In a 2007 report, “Asian American Churches: An Introductory Survey,” published by L² Foundation in partnership with Leadership Network, the report’s author, DJ Chuang, cited “an estimated 7,000 U.S. Protestant churches have a majority attendance of Asian Americans.” This rough estimate assumed an “under-count” based on numbers gathered then.

Upon further research, the total number of Asian American churches is more reasonably estimated between 6,500 and 7,000. This ballpark figure provides a sense of scale.

With an estimated Asian American population of 15.2 million (circa July 2007), this indicates the number of unchurched is rather large. The Census Bureau projects that the Asian and Pacific Islander population will double to nearly 25 million (7.1 percent of U.S. population) by 2030, and triple to more than 37 million (9.3 percent of U.S. population) by 2050.[p]

Here are the estimates with cited sources linked (when available) and annotated footnotes:

While the number of Asian American churches is not easily obtained, these estimates can be useful to inform the vast ministry opportunities that do exist. ^[*] Please add a comment below to suggest other related sources.

———-

Footnotes:

[p] North American Mission Board (NAMB) summary highlights from the Pulpit and Pew research reports on Asian Americans

[*] “Ethnic network data is not collected or updated consistently, so it is difficult to develop a clear profile of congregations, membership, and pastoral leadership. Here are some examples: Dr. John Mizuki of the Japanese Evangelization Center (U. S. Center for World Mission) in Pasadena, California, lists 190 Japanese American congregations with an estimated membership of 32,573. The 2001 Korean Church Directory of America lists 3,402 Korean Protestant churches. About half of the Korean churches are Presbyterian, but substantial numbers are Methodist, Baptist, nondenominational, Catholic and Charismatic churches. … The 2000-2001 Directory of Chinese Churches, Bible Study Groups, & Christian Organizations in North America lists 819 Chinese Protestant churches in the United States. Raymond Williams estimated 110,000 to 125,000 Asian Indian Christians in 1995.” — Page 19 of Asian American Religious Leadership Today: A Preliminary Inquiry published by the Pulpit & Pew: Research on Pastoral Leadership (Durham, NC: Duke Divinity School, 2005). Adding up the reported figures in Table 7 on page 18 of the same report, there are 5,237 APA churches, based on data from the 2004 Yearbook of Churches in the United States and Canada.

[k] “Korean American Churches as Partners in Community Development: The Untold Story” by Korean Churches for Community Development (June 2008); PCA MNA Korean Ministries: “… about 4,000 Korean language churches have been planted across the US and Canada by these first generation Koreans.”

[c] “1,828 Chinese Christian churches and organizations” listed at www.immanuel.net/overseaschurch/; “over 1,000″ cf. “A Chinese American Awakening; Immigrants Help to Re-energize U.S. Christianity” in The Washington Post, January 11, 2003 [cached]; “over 900″ cf. Footnote 71 on page 49, “Chinese Protestant Nationalism in the United States, 1880-1927 by Timothy Tseng, in “New Spiritual Homes: Religion and Asian Americans.” Edited by David K. Yoo (pub. 1999).

[j] extrapolated from 153 Japanese American churches are listed at jems.org/churches.html
[i] cf. GaramChai.com lists 105 churches at garamchai.com/church.htm + 26 in NY/NJ + 24 in TX; 85 Mar Thoma churches in the Dioceses of North America and Europe
[v] cf. Directory of Vietnamese Pastors & Churches; www.cmalliance.org/district/vietnamese and www.vndistrict.org

[se] Southeast Asian churches estimates from contacts at CM&A and SBC, cf. www.cmalliance.org/district/hmong, www.cmalliance.org/locate/church?dc=63
[1] cf. Lao Southern Baptist Fellowship’s churches listing at lsbf.org/lsbf_church/church_main.html
[t] cf. www.at-la.com/@la-god/ethnic.htm
[f] cf. National Association of Filipino American United Methodists; Godfrey Catanus
[d] cf. www.sahabatsurgawi.net/gereja_dunia/usa.html

