Incoming Leaders

I grew up in the church, so I always had some sense of God and Christian values. But for much of my early life, my faith was more about moral behavior and holding a Christian worldview than it was about a personal relationship with Jesus. I was even baptized as a kid, but honestly, my life didn’t look all that different from the friends around me. I knew about God, but I didn’t really know Him. That changed when I was 19. After chasing satisfaction in the typical college life—parties, approval, achievement—I found myself empty. One night I finally prayed, “God, if You’re real, show me.” In that moment, I sensed the Lord speak to my heart with clarity and gentleness: “You’re my son, and I love you.” It wasn’t just an emotional experience. It was a turning point. That moment set me on a new path. I didn’t want just a feeling—I needed to know if this faith was true. I began to study Scripture seriously and explore the historical and spiritual truth of the gospel. The more I dug in, the more I became convinced—not only that Jesus is real, but that following Him is what life is truly about. That began a journey of learning to live as a disciple: not just believing in Jesus, but becoming like him.

How did the Spirit guide you to your current ministry and what has God called you to do through your ministry?

I served for eight years in a Chinese heritage church—a predominantly Chinese-immigrant congregation. That experience deeply shaped me. It was there that I learned the beauty of intercultural ministry: seeing the gospel lived out in a different cultural context, honoring traditions I didn’t grow up with, and witnessing how Christ is uniquely expressed through each community. But I also saw the tensions many second-generation individuals experience—trying to honor their families while also desiring to live out their faith in a cultural identity that feels more like their own. As I prayed about the future, the Spirit stirred a longing in me to help create a church that could hold that tension with grace—one that could celebrate the unique gifts we each bring from our culture, family of origin, and personality. That vision became Expressions Church. Expressions was born with a desire to see the love of Jesus expressed in the diversity of the San Gabriel Valley through gospel witness and holistic renewal. Our calling is to be a gospel-centered, multi-ethnic church that bears witness to Jesus in a way that feels both deeply rooted and widely open. We want to be a place where people can be who they are as they discover who Jesus is—and be formed together into a community that lives with him and like him.

How did you come to first be involved with the Free Methodist Church and why have you chosen to continue your ministry in the Free Methodist Church?

I was first introduced to the Free Methodist Church through a church planting cohort hosted by Light and Life Christian Fellowship (North). As I spent time with the pastors and leaders there, I was struck by their deep commitment to gospel-centered ministry, multiplication, and Spirit-led leadership. It wasn’t just talk—they lived it out. I saw a vibrant, mission-oriented church that cared about people far from God and was serious about planting new churches to reach them. As my wife and I prayed about where God was calling us to plant, we knew we didn’t want to do it alone. We were looking for a spiritual family to walk with us—one that shared our core convictions. The Free Methodist Church stood out because of its clear affirmation of women in ministry, its historic commitment to both personal holiness and social justice, and its openness to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. What drew us in was not just theological alignment, but a shared desire for renewal: to see churches where people are deeply formed in Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and sent out on mission. That’s the kind of church we wanted to plant. And that’s why we’ve chosen to continue in the Free Methodist Church—because it holds space for both rooted orthodoxy and Spirit-led innovation in a world that desperately needs both.