Helping Asian American congregations and leaders to thrive by engaging stories that form, inform, and transform for the flourishing of their communities and the world.
Welcome to the Arc Initiative: Berkeley School of Theology’s partnership with Asian American congregations and leaders made possible by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. as part of their Thriving Congregations Initiative.
Through the Arc Initiative, BST seeks to help form thriving Asian American congregations and leaders by:
- Enhancing relational connections;
- Remembering shared histories;
- Renewing spiritual journeys;
- Engaging in mutual experiences;
- Developing young Asian American leaders;
- Considering Asian American justice matters;
- and shaping a hopeful future together with others.
We invite you to join us as we discover individual and collective histories, learn and grow through shared experiences, and collaborate with partners for transformative impact in our churches and communities. Together, we hope to be living documents that draw connections between the past, present, and future. By engaging the myriad stories that form and inform our cultural and faith identities, we can be transformed by the arc of God’s story in and through us.
Arc Initiative 2025 Recap
We are praising God for a successful first year and thank all who participated in and supported our programs. We look forward to serving you in 2026!
PROGRAM OFFERINGS
The Arc Initiative offers Asian American congregations and leaders several ways to participate. Programs are offered à la carte on an annual basis; you are invited to register/apply for one or all of them each year.
Module A: Leading Intercultural Ministries Certificate Program
With the goal of providing leaders with the necessary awareness, knowledge, skills, and experience to provide effective intercultural leadership, this module features coursework taught Dr. A. Brian Leander, Associate Professor and Director of Intercultural Leadership at BST and a team of faculty, that results in a capstone project and the earning of a graduate leadership certificate. Participating churches will send teams of two persons to engage in this module; this team of two will be paired with another team to design the capstone project for which mini grants are available. Coursework will run from May-June, 2025. Please note that participants must have an undergraduate degree or higher to enroll.
Key Dates
March 27, 2025: Online Orientation Meeting, 12:00-1:00 pm
May 2-3, 2025: In-person Convening on BST’s campus, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm both days
Fridays from May 9 – June 13, 2025: Weekly online sessions from 8:30 am-12:30 pm each Friday
November 8, 2025: Arc Initiative Closing Celebration Event and Fellows Gallery (in-person on BST’s campus)
Cost
$240/person | $480/church team
*this is the auditor rate for a 3-credit course at BST; credits for earning this certificate can be applied to future BST degree programs at an extra cost.
*churches are eligible for a mini grant up to $1000 to support their collaborative capstone project
The application for this Module is now closed. Please check back regularly for more information about the 2026 application cycle.
Arc Storytelling Grants for Congregations
The Arc Initiative is pleased to announce a new offering for 2026: Arc Storytelling Grants for Congregations. Grants of up to $5000 will be awarded to congregations for projects that harness the power of stories to explore connections between our racial-ethnic identities and our identities in Jesus Christ as Asian Americans.
Projects should engage stories that form or are formative (origin stories, family histories, cultural narratives, faith heritage, etc.), stories that inform or are informative (learned history, dialogue with others, Scripture study, etc.), and/or stories that transform or are transformative (shared experiences, mutual learning, community engagement, social action, etc.), in order to help us relevantly and effectively live out our faith in today’s world.
A one-day summit (in-person preferred, hybrid option available) will be held on BST’s campus on Saturday, August 1, 2026, for two representatives from each congregation for the purposes of collaboration, reflection, and continuing education. Limited scholarships are available to assist those who need to travel long distances.
Our Summit Facilitator
Angie Kay Hong is a writer, public theologian, speaker, and worship leader serving as the Director of Educational Programs at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. She cultivates networks of AAPI and BIPOC organizations and helps them build capacity. Angie is also the co- founder of Kinship Commons, a liturgy company creating experiential and transformative gatherings toward the flourishing of marginalized people. Angie was formerly a Creative Director at the Chicago campus of Willow Creek Community Church and has led for various churches and conferences such as the annual Christian Community Development Association, The Justice Conference, and the Duke Divinity School Summer Institute for Reconciliation. She has written for The Atlantic, Chalkbeat, Christianity Today, and Faith and Leadership. Angie holds a Bachelors in. Music Therapy and Piano Performance from the University of Georgia and a Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. She currently resides in Cary, North Carolina, with her two sons.