This is an interview with Pastor David Kim of The Garden in Chatsworth, California. The Garden is a 15 year old church that grew out of a college ministry, and continues to reach hundreds of next generation Asian Americans in the Los Angeles area. Watch the video powered by Vimeo:

June 20 - July 31, 2009
Global Leadership Development Institute (Costa Mesa, CA)
for Korean Americans only
a program of Jesus Awakening Movement for America (JAMA)

June 20 - July 4, 2009
R2W Represent to Witness Summer Youth Leadership Institute (Berkeley, CA)
a program of PANA Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific Asian North American Religion, a center of Pacific School of Religion

July 1-5, 2009
New York Summer Conference (Hempstead, NY)
with Ken Fong, Joseph Tsang, Hoon Kim, and more
NYSC has programming for both College & Career and Youth

July 17-19 & July 24-26
Regeneration 2009: Collaborate (July 17-19 in San Jose; July 24-26 in Chicago)
hosted by Regeneration Ministries - next gen Filipino Americans

August 3-6, 2009
J-Gen 2008: Roots (Upland, IN)
a summer youth retreat sponsored by Joshua Generation

August 4-8, 2009
2009 KASE Conference (Irving, TX)
sponsored by Korean American Student Empowerment (KASE) of PCUSA

September 17-19, 2009
Connext 2009 (Chicago)
with Ramesh Richard, Doug Shaw, T.V. Thomas

October 15-16, 2009
Asian American Christianity Lectureship (Pasadena, CA)
“Living out the Gospel: Asian American Contributions and Challenges” [pdf]
with Dr. Jonathan Tran, Associate Professor of Theological Ethics at Baylor University
co-sponsored by Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity and Fuller Theological Seminary

November 30 - December 4, 2009
NA-CCOWE English Track: “The Challenges and Future of English Ministries” (Mt. Bethel, PA)
Organized and Sponsored by PALM, CCCOWE-USA, CCCOWE-Canada

July 6-9, 2011
New Awakening Conference (Philadelphia, PA)
a program of Jesus Awakening Movement for America/ All Nations

To submit an event for inclusion on this calendar, please contact us.
L² Foundation occasionally hosts strategic events. To stay informed on what we’re developing in the areas of leadership and  legacy, please subscribe to our announcements email.

Past Events

June 28, 2008
Explorer’s Conference: Power of the Call (New York City, NY)
a one day conference to explore ministry calling with Steve Chin and Stephen Ro
sponsored by PaLM and ATS Chinese Ministries Program

June 28- August 7, 2008
Global Leadership Development Institute (Philadelphia, PA and Costa Mesa, CA)
40-day intensive training program for Korean Americans
with John C. Kim, Ben Shin, Os Guinness, & more
sponsored by JAMA Global

June 29- July 2, 2008
New Awakening 2008 (Philadelphia, PA)
with Francis Chan, John C. Kim, John Piper, & more
sponsored by JAMA Global

July 2-6, 2008
New York Summer Conference (Hempstead, NY)
with Ken Fong, Dan Hyun, LT Tom, and more
NYSC has programming for both College & Career and Youth

July 5-12, 2008
Taste of Seminary Leadership Seminar (Chicago)
hosted by AADVENT Project of McCormick Theological Seminary

July 10-13, 2008
Roots & Wings 2008 (Atlanta, GA)
with Neal Presa and more
sponsored by National Taiwanese Presbyterian Young Adult Council

July 14-18, 2008
Extreme Makeover: Church Edition (Lakewood, CO)
KASE leadership conference for college students
with Bo Karen Lee and Eric Hoey
sponsored by Korean American Student Empowerment (KASE) of PCUSA

July 21-25, 2008
TAKEOUT Asian Youth Camp (Tyler, TX)
with Rodney Woo and Joey Witham
sponsored by Baptist General Convention of Texas

