Ministry can be difficult and we often do not know where to seek help. Here is a curated list of those who may be helpful. These are all friends of SOLA who have a greater awareness of the Asian American ministry context.
Biblical Counselors
A biblical counselor helps you work through the struggles of the heart with the wisdom of God’s Word. They’re not psychiatrists, who diagnose and prescribe medication. They’re not secular therapists, who can’t bring Scripture into the conversation. A biblical counselor opens the Bible with you and applies the gospel to the pain and sins that weigh you down.
Their focus is the inner life. They’re not coaching you in ministry or fixing church systems—they’re helping you meet God in your pain and remember His promises. Seek a biblical counselor when you feel overwhelmed, burned out, or stuck in past trauma. They give you a safe, Scripture-centered space to be honest and to find hope.
“Biblical counseling is the process whereby another individual comes alongside you and engages in wise conversations oriented toward change and growth in Jesus Christ. Biblical counselors seek to be compassionate and curious, bringing the timeless truths of Scripture to the troubles and struggles of everyday life.” (Jonathan Holmes, Executive Director of Fieldstone Counseling and Interim Executive Director of CCEF)
We recommend that you seek a counselor who is not simply a Christian but is able to apply the gospel to your situation. Recommendations coming soon.
Gospel Coaches
The word “coach” gets used by different people in different ways. In the professional coaching world, coaches help people expand and explore their thinking to gain clarity and insight toward their goals. They don’t give answers as much as help people find their own. Coaches can help pastors have break-through’s in their preaching, leadership, mission, discipleship, difficult decisions, relational dynamics, personal health, etc. A gospel coach has the additional interest in helping pastors see Christ and apply the gospel as they move toward their goals. We believe the gospel applies to all of life and ministry, and a gospel coach can help pastors live in that freedom and power.
While many Asian American or immigrant churches may hesitate to pay for counseling or consulting, they are often more open to their pastors being coached. Seek a gospel coach when you need sharpening, accountability, or encouragement in your calling. They’ll help you spot blind spots and apply gospel truth to the pressures of leadership.
“Gospel coaching is an intentional conversation with focused discussions on the leader’s relational, personal, missional, and spiritual life, guiding them to clear objectives and strategies to fulfill their God given role or mission. Gospel coaching strengthens the heart with the hope of the gospel, equips the mind with emotional support by providing a confidential space to navigate through complexities and challenges, and clarifies the path ahead by gaining strategic guidance to move forward with confidence and resilience.” (Linda Kim)
There are more Asian American leaders who are entering into the field of coaching. A good coach should have the ability to bring the best out of you. The following gospel coaches partner with SOLA Network and have graciously agreed to meet with SOLA-referred ministry leaders at a reduced rate for a season.
Paul Kim (Healthy Pastor Coaching)
https://www.healthypastorcoaching.com | healthypastorcoaching@gmail.com
Paul has been a PCA pastor for over 30 years with a passion for the gospel and a heart for pastors. He is currently an assistant pastor at Providence Church in West Hills, CA. He is also the Director of Coaching with City to City Southern California and a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) with over 600 hours of coaching experience.
Linda Kim (Gospel Coaching Network)
https://gcnwomen.org/content | sdlindakim@gmail.com
Gospel coaching is an intentional conversation with focused discussions on the leader’s relational, personal, missional, and spiritual life, guiding them to clear objectives and strategies to fulfill their God given role or mission. Gospel coaching strengthens the heart with the hope of the gospel, equips the mind with emotional support by providing a confidential space to navigate through complexities and challenges, and clarifies the path ahead by gaining strategic guidance to move forward with confidence and resilience.
We provide 1:1 Gospel Coaching as mentioned in the blurb above, along with a Coaching Skills Training where women can meet other ministry leaders and acquire the skills of gospel coaching, and gain valuable tools for applying these truths in their own lives and with the leaders they are supporting in the ministry. We also provide Soul Care Cohorts- for 8 months, a group of 4-6 women meet monthly to look at unique ministry challenges through a gospel lens and make time for one to two peer coaching segments.
Church Consultants
A church consultant provides expert, third-party perspective when your church is facing complex challenges. They can look at governance, leadership structures, bylaws, finances, and overall church health. Their role isn’t to shepherd your soul but to strengthen the systems that allow your church to thrive. They may not always give you a different answer but affirm the answer you already know through an objective perspective.
Consultants focus on the organization, not the individual pastor. They come alongside for a season to help the church take a step forward on issues such as HR, succession, capital campaign, multisite, organizational health, and more. The best consultants are not only experts in their respective fields but one who is genuinely interest in your organization and is willing to spend time becoming a student of you.
In the majority culture church world, the field of church consulting has grown and matured in the past few decades with groups like Generis, Unstuck, and Ministry Solutions Group emerging. However, this is not the case for the immigrant church or the Asian American church. The barriers are often the cost and contextual unfamiliarity.
We would recommend that you speak with denominational and network consultants for potential referrals. If you need connections, feel free to contact Steve Chang (steve.chang@sola.network) for further referrals.
Other Recommendations
We have also found the following programs to be helpful for many Asian American ministry leaders.
Serge’s Mentored Sonship
https://serge.org/mentored-sonship | Grace Chang (gchang@serge.org)
Mentored Sonship is Serge’s flagship program—an intentional, one-on-one mentoring journey designed to help people experience the promised power of the gospel in every area of life and relationship. Originally developed to support our missionaries who were faithfully proclaiming the gospel yet not always personally living out of its transforming grace, the program soon revealed a wider need. Many ministry leaders, despite outward fruitfulness, find themselves caught in patterns of performance, striving, misplaced identity, bitterness, or self-righteousness. Serge believes that the gospel is not only the foundation of faith but the ongoing means of transformation—for ministry, work, family life, and relationships. In Mentored Sonship, you are paired with a trained mentor who walks alongside you through the course. Together, you bring the gospel to bear on the heart’s fears and unbelief, allowing Christ’s grace to restore the joy, freedom, and life promised to us in Him.
Barnabas & Company’s Journey of Wholeness
https://www.journeyofwholeness.org | Sam Lee (sam@barnabasandco.org)
JOW is a five month retreat based cohort specifically designed for Asian American ministry leaders. During our cohort we provide a safe space to process through difficult seasons in life while pursuing rhythms and practices to bring greater emotional, mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.”
Emotionally Healthy Discipleship’s School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership
www.emotionallyhealthy.org/school | Drew Hyun (mj@emotionallyhealthy.org)
Emotionally Healthy Discipleship exists to revolutionize the church through emotional health and a slowed-down spirituality. Our focus is on resourcing and training pastors/leaders as disciple-makers who have been deeply transformed first, before helping others experience deep transformation in their churches and ministries. The School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership is a 16 session (broken up over two semesters of 8 weeks) immersive experience in online cohorts to practice and implement emotional health and a slowed-down spirituality in a leaders’ life and ministry.