Pastors, lay leaders participate in ABHMS’ Asian Ministries-sponsored online training

Approximately 80 pastors and lay leaders attended the American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) Asian Ministries-sponsored online leaders training and development event via Zoom on the ministrElife platform on July 31 and Aug. 1.

“With an emphasis on spiritual formation, intergenerational ministries and leadership development during a time of COVID-19, the event was transformative for so many of us,” said Katharine Hsiao, coordinator of the Asian Caucus/Alliance. “We rejoice that God brought so many blessings through the vehicle of Zoom.”

Workshops included “The Making of a Spiritual Leader” led by Rev. Dr. Gerald Mann, lead pastor of Sunset Ministries, San Francisco, and “In The Wake of COVID-19 and the Ministry of Reconciliation” led by the Rev. Dr. Tim Tseng, Pacific Area director, Graduate and Faculty Ministries, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and Tansy Kadoe, M.S., licensed associate marriage and family therapist.

“I learned so many helpful tips from ‘The Making of a Spiritual Leader’ workshop,” said David Sein-Lwin, a member of the Burmese Christian Alliance in the San Francisco Bay Area and an Asian Alliance Council member. “One tip in particular I like is to live our lives as transformational [‘being’] leaders, instead of transactional [‘doing’] leaders. Doing focuses on self, where being focuses on Jesus.”

Other workshops were as follows: “Nurturing Young Adults” led by the Rev. Melanie Mar-Chow, Asian American Christian Fellowship, the campus ministry division of the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society, with panelists William Deleon and Justin Thang; and “Bridging Intergeneration Ministries” led by the Rev. Michele Turek, Alliance of Asian American Baptist Churches records and communications coordinator, Pacific Area and Western Region field operations director, Graduate and Faculty Ministries, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and minister Sandra Lee of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland, Calif. In addition, Tseng and Kadoe offered a second session of their workshop on Aug. 22 because of timely content on racism, mental health and a call to action for reconciliation.

ABHMS’ Asian Ministries strives to equip and cultivate leaders to increase the capacity of American Baptists to impact the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information about Asian Ministries and Burmese Ministries, please contact the Rev. Florence Li, ABHMS national coordinator of Asian Ministries, at florence.li@abhms.org.