July 25-26, 2008
Ignite 2008 - conference for college students & young adults (Atlanta, GA)
with Peter Hong, Brian Kim, Starfield, and more
sponsored by AsianAmerican Ministers Network (AMNet)

July 30-August 3, 2008
National South Asian Leadership Institute (SALI) (San Juan Capistrano, CA)
sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

August 3-8, 2008
BAAYF 2008: Connect summer camp (Occidental, CA)
hosted by Bay Area Asian Youth Fellowship

August 4-5, 2008
English Ministry Pastors Retreat (Danville, CA)
sponsored by The Leadership Connection and Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity (ISAAC)

August 4-7, 2008
J-Gen 2008: Reaction (Upland, IN)
with Min Chung, Jong Park, Dwight Yoo, and more
a summer youth retreat sponsored by Joshua Generation

August 14-17, 2008
AADVENT Young Adult Retreat 2008 (Chicago)
sponsored by AADVENT Project of McCormick Theological Seminary

September 5-7, 2008
Gathering of South Asian Christian Counselors (Chicago)
hosted by iCare Counseling Network and PARIVAR International

September 19-21, 2008
Emerge 2008: InterVarsity Asian American Student Conference (Atlanta, GA; download PDF of flyer)
with James Choung
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship- Asian American Ministries

October 3-5, 2008
HC³ 2008 — Hmong Christian Collegiate Conference (Madison, WI)
with Peter Cha, David Adrianoff
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship- Asian American Ministries

October 18, 2008
More Than Serving Tea: Asian American Women Sharing the Journey (Seattle, WA)
with Kathy Khang
Sponsored by: Seattle Pacific University, Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society, International Students Inc.

October 20-23, 2008
International Prayer Conference for All Nations (Fullerton, CA)
Sponsored by Global Inter-Missions Network

November 7-8, 2008
God, Gender, and Race — A seminar for Asian Americans (Roanoke, VA)
with Kathy Khang
Sponsored by InterVarsity

November 19-22, 2008
Yexus Communitas (Green Lake, WI)
with Bob Roberts, Alan Hirsch, T. Cher Moua, T. Christopher Thao
hosted by Warren Hmong Alliance Church with endorsement by The Hmong District

January 16-19, 2009
Epic Conference
East and West Coast
Epic Movement, the Asian American ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ

January 26-28, 2009
2009 Korean American Pastors’ Conference (Philadelphia, PA)
“A Gospel-Driven Pastor: Preaching, Leading, and Sacrificing for Christ and His Church” [pdf]
with Phil Ryken, Ted Powers, Stephen Ro, Won Sang Lee
hosted by Korean Ministries in the PCA

February 6-8, 2009
Epic Anthology (Addison, TX)
Epic Movement, the Asian American ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ

February 6-10, 2009
2009 Vietnamese Mission Conference & Pastors’ Conference (Jacksonville, FL)
with Jerry Vines, Junior Hill, Thomas Stebbins, Quang Nguyen, Hue Van Nguyen
full scholarships for the first 50 registrants covering: (1) Registration - $175, (2) Three dinners - $35, (3) Accommodations (transportation and lodging) for Vietnamese American pastors/ministry leaders only [pdf]
hosted by First Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Vietnamese First Baptist Church of Jacksonville

February 16-19, 2009
World Christian Conference 2009: Yield (Occidental, CA)
with Sabastian Huynh, Michele Rickett
hosted by World Christian Fellowship

February 28, 2009
Emerge 2009: Korean-American Ministry Forum (Los Angeles)
with Michael Lee, Sharon Lee, Ben Shin
hosted by Young Nak Celebration Church

March 14, 2009
Passion for the Nations (Irvine, CA)
Southern California Chinese-American Missions Conference
with Dave Gibbons, James Yu, John Lo, and more
coordinated by OMF Int’l, Global Life Enrichment Center, and other partners

