Five Factors That Will Shape the Future of the Asian American Church

I feel like Asian American churches are on the cusp of change. Speaking very generally, the ‘80-90s seemed to be the English Ministry days; the ‘90-2000s were the days when Asian American seemed to establish their own autonomous churches; the 2010s were the days where Asian Americans were trying to figure out their identity (e.g. gospel church? multi-ethnic?).

What will the next decade look like for Asian American churches? I’m not sure, but there are some unavoidable factors that I think will shape the landscape. Of course, normative practices like faithfulness to God’s word and prayer will be the main determining factors. But I also think each generation influences the way people experience church.

So with that being said, here are some candid thoughts on five factors that I see shaping the way Asian Americans will experience the local church. I’m not saying these will be the main determining factors, but are they simply ones that I notice most.

1. The Rise of Millennial/Gen-Z Leaders

There was once a time where the only options for Asians to go to worship were immigrant churches or white mega-churches. Then, as mentioned earlier, there seemed to be a wave of second-generation Asian American pastors that started their own thing. Many of these churches still exist, cornered the “Asian Christian market,” and became the way most Asian Americans experienced Christianity.

But I realize most of those Asian American churches happen to be led by Boomers and Gen-Xers. The time is coming though where you’re going to see more Millennials/Gen-Zs leading churches and I think the generational gap will be very noticeable. While Boomers/Gen-Xers assume and accept diversity, Millennials/Gen-Zers pursue diversity; while Boomers/Gen-Xers desire or reject rules, Millennials/Gen-Zers try to re-write the rules; while Boomers/Gen-Xers are learning technology, Millennials/Gen-Zers grew up in technology.

I’m not saying one generation is better than the other. But the younger generational leaders are answering different questions and engaging in different ways, and I think we’re going to notice these difference more and more.

2. The Partnership With White Majority Evangelicalism
First generation Asian American churches generally stuck together. It didn’t matter what theological beliefs you had - so long as your church was predominantly Asian, you were invited to participate in joint retreats and Turkey Bowl tournaments (the Asian Christian version of Super-bowl).

When second generation Asian churches came into the scene though, they resonated less with their first generation forefathers and sought to partner with white majority evangelicals. Time to do things with “the big boys” whose books shaped our Christian faith. And when major evangelical networks started to platform more Asian leaders, it almost felt like the popular white kid from school inviting the nerdy Asian student to sit with him during lunch.

But I’m starting to notice that Asian leaders are feeling a little weary these days about this partnership. They’re tired of being the only Asian in the room and listening to a panel of white Christian leaders telling them how to do church. They’re tired of feeling like they need to conform to what feels like subtle white normativity. And to be candid, they’re tired of feeling like they’re only platformed to help organizations/churches tap into the untapped “Asian Christian market.”

So a question that I think will shape the future is whether or not Asian American churches will think it’s still worth pursuing these evangelical partnerships or if they’ll follow the steps of their black Christian brothers and start their own thing together.

3. The Use of Social Media to Engage Skeptics and Seekers

Before the main way Asian Americans would engage and evangelize their non-Christian friends is by inviting them to church and hoping the sermon will affect them. In other words, it was very much a “come and see” approach that relied heavily upon the Sunday experience.

But Asian Americans grow more weary of the traditional, institutional church, the “come and see” approach won’t work as well. The approach probably has to shift to a more “go and seek” - but not in the "go to the streets and ask strangers if they want to talk about Jesus” way. People aren’t on the streets anymore. And if they are, they probably don’t want to talk to you - especially if it’s about Jesus.

But people are on social media - and they’re more willing to talk there.

New mediums like Tik Tok and Clubhouse are not only populated but are becoming safe spaces where people are willing to share and engage in meaningful conversations. And just as Asians populated Youtube in the 2000s, they’re beginning to populate these new virtual spaces too. The missional opportunities are becoming more virtual and Asian American churches, whether they like it or not, are going to have to be more virtual if they wish to engage with the growing number of seekers and skeptics.

4. The Engagement With Politics and Social Justice
While the younger generation seems to care less and less about faith, they certainly care more and more about justice - including Asian Americans. While before Asian Americans seemed to be pretty apathetic about things going on in this country, things seem to be changing. Ever since George Floyd, Asian Americans are becoming more and more thoughtful about a topic that hasn’t been really discussed in Asian Christian contexts.

But what will be interesting is seeing the rise of a more politically divisive context. Generally speaking, it was almost presumed that Asian Christians were more right-leaning, single-issue voting, Republican supporting spaces. I’m sure there were plenty of left-leaning registered democrats in the church, but it seemed like they had to leave those liberal views outside the sanctuary.

But as Asian Christians engage in politics and social justice more, I think we’re going to see a type of political diversity amongst Asian Christian churches that we haven’t seen in the past. And while I know there’s debate about the relationship between the church and social justice, I think if Asian churches don't engage in these social issues, they won’t be engaging with their congregation.

5. The Deconstruction of Faith Amongst Asian American Christians

Back in the day, Asian Americans seemed to fall into one of two categories: the churched and unchurched.

• The churched were Asians who grew up in the church and presuppose the basic tenets of the faith.

• The unchurched were Asians who didn’t grow up in the church and needed to be introduced to the basic tenets of the faith

However there seems to be a new, third category that’s emerging: the de-churched. The de-churched experienced church and know all the “right answers,” but they still have so many questions about the faith and the typical spiritual pat answers won’t satisfy them.

This experienced is often described as a “deconstruction of faith” where a person begins to ask questions that often leads to the dismantling of their beliefs. When people experience what some call a “mid-life crisis of faith,” they will notice their presuppositions, re-examine Christian doctrine, and critique church institutions. While such deconstruction has been prevalent in most of Europe and America, I feel like we’re starting to see this more and more amongst Asians.

So I think the challenge will be how can Asian churches remain faithful and orthodox while still creating safe spaces that allow people to ask tough questions.