of authors publishing an original piece for the first time with SOLA. They wrote on a variety of topics, aimed to equip our readers with new ways of thinking and resources. Chris D. Lee discussed how to engage with Christians who disagree with us, providing biblical and practical examples to pursue conversation that seeks to understand and see the good in other perspectives. Manhattan based counselor Jamie Yoo shared her insights on how to choose a professional counselor with discernment and wisdom. Rosalyn Auyeung tackled the difficult topic of how to biblically honor your parents in a two-part series.
Other authors shared their personal stories with us. David Tang reflected on his journey of persevering through a difficult time in ministry and how God’s faithfulness fueled him. Hannah Wang shared about her on-campus experience in rekindling spiritual warmth during a cold season. For Thanksgiving, Josh Budlimic reflected on a time of God’s faithfulness and comfort in the midst of significant personal loss.
A few of our first time authors discussed discipleship from different lenses. Bobby Suh reflected upon the impact of Covid on traditional discipleship methods and the opportunity presented to the Church to enrich discipleship pathways through intentional presence. Instead of always relying on church programs, Serena Wang challenged us to look around at who God has placed in our midst–our friends. By spending time with them, especially those who emulate Christ, we can be discipled and disciple in turn.
For Parents
We began the year with a mini series on Parenting, with contributions from Tom Sugimura (Why Can’t My Teen Make Normal Conversation?), T. Kim (What Risks Can Moms Take?), Connie Leung Nelson (Parenting for “Success”: Remembering He Who is Sovereign), and a collaborated piece with resources by Faith Chang, Daniel K. Eng, and Tom Sugimura.
Later in the year, we published Cultivate, a variety of resources for parents and a curation of previously published articles.
We wrapped up the fourth quarter with a Teen Mental Health Series, with some contributing authors also published with SOLA for the first time. Gower Lee (Parents, Let’s Make God’s Grace Visible), Tom Sugimura (Showing Teens a More Excellent Way), Cathy Chang (Getting to the Heart of Teens and Tweens), David Lee (Teens (And Parents), Test Your Time on TikTok), Eric Lau (Video Games and the Teenage Mind (And Heart)), Rosalyn Auyeung (Helping Teens Who Self-Harm), and Monica Kim (De-stigmatizing Clinical and Professional Counseling for Teenagers) shared perspectives from their areas of expertise and interest.
Advent
As we ended the year with Advent, four authors guided us through reflections each week, which were also compiled into a magazine. Our Editorial Intern, Ashley Kim, compiled this series focused on Isaiah 9:6, with contributions from Faith Chang, Daniel Jung, Keith Fong, and Soojin Park.
Looking back on this year, we are nothing but grateful for the ways God has ministered to us and our readership. Thank you for the support and encouragement, and we are looking forward to what God has in store in the new year!
Gratefully,
The SOLA Digital Team
Photo Credit: Kelly Sikkema