May 18-20, 2009
Asian North American Theology and Ministry Consultation (Chicago, IL)
co-sponsored by the Catalyst Leadership Center and the Carl F. H. Henry Center

This Wall Street Journal article, “Philanthropists Set Spending Deadlines,” describes that some are spending a foundation’s assets with a deadline in mind, rather than a traditional foundation’s approach to establish assets for perpetuity, or to last forever, in order to make lasting impact over many generations:

A growing number of philanthropists are adopting spending deadlines and sunset provisions to ensure urgent global needs are addressed in a timely way.

By granting the entirety of funds within a certain period of time, these charitable efforts are looking to have a bigger immediate impact than traditional foundations, which are typically set up to last forever and pay out roughly 5% of assets a year.

The economic meltdown, an increased awareness of pressing environmental issues and a political climate ripe for policy change are all feeding the sense of urgency.

Jennifer and Peter Buffett, the son and daughter-in-law of billionaire investor Warren Buffett; Charles Feeney, co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group; and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates are among prominent philanthropists who have implemented so-called spend-down or sunset provisions in recent years.

… According to Ms. Berman, those who choose to spend down are saying, “Let the next generation create new philanthropic capital for their own priorities and mission.”

The purpose of this conference is “to bring English Ministry Colleagues and Leaders together from across the country to dream God’s dream, identify the opponent’s challenge, tackle the issues, and build camaraderie through fellowship.” The conference runs from November 30 to December 4, 2009 at Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center in Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania.
(more…)

Here is story of the host church– Vox Veniae –and the place where this conversation was held — Space 12. “The State of the Asian American Movement: One church’s response to getting culturally involved” with Sam Lee and Paul Wang.

Special thanks to Enoch Lai and the Vox Veniae & Space 12 team for producing these videos.

Add a comment below to join the conversation and you may freely link to these blog posts & videos to spread the word.

Here is the third presentation, “The State of the Asian American Movement: A Parachurch Perspective” with Dennis Chen (Epic Movement, the Asian American Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.)

Special thanks to Enoch Lai and the Vox Veniae & Space 12 team for producing these videos.

One more video will be posted in 2 days. Check back here at the L2 Foundation blog to join the conversation and freely link to these blog posts & videos to spread the word.

Here is the second presentation, “The State of the Asian American Movement: A Sociological Perspective” with Jerry Park (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Baylor University.)

Here are the Powerpoint slides from Jerry Park’s presentation:

Asian American Movement: Problems and Prospects

Special thanks to Enoch Lai and the Vox Veniae & Space 12 team for producing these videos.

Additional videos will be posted one at a time every other weekday. Check back here at the L2 Foundation blog to join the conversation and freely link to these blog posts & videos to spread the word.

Here is the first presentation, “The State of the Asian American Movement: A Church Perspective” with Pastor David Hsu (Senior Pastor of West Houston Chinese Church) and Pastor Gaylord Tseui (English Pastor at Austin Chinese Church). (more…)

I thought it was an engaging time of conversations around where ministries are currently effective with next gen Asian Americans and where it might be going (or could be going.) You can see for yourself. Your feedback is most welcomed, so please add a comment below and continue the conversation right here online.

Here are the resources I mentioned:

• Resource Center for Asian American leaders, hosted here at L² Foundation
• L² Foundation books: Asian American Youth Ministry and CONVERSATIONS: Asian American Evangelical Theologies in Formation
• List of 100+ churches effectively reaching next gen Asian Americans
• a copy of the Powerpoint slides I used for my talk

Video to the entire meeting courtesy of @jonathanhochan:

The video contains the entire meeting time, including praise & worship, devotional, introductory remarks by Wayland Wong about the history of Chinese American ministry (at 1:00:30) , and then my talk (at 1:16:30) with discussion / Q&A starting at 1:40:00.