Reaching Next Gen Asian Americans, Jan 2009 ver

Reaching the next generations of Asian Americans DJ Chuang Executive Director L 2 Foundation www.L2Foundation.org

L 2 Foundation

Developing leadership and legacy for Asian Americans

bless & empower the next generation

connecting leaders for innovation and healthy leadership development

mobilizing legacy partners to invest in the next generation

2 print-on-demand books

Asian American Youth Ministry

Conversations: Asian American Evangelical Theologies in Formation

reaching next gen Asian Americans

signs

statistics

structures

stories

When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’, and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Matthew 16:2-3

50+

U.S. churches close each week

from http://www.newchurchinitiatives.org/morechurches/index.htm

80%

U.S. churches plateaued or declining

from http://www.newchurchinitiatives.org/morechurches/index.htm

4 stages of organizational decline Cf. Mark Driscoll’s Confessions of a Reformission Rev pp.141-144 http://www.encounterthis.com/blog/?p=142

5% of the US Population is Asian American (July 2006) Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

14.9M Asian Americans in the US (July 2006) Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

33.4M Asian Americans by 2050 (projected) Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

2042 when there will be no racial majority in the USA (projected) http://www.newgeography.com/content/00189-gazing-into-a-post-ethnic-future

86% of Asian Americans are high school graduates (age 25 and older) 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

49% of Asian Americans are college graduates (age 25 and older) 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

20% of Asian Americans have graduate degrees (Masters, Ph.D., M.D.) 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

$64,238 Highest median household income of any racial group 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html

10.3% Poverty rate for single-race Asians (up from 9.8% in 2004) 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

15.5% without health insurance: single-race Asians 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

the “browning” of Asian America

56% Asian Americans unchurched http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=229

25.5% Asian Americans under age 18 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates

42% Asian Americans born in the USA http://www.asianweek.com/2008/11/18/invisible-minority-more-american-than-first-glance-suggests/

69.7% Asian Americans who speak English “very well” derived from the Census 2000 report "Language Use and English-Speaking Ability" at http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-29.pdf

450M native English speakers around the world From “Why Asians Speak English” http://www.asianweek.com/2008/08/29/why-asians-speak-english/

Four stages of organizational decline Cf. Mark Driscoll’s Confessions of a Reformission Rev pp.141-144 http://www.encounterthis.com/blog/?p=142

window of opportunity

For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation , he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.

Acts 13:36

house http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnar/402574248/

duplex http://flickr.com/photos/sidereal/111616256/

townhouse http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohadby/151741368/

mansion

hotel http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/94025957/

multiplex http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckyuan/1004839506/

ethnic church structures

Multi-lingual

Multi-department

Multi-organization

Multi-Asian

Multi-ethnic

Multiplying: church planting

Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved . Matthew 9:17

Evergreen LA

NewSong (Irvine + NOC + LA + Bangkok + more)

Quest Church (Seattle)

photo credits: BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / The Seattle Times, http://flickr.com/photos/54896089@N00/487696832/

10 things about Asian American youth

Many feel excluded and misunderstood

Mixed race kids are proudly identifying as Hapa, supplanting terms like Ameriarian, biracial, and blasian

Secret fans of “easy listening” adult contemporary music

“ Hero gap” being filled by activists from other cultures

Report from SnapDragon consultants, http://nextgenerasianchurch.com/2008/12/23/ten-things-to-know-about-asian-american-youth/

Most refer to white people as “white people” as African-Americans do

Underage gambling is huge. Power obsession is nothing new.

Want an end to the hyper-nerdy images and want to see more punked-out skater and graffiti DJ images, i.e. craving more street credibility

Universally hate the question, “where are you from”

All things Koreans are hot and getting hotter. Korea is the new Japan.

The 15-minutes of seemingly benign American Idol fame for William Hung had a surprisingly negative effect… Hung perpetuated the worst stereotypes… and gave non-Asians permission to indulge in 2 years of racial stereotyping and mocking

Lakeview Church (Chicago)

Grace Covenant Church (Philadelphia)

Vox Veniae (Austin, Texas)

http://flickr.com/photos/speedye/1305243195

100+

English-speaking Asian-led churches less than 10 years old

some characteristics

spirituality

creativity

inspiring worship

social justice

leadership

excellence

$50,000 Sarang Community Church’s annual fund for church planting by 2 nd Generation Koreans and other minorities http://blog.l2foundation.org/2007/08/29/multiethnic-church-planting-fund/

what existing churches can do