Our Story, Our Faith
June 6–7, 2025 · Philadelphia, PA
Hybrid Conference at Seven Mile Road Church
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Our Story, Our Faith:
South Asian American Christian Histories and Futures
On June 6 and 7, 2025, join us in Philadelphia for a conference exploring the rich, multifaceted histories of Indian and South Asian American Christians, centering on Philadelphia’s unique place as a microcosm of broader South Asian American experiences in the U.S. and North America. With the theme “South Asian American Christian Histories and Futures,” this gathering will dive into stories of faith, heritage, and resilience, examining lives that defy narrow narratives of success and assimilation. Through these stories, we aim to illuminate the deeper communal bonds, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped South Asian American Christian life.
Anchored in the place of Philadelphia, this conference will feature plenary sessions with notable voices like Sam George, Jaisy Joseph, and Sherry Thomas, who will offer insights specific to the local area while drawing connections to broader national migration trends. The program includes three interactive panels: the first featuring South Asian storytellers and creatives, the second focusing on South Asian ministry leaders, and the third broadening to a pan-Asian dialogue. These discussions will foster a shared understanding of challenges while celebrating distinct journeys within Asian American Christian communities. Additionally, there will be a time for personal reflection and story work with Sandhya Oaks, a trained story work coach.
What do the experiences of Indian Americans who migrated to the Philadelphia area teach us about transpacific migration and the future of Asian American Christian ministry?
Attendees are encouraged to immerse themselves in the city of Philadelphia during the weekend, with the opportunity to learn about significant South Asian historical sites, underscoring the city’s role as a nexus for immigrant faith communities.
We invite academics, students, ministry leaders, and community members to join us in learning about and recognizing the resilience, solidarity, and spiritual depth of South Asian American Christian communities. Together, this conference raises questions about conventional narratives, uncovering new stories that resonate across generations and creating a platform for transformative discussions about faith, identity, and communal legacy—rooted in Philadelphia and relevant to all.
Plenary Speakers
He serves as a catalyst of the Lausanne Movement and travels widely to teach and minister in diverse contexts. He holds degrees in Engineering, Management, and Theology. He studies at Fuller and Princeton Seminaries in the US and completed his doctoral research at Liverpool Hope University, UK.
He has authored or edited 15 books including three-volume series on Asian Diaspora Christianity (Fortress Press 2021) and recent books titled Sharing Jesus with Hindus (William Carey) and Asians in Diaspora and Diasporas in Asia (Langham).
Jaisy A. Joseph is an Assistant Professor of Ecclesiology and Theology of Ministry at Villanova University. She received her PhD in Systematic Theology from Boston College in 2019. Aside from the academy, she is very involved in the lay ministry of the SyroMalabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago. Her primary concern is to work with the emerging second generation of this immigrant community, particularly regarding issues of identity, domestic violence, and intergenerational healing.
Sherry Thomas is Kerala born and Philadelphia raised. She completed her B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Temple University. She is passionate about issues of social and economic justice and currently combines both in her career as a public interest lawyer. She focuses her work on tenants’ rights, defense and eviction prevention with the Legal Clinic for the Disabled (LCD), as its Director of Housing and Habitability and has also worked as a Legal Fellow and legal consultant for International Justice Mission (IJM), a global organization partnering with local justice systems to end violence against people living in poverty.
Sherry grew up in the Marthoma Church in a tight knit Malayali community in Philadelphia. She was always interested in the ways the church could be instrumental in bridging gaps between cultures and generations. Her experiences informed her work with the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA). Through SAADA, she preserved some stories of Malayali Christians living and working in Philadelphia, over several generations, which culminated in the publication of her project, “The Philadelphia Malayali Story: Decades in the Making.”
Panelists
Sunish “Jake” Abraham was born to missionary parents in India and grew up in the Philippines. It was while he was studying to be an engineer at Portland State University (PSU) that God called Jake to serve him with Cru. After serving as a missionary in India for a couple of years, Jake returned to
Portland to marry his wife Julie, also a graduate from PSU. Following a few years of work as an engineer, Jake and Julie joined Cru staff in 2000, moving to Melbourne, Australia with the campus ministry. They lived in Melbourne for seven years, launching the campus ministry at Monash University and other universities around Melbourne.
