Joy Is Found challenges faith, redeems cultural identities, and finds joy in Jesus in the Asian American home, work,
and Community.
Post by: Casey Young
It All Started with a Verse
In Matthew 13:44 of the Bible, Jesus gives a simple parable to describe our response and our reaction to the Kingdom of Heaven, as Christians. It tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who found a treasure hidden in a field. And out of JOY he sells all that he had to purchase this field. To many, this may seem to be an overreaction or oversimplification of the Christian faith, but in reality, it is just that wonderfully simple. The inexplicable joy of the Gospel of Jesus must be experienced firsthand and our response to it will be nothing short of wanting to sell all that we have to follow Him.
Challenges Faith
Joy is Found has three facets to the purpose statement (above). First, it is to challenge faith. We believe strongly that each of us have faith. It isn’t a matter of whether or not we have faith, rather it is where our faith resides or founded upon. For many of us, this is a question that is either often ask or never asked out of avoidance: where is my faith? Do I place my faith in myself and what I do? Does my faith come from my friends and family? Is my faith in science or the news media or my education and work? What is the ultimate end and goal of my faith? We believe that faith is founded on a person, Jesus Christ. We seek to challenge others to consider this and to place their faith in the person and the work of Jesus.
Redeems Cultural Identities
Second, we want to redeem our cultural identities, because the gospel calls for it and it is worth it. We believe that the Asian American heritage we all bear has an important role to play, not only in our lives, but even more so in our faith in Jesus. We all carry cultural scars, burdens, pains, guilt, shame, assumptions, misconceptions, and the list literally goes on. But, on the flip side, we also carry a uniqueness to the faith in our strong family values, understanding of piety and obedience, honor and shame culture, group identity, and so on. We want to see this generation of the Asian American Church (which in itself is so diverse and complex) find redemption in Jesus and to work to bring others to this same redemption.
Finds Joy
Lastly and most importantly, Joy is Found brings the joy founded in Christ to all who come to seek, challenge, and believe in Him. Our mission is aimless and in vain, if the end goal is not the joy of Jesus in us and the glory of God magnified. Jesus lived, died and rose again for glory to God and joy unto mankind. We long to see that joy be made known throughout the generations of the Asian American Church, as we seek not only to grow in faith, but challenge others to come to faith. The good news is to be made known, because the joy of our Lord is so worth it and we just can’t stop talking about it.
Our People
These three facets are carried out in the Asian American Church and we hope to be the voice and influence in getting the wheels turning. Jed and I are Chinese American and grew up in the complexities of the trilingual Chinese Church (English, Cantonese, and Mandarin) in America. We realize that the Chinese Church is one of the fastest growing in the Asian American Church and has the most complex structures in ministry and even fundamentally, in culture and language. We feel strongly about the importance of bringing our faith in Jesus into our homes, work, and commonplace. We long to see the growth in family units in all areas, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. But, we can’t do this alone. Join us as we look to Jesus and be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s leading!
Casey Young is currently a graduate student pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at the Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. Casey desires to help people understand how they can redeem and reconcile cultural identities and challenge their faith, through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He grew up in the Chinese American church and currently serves as a pastoral intern at First Chinese Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley. With the passion of bringing theology and cultural relevance to the table, he has the wants to see the Asian American church grow and shift to better reach this generation and those to come.