Fall 2026 Asian American Ministry Cohort

Fall 2026 Asian American Ministry Cohort

Application Deadline: July 30, 2026
Decisions Sent: August 15, 2026

Overview

Ministry emerges from who we are. This means embracing our own ethnic and racial identities and bringing every aspect of ourselves into a relationship with the God who loves and sees us. Because God encounters persons and communities in their concrete particularities, God knows the unique pains, longings, fears, and hopes of Asian American leaders seeking to follow Jesus Christ faithfully in our context and world.

So how does Asian American identity inform the practice of pastoral ministry? How is ministry in the Asian American church distinct or different from other contexts? And how do we lead Asian American congregations to a more imaginative and hopeful future?

While there is neither one right way to be an Asian American pastor nor one right way to do Asian American ministry, effective pastoral leadership demands an ongoing commitment to becoming an informed and integrated self, which includes critical awareness of what it means to be an Asian American wherever we find ourselves.

This Doctor of Ministry cohort aims to form and equip pastors to lead Asian American churches in holistic witness to the gospel of Christ in their contexts. Combining interdisciplinary scholarship with practical experience, this cohort provides research-based academic resources, spiritual enrichment, and ministerial competencies from expert scholars and practitioners to support the thriving of Asian American pastors and their congregations.

The focus of year one is to define the Asian American context and to engage that context with a theology of grace. Year two explores theological and practical matters of ecclesiology and pastoral ministry, with an emphasis on nurturing environments of embodiment in which Asian American churches are formed into communities of spiritual, congregational, and missional flourishing. Year three provides opportunities for mutual learning through doctoral project presentations, and through exposure and networking with expert scholars and practitioners engaged in critical and fruitful work for Asian American church contexts.

Schedule

Year One

ASIAN AMERICAN CONTEXT & A THEOLOGY OF GRACE (16 UNITS)

Fall (Sep–Dec) 2026: 6 units, online and in-person in Pasadena (November 9-13, 2026)
Winter (Jan–Mar) 2027: 4 units, online, DM709 DMin Research
Spring (Mar–Jun) 2027: 6 units, online, Integration Course

During the first year, students will define the Asian American context and engage that context with a theology of grace. Courses present the practical theology method for constructing local theologies in Asian American contexts, which will be framed as the interaction of four key layers (Asian American Quadrilateral): (1) Asian religious and cultural heritages, (2) Migration/post-migration experience, (3) American culture, and (4) Racialization. Martin Luther’s theology of the cross is proposed as a paradigm for building a spirituality and ministry rooted in the gospel of grace.

Year Two

ECCLESIOLOGY & PASTORAL LEADERSHIP IN THE ASIAN AMERICAN CHURCH

Fall (Sep–Dec) 2027: 6 units, online and in-person in Pasadena (November 8-12, 2027)
Winter (Jan–Mar) 2028: 4 units, online, DM710 Doctoral Project Proposal
Spring (Mar–Jun) 2028: 6 units, online, Integration Course

The second year engages theological, conceptual, and practical matters related to ecclesiology and pastoral ministry. Students will explore work of pastoral leadership in personal, relational, historical, cultural, and corporate dimensions with Asian American particularities in mind. Ecclesiological emphasis will be on nurturing environments of embodiment in which God’s people are formed as the body of Christ into interpretive and witnessing communities of spiritual, congregational, and missional flourishing. Working from a praxis and eschatological perspective, the course will attend to themes, topics, and paradigms that provide pastoral leaders greater capacity to think theologically about pressing issues in their respective Asian American congregations, organizations, and contexts.

Year Three

EXPANDING IMAGINATIONS & MINISTRY EXPRESSIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN CHURCH

Fall (Sep–Dec) 2028: 6 units, online and in-person in Pasadena (November 6-10, 2028)
Winter (Jan–Mar) 2029: 6 units, online, Integration Course
Spring (Mar–Jun) 2029: 4 units, online, DM706 Doctoral Project Writing

The focus of Year Three is on expanding students’ imaginations for future expressions of the Asian American church. The cohort will engage in peer-learning and interaction with scholars and practitioners who are addressing critical needs and opportunities for future generations of Asian American church communities. Students will provide in-class presentations of their developing doctoral projects for critical reflection and feedback, leading to deeper understanding and peer-learning for all students. The cohort will also engage with leading scholars researching current and future contextual issues impacting Asian American churches and network with key pastoral leaders involved in creative and fruitful ecclesial work in their respective Asian American contexts.

Cohort Mentors

Kevin Doi is seminary chaplain and affiliate professor teaching Asian American pastoral ministry at Fuller Seminary. Prior to Fuller, Dr. Doi was founder and senior pastor of Epic Church in Fullerton, California, for 20 years. He is also cofounder of JOYA Scholars, a nonprofit organization preparing first-generation students toward higher education in Fullerton’s most underserved neighborhoods. Doi and his wife Dorene, an occupational therapist, reside in Diamond Bar and have two college-aged children, Jarron and Charis.

Daniel D. Lee is the founding Academic Dean of Fuller’s Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry. Serving in various leadership roles since 2010, he has been the key force behind the Center and the Asian American Initiative before that. He has also taught theology and Asian American studies at Fuller since 2015.

Dr. Lee’s research areas focus on the Reformed tradition and theological contextuality, and he brings broad ministry experience to his work. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he has served in pastoral roles in both New Jersey and Southern California. He was previously a chaplain and, for several years, a campus ministry staff member for Servants Ministry in Virginia.

Lee is author of Doing Asian American Theology: A Contextual Framework for Faith and Practice (2022) and Double Particularity: Karl Barth, Contextuality, and Asian American Theology (2017), as well as the editor of The Theology of Asian Americans and Pacific Peoples: A Reader, 1976, complied by Roy Sano (2023). He is a member of the Association for Asian American Studies, Asian American Psychological Association, American Academy of Religion, and Karl Barth Society of North America.

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