In 2008 they moved their family to Orlando, Florida to serve with the Cru VP team for South and Southeast Asia, partnering with national leaders to reach students, plant churches and mobilize leaders among the billion plus residents of the Asian region. It was also during this season that Jake helped launch efforts in the US to reach ethnic Indians through church planting and partnerships with governments and nonprofits.
In 2013, Jake and Julie joined the City ministry of Cru, serving to engage the curious, equip the follower, and help people find their place in God’s story. They served with City’s leadership for several years before moving to the Washington DC area in 2017 to live out the Cru City vision. In Washington, D.C., Jake served as Associate Director for OneHeart DC, a network of over 700 churches and nonprofits, reaching the city with the love and message of Jesus.
Their role now is to lead the City ministry of Cru, reaching out with the good news of Jesus into communities ranging from artists to business leaders, from the military to immigrants and refugees. Cru City seeks to “uniquely restore every community with the good news of Jesus.” Cities represent both a great challenge and an incredible opportunity to grow God’s kingdom.
Jake and Julie are passionate about the power of the Gospel to change the lives of people from every tongue, tribe and nation. “Bearing the image of our Creator, multiplying that image by making disciples, and living out our purpose to make the world better … that is a radical calling from a radical Savior!” says Jake.
Jake and Julie have 4 children and live in the Washington, D.C. area.
Rev. Dr. Mia Chang is the founder and lead pastor and planter of NextGen Church in Princeton Junction West Windsor, New Jersey. Rev. Chang was ordained in 2008 by the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey. She completed her Master of Divinity studies at the Alliance Theological Seminary in New York City, and obtained her Doctor of Ministry at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University. She planted NextGen Church in 2008, a multi-ethnic community of faith, and since then, she has led the plant of New Hights Christian Church in Hightstown and planted the NGO called Africa River of Life, where she serves as the founder and trustee. Rev. Chang began her vocation as a teacher in the New York City public schools after graduating from Pace University with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. She resides in Princeton Junction, NJ.
Peter Li was born and raised in Hong Kong, and studied computer science and linguistics at UC San Diego and University of Pennsylvania. He was called by God into full-time ministry ten years ago and received theological degrees from Knox Seminary and Missio Seminary. He currently pastors the Cantonese congregation at his home church, Chinese Christian Church and Center in the heart of Philadelphia’s Chinatown.
Fiel Sahir is an Indonesian American social worker (LMSW) of historically multiethnic heritage hailing from New York City where he lives with his wife, a Dominican Nicaraguan American and fellow New Yorker. A multifaceted soul, he holds Master’s degrees in Classical Music, Biblical Studies, and Social Work. Fiel currently works as a Community Resourcing Catalyst with Asian American Christian History Institute (AACHI) housed at Fuller Seminary’s Asian American Center. He also speaks multiple languages including Indonesian, French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
Daniel Nikerle is a campus missionary serving with Design Movement, a ministry of Cru. Daniel graduated from Temple University right here in Philly, and has been working with the ministry full time for 4 years now. Within his role, he gets to connect people to Christ, help believers grow in their faith, lead mission trips across the country and world, and plan different regional and national conferences. With a background in more Baptist and Mennonite traditions, Daniel is passionate about talking about faith. He is looking forward to connecting with the attendees.
Sandhya is a Ministry Leader, Story Coach, and Certified Spiritual Director. She has more than 17 years of combined experience in campus and church ministry. Born in India and having grown up in the Midwest, her story lends to walking with others through the smooth and rough terrain of life, and creating experiences that restore shalom within the human heart. She holds multiple Certificates in Narrative Focused Trauma Care from The Allender Center, where she also currently serves as a Fellow, and her expertise is found at the intersection of Grief Care, Adoption, and Story Work. In her free time, she loves surfing, gathering around the table, and creating good cups of Chai.
Ajay helped plant a church in Northeast Philadelphia 15 years ago called Seven Mile Road. He currently serves as the Executive Director for The Advance Initiative which works to catalyze South Asians to become a global missional force. He loves what he gets to do, and he loves preaching. His favorite thing in the world is his family, and he especially loves being a dad. After that it would be rooting for the Eagles.
