Jonathan Hayashi

“I don’t need a small group. I’ve got my family and Jesus.” I mean, I guess that makes sense? If we have Jesus, then why do we want or need to have another commitment? But looking at the life of Christ himself, we see he spends a majority of his life in a community. In fact, Pastor Eugene Peterson wrote, “1/10th of Jesus’s…

Brett McCracken

I used to think people who raised their hands in worship were weird. I grew up in Baptist churches in the Midwest, where the two or three people who occasionally raised their hands while singing a hymn or worship song were looked upon with some suspicion. For most of my life I was all about belting out the hymns…

Jason Chao

My experience with Asian culture is that when it comes to people you love, you don’t tell them important news about your health or other troubles. My family lied to my grandfather when he was dying of cancer. They told him, “The doctors say you’ll be fine.” He died never knowing how sick he was. The grace and love that we have built as…

Hannah Chao

In a recent post, Tim Keller asked the question, “How Do We Reach a Global Generation?” He suggests that because of the Internet, the reach of Western ideas (like individualism) has spread throughout the world. This brought about the creation of a hybrid-like cultures all over the world, mixing Western and non-Western culture in a way that…

Dan Hyun

Pastors are often counseled to avoid preaching on certain subject matter—politics, for example—lest their sermons be the cause of unnecessary division and offense in the church. Some will argue that anything other than a message describing the path to salvation distracts from the real purpose of preaching. Some would believe that address…

Joshua Lim

The theme for SOLA Conference 2019 is “The Prevailing Church”. After reading that, you may be thinking, “A conference about the church? Thanks, but no thanks.” And I get it. Our typical church experiences can feel so mundane and repetitive. We say hi to the same people, sit, sing, and listen in the same seats, maybe…

Ka Leung Lee

Below is a lightly edited interview with the Lee family. They went on a family mission trip together through their church in Austin, TX. We hope you will be encouraged to see how the whole family was able to serve together. SOLA: Can you tell me us bit about the mission trip you went on…

Kim Kira

You are a counselor. How does that statement sit with you? Maybe you think counseling is only for professionals or for pastors in the church. Even though you may not be a formal counselor, you are a counselor nonetheless. Although our culture has formalized the term, we must remember…

Kevin Yi

Whether you’re a parent of teenagers, a youth worker, or just someone concerned about the younger generation, we hope that SOLA Network’s series on Generation Z was helpful for you. Here are some further resources for you to read and digest. If you’re the parent of a Gen Z gamer…

James H. Lee

Gen Z students have taken over the local church’s youth group, so it stands that the church should learn about their distinctive characteristics and minister to them accordingly. Unfortunately in the immigrant church, this task is often more daunting thanks to cultural, theological and…

John HaHyung Lee

I sat alone in the church for 15 minutes. The acquaintance who had invited me was nowhere to be found. Finally, he walked in with his fiancé. In jest, I told him he was a bad example of what a godly church member should be. "Yeah, my fiancé and I had a huge fight,” he said. “I'll tell you about…

Chris Chi

In our church circles, we always talk about training the new generation of leaders. Well, Generation Z is here, registering for VBS programs, joining youth groups, and now, attending our college groups or adult ministries. And they desperately need the Gospel. Social scientists say Gen Z…

Chris Li

Millennials step aside — Gen Z has arrived, and this generation has taken over our middle schools, high schools, and universities. The Barna Group, a research firm that specializes in studying the American religious faith, published a book on Gen Z and defined this new generation as…

Daniel Nam

Chances are you or someone you know has gone out on a short-term mission trip this summer. Having led and taken part in several of these trips, I understand the excitement that the summer mission season can generate. At the same time, you may have wondered if short-term summer mission trips…

Candice Surh

There is a stereotype in churches called the “80/20 rule.” This is when 20% of church members are serving in some capacity while 80% are simply attending. I’m proud to say I go to a church where it feels like the 80/20 rule is flipped, and it’s encouraging to see that many churches have developed…

Joshua Lim

As a pastor, I get the privilege to hear many testimonies, and it’s amazing that no two are exactly alike. Some are super dramatic, while others are very calm. Some took years to unfold, while others happened in a moment. But all these stories have at least one ingredient in common…

Richard Kim

To have a heart to advance the kingdom of God, you need to admire Jesus. When you do your devotions, for example, the purpose shouldn’t be to know the Bible more, but rather to come out admiring Jesus more. When you admire Jesus more, that leads to wanting to imitate him…

Justin Kim

If you are in Christ, you understand that that God calls us to be distinct. We are a people that have become new creatures because of the faith we have in Christ. We now have this calling to be light, to be salt, and even to be his ambassadors (1 Peter 2). In Christ, we are called to be witnesses…

Brandon Washington

When we consider the mission of God and its supernatural nature, anytime you are bearing supernatural fruit, you can know that you are serving the mission of God with his powers and not yours. It’s our tendency to be strategically-minded, so we’ll try to figure out, “How can I…

Jamie Lee

The first is that when it comes to relating with those with disabilities, the church is slightly at a disadvantage because people with disabilities are underrepresented at church. There are over half a billion to a billion people living with disability in the world, according to the World Health…

Joey Chen

“I don’t trust you anymore.” That’s what I said to one of my church elders as I confronted him about a serious issue with his character. This difficult conversation, which came after many heated and frustrating talks with him, was hindered further by our age difference — I was the same…

Brandon Washington

"The mission is His. And you have the privilege of saying, ‘My mission is His mission’, which means it cannot fail." From one of our speakers, and pastor of The Embassy Church, is "The Mission That Cannot Fail" - the mission that has already been won.

Steve Choi

"NLT translates this verse - 'Don’t just pretend you love others; really love them.' No confrontation, no correction, no change, no challenge - people who love you, who genuinely love you, will tell you if you’re making a mistake.” Pastor Steve takes us into 1 Corinthians 12 to unpack kingdom advancement through love.

Stephen Um

It’s so important for Christian leaders and pastors to think about work that’s outside of their local church, especially in establishing a robust vision for kingdom priorities. When the Bible talks about the kingdom of God, it’s not talking particularly about the community of God’s people…

Clark Fobes

“Don’t get sucked into the Christian bubble.” That was the warning I people when I left San Francisco to attend college in the heavily affluent, “Christian” suburb of Irvine. Having grown up in city hostile to Christianity, I didn’t really understand their cautioning. But to be honest, a Christian bubble…

Jason Min

Given the rapidly increasing popularity of worship movements like Hillsong, Bethel, and Jesus Culture, many wonder whether the church today has placed too much weight on the role of music in corporate worship. But I would argue that our view of music in the church - specifically congregational…

James Lee

People tell me that I look like a pastor. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but maybe it’s because I have the standard gelled-and-parted hair, a face framed by thick-rimmed Ray-Ban’s, and a warm, harmless smile. In fact, I am a pastor and my life now is pretty much in line with...

Randy Cho

I was driving to a cafe and I noticed something very interesting as I was stopped at a red light: Every driver around me was using his or her phone. The person to my left, to my right, and behind me had the exact same posture and facial expression as they were being entranced by...

Justin Wong

One of the hardest parts of youth ministry is walking with students for years and then watching them walk away from their churches and never return. And no, I’m not talking about those who leave the faith altogether (though that is excruciating), but rather those students who...

Brett McCracken

As an introvert who still has traumatic flashbacks to door-to-door evangelism from my Oklahoma Baptist childhood, I am much more comfortable with the “serve” side of mission than the side that involves talking to people about my faith. On a college mission trip to Paris during...