Alex Thomas is an Associate Pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, dedicated to revitalizing faith within the Indian American Christian community. With a deep-rooted passion for fostering spiritual growth, he is committed to building strong communities and empowering individuals to step into their God-given callings.
Driven by a heart for service, Alex bridges the gap between generations and cultures, creating a faith experience that is both vibrant and deeply rooted. He believes in the power of authentic worship, meaningful relationships, and the transformative message of the Gospel. Through preaching, teaching, and counseling, Alex equips believers to embrace their heritage while boldly living out their faith with confidence and compassion.
Shainu lives in Philadelphia and is a member of Seven Mile Road Church, where her husband is a pastor. She graduated with an MBA from the University at Albany in New York and then graduated with a degree in nursing. She works from home as a Nurse Case Manager and has a deep love to hear people’s stories. She’s currently pouring her heart into Kadha—a documentary she’s long dreamed of producing and now feels privileged to finally bring to life. She is a coffee snob, a foodie, and is also known to “bribe” her friends to come over for long chats over chai.
Panel Moderators
Dr. David C. Chao is the director of the Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. He teaches courses on Asian American theology and organizes academic programming in Asian American theology and ministry. His research and writing focus on Asian American theology, the uses of Christian doctrine for liberation, the convergence and divergence of Protestant and Catholic dogmatics, and the theology of Karl Barth.
His first book, titled Concursus and Concept Use in Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Providence, is under contract with Routledge. He is grant co-author and project editor for the $300,000 translation grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to the Karl Barth Translator’s Seminar. He is co-leader of a $250,000 Henry Luce grant project titled “Religiously-Inspired Asian American Coalitional Justice Work.” He is principal investigator of a Louisville Institute-funded project titled “Stories of Faith, Resilience, and Politics: First-Generation East Asian American Christians.”
Chao is a graduate of Yale University (BA), Regent College (MDiv), and Princeton Theological Seminary (ThM, PhD). He is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Association for Asian American Studies. Chao has a wide range of pastoral experience with Chinese American, Korean American, and Pan-Asian churches and ministries and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Read his article “Evangelical or Mainline? Doctrinal Similarity and Difference in Asian American Christianity: Sketching a Social-Practical Theory of Christian Doctrine” here. You can also check out “The 1517 Project and World Christianity: Migration and the Uses of Doctrine” here. This paper was presented at the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.”
Dr. Easten Law serves as the Associate Director of the Overseas Ministry Studies Center at Princeton Theological Seminary and a licensed minister at NextGen Church in West Windsor, NJ. He received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 2020 and an M.Div. from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2014. His research interests focus on lived theology, religious pluralism, and public life in the context of contemporary China and the Chinese diaspora around the world.
The Rev. Michele Turek serves as the National Coordinator, Asian Ministries at the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. Having served many years on leadership for the Alliance of Asian American Baptist Churches, God has imprinted on her heart the Asian and Asian American Christian community in all its beautiful diversity. Rev. Turek is passionate about elevating the Asian voice in the broader community and connecting others for shared Gospel work. She lives in Fresno, CA with her husband Adam and their two sons.
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Schedule
All Times Are in Eastern Time
Friday, June 6, 2025
Location: Seven Mile Road Church
Time
Session
Presenter
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Registration
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Dinner
6:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Opening Remarks
6:30 PM – 7:20 PM
Plenary Session #1: The Entangled and Wounded Histories of Thomas Christians
Prominent historian Placid J. Podipara, CMI is often credited with the most succinct description of the identity of Thomas Christians as Christian in religion, Oriental in worship, and Indian in culture. Countering post-independence claims that Christianity was simply a tool of Western colonialism, Podipara emphasized that this ancient Christian community was not a product of Westernization, but rather as old as Christianity itself and as indigenous to the Indian soil as other religions in Kerala. My talk explores this narrative of origins and what it means for those in the diaspora who are rediscovering their ancient roots today.
Jaisy Joseph
7:20 PM – 7:30 PM
Break
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Panel #1 with Creatives and Storytellers
An interactive discussion on storytelling and legacy in the South Asian American Christian context, along with screenings of various projects including oral history interviews and Indian Christian history.
Shainu Thomas
Sherry Thomas
Alex Thomas
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Location: Seven Mile Road Church
Time
Session
Presenter
9:00 am – 9:55 am
Arrival and Check-In
Attendees gather for coffee and refreshments.
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Plenary Session #2: Indian American Christianity: Origin, Development and Growth over 60 years (1965-2025)
This presentation will provide a brief survey of the earliest arrival of Christians and the development of various languages and denominational churches established across the United States. It will include the current state of Indian American Christianity and many opportunities and challenges facing this thriving immigrant community using the lens of diaspora and World Christianity. It is based on a recent research project of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College, Billy Graham Center, and funded by the Louisville Institute.
Sam George
11:00 am – 11:15 am
Break
11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Panel #2 with South Asian Ministry Leadership
Discussion featuring South Asian American ministry leaders, covering community challenges, ministry approaches, and fostering intergenerational faith.
Binu Abraham (Advance)
Jake Abraham (Cru City)
Daniel Nikerle (Design)
Sandhya Oaks (Cru/Epic)
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Lunch and Networking
1:15 PM – 1:30 PM
Break
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Plenary Session #3: South Asians and the Legal Boundaries of Belonging
This lecture will explore how South Asians, including South Asian Christians, came to “belong” in the United States, through the lens of landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases and legislation that both closed and opened doors to South Asian Christians. It will provide insight into why the South Asian Christian immigrant experience looked the way it did and how it continues to evolve as the country grapples with its relationship to race and religion.
Sherry Thomas
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Break & Chai Time
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Story Work Workshop: How understanding your story and the collective story can bring healing, freedom, and strengthen relationships
This workshop will unpack Story Work, the elements and concepts that can unlock doors to freedom and healing. We all have a story, we hold many stories, and we are each a story that is meant to be told. During this highly engaging and interactive time, you will hear powerful moments of life change, be invited to look at your own story of Shalom and Shalom shattering, and learn the transforming power of looking through a new lens at your own story.
Sandhya Oaks
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Panel #3: Pan-Asian Perspectives on Faith and Identity
A dialogue with leaders from diverse Asian American Christian backgrounds, exploring shared and distinct narratives across Asian American communities.
Louis Ao
Peter Li
Mia Chang
Facilitated by Michele Turek and Easten Law
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Closing Reflections and Open Forum
An interactive session where attendees share takeaways, pose questions, and discuss actionable ideas for future gatherings and initiatives.
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The Venue
Seven Mile Road Church
Gospel.
Community.
Mission.
Seven Mile Road Church in Philadelphia is a pillar of the vibrant local South Asian American community. The church, planted with the vision of ministering to the next generation of South Asian Americans in Philly, has grown to be a welcoming space for people from multi-ethnic and a diversity backgrounds.
We are grateful for the generosity of our friends at Seven Mile Road Church for sharing their space with us for this conference.
Travel and Lodging
Travel
The conference will take place at Seven Mile Road Church, located about a 30–40 minute drive northeast from Center City in Philadelphia, PA. The easiest way to get to the church is using a car or rideshare services. For information on public transportation systems in the area, please visit septa.org.
If you would like to get connected to someone to ride with, or if you have space in your car to give someone a ride, please reach out to Shreya at shreya.ramachandran@ptsem.edu.
Lodging
Attendees are responsible for their own lodging. If you need a place to stay, please check out the following area hotels.
Steering Committee
We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our steering committee organizations, whose support and expertise have made this conference possible:
Center for Asian American Christianity
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary, which serves as a leading hub for research, teaching, and resources that deepen understanding of Asian American faith and identity.
Asian American Christian History Institute
The Asian American Christian History Institute, dedicated to amplifying and preserving the rich histories of Asian American Christian communities, whose resources have profoundly shaped our event’s content and focus.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies
The American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), a champion of social justice and advocacy within diverse communities, whose commitment to empowering Asian American voices is evident in every part of this conference.
Epic Ministry
Epic Ministry, a movement within CRU focused on reaching Asian American students and young adults, whose partnership brings an essential focus on next-generation leadership and faith formation.