Eligibility
Congregations in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii who identify as Asian American (either fully or partially) are eligible to apply.
The Arc Initiative encourages churches to submit a grant proposal that meets the objectives of the grant program while remaining highly contextualized to the individual congregation.
The life cycle of the grant is between July-December 2026, meaning projects should be implemented within this timeframe.
Key Dates
June 30, 2026 | 7:30-8:30 pm Pacific | Mandatory Orientation zoom meeting for two representatives from each awarded congregation
August 1, 2026 | 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Pacific | In-person Grantee Summit for two representatives from each awarded congregation, hosted on BST’s campus in Berkeley, CA
January 2027 | Exact date TBD | Closing zoom meeting
The application will be open from April 1 to May 31, 2026
To see example project ideas, please click here
CLICK HERE to apply for a 2026 Arc Storytelling Grant
Arc Pilgrimage
Join us for an in-depth visit to Manzanar National Historic Site, one of 10 incarceration centers the US Government used during WWII to unconstitutionally incarcerate Japanese Americans. Our facilitator, historian Patricia Allyn Biggs, spent 12 years working at Manzanar researching, writing, and speaking about the complex history of the site and its continuing relevance to our society. The pilgrimage will include interactive activities, group discussions, and time for personal reflection on the themes of exile, injustice, confinement, clashing ideologies, and advocacy. Much of the day will be spent outdoors, with some walking required. We will visit the Manzanar cemetery, Children’s Village, Merritt Park, and the site’s historic entrance, as well as the reconstructed barracks and mess hall.
Our Facilitators
Dr. Patricia Allyn Biggs is a historian and former journalist whose research and writing focuses on the power dynamics of relationships among cultural groups and the ways those dynamics change over time. Her 2011 doctoral dissertation analyzed repatriation disputes over Native American cultural artifacts. As an interpretive ranger at Manzanar National Historic Site, she researched the shifting cultural dynamics created by the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. She currently serves as a voluntary special advisor to the Amache Alliance Board of Directors and has worked to preserve historic buildings in Granada, CO.
Mitch Homma is a sansei and works as an aerospace engineer. 
He is an Amache descendant who had three generations of family incarcerated at the WWII Granada Relocation Center in Colorado. He started volunteering with the Amache Historical Society II (AHS II), still coordinates the newsletters, and supports several Amache preservation projects. As Secretary of the Board of Managers for the American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS), he works on several history related educational and preservation projects. Volunteer ABHS executive committee responsibilities include strategic plan development and professional standards guidelines for intellectual property protection. Recently nominated as a Council Leader to the US – Japan Council (USJC).
Check out this video to meet our 2026 Arc Pilgrimage facilitators and learn more about Manzanar Historic Site!
Key Dates
September 17, 2026 | 7:00-8:00 pm Pacific | Mandatory pre-pilgrimage meeting for all participants
September 25-27, 2026 | Pilgrimage, including a 7:00-8:00 pm gathering on Friday evening, all-day visit to Manzanar on Saturday (lunch provided), and a closing gathering Sunday morning. Please note that transportation to and from Manzanar is on your own.
Cost
Registration cost includes a catered lunch on Saturday. Hotel accommodations are at the Best Western Plus Frontier Motel located at 1008 South Main Street, Lone Pine, CA, 93545. Transportation to and from the pilgrimage is on your own. Carpooling is highly suggested and pilgrims indicating the desire to carpool will receive a contact list to aid in arranging carpools groups.
Registration only (includes catered lunch on Saturday) $75
Registration + 1 night (single room). $245
Registration + 2 nights (single room) $415
Registration + 1 night (double room) $270
Registration + 2 nights (double room) $460
Registration will be open from March 23 to May 15, 2026.
Arc Storytelling Workshop
This one-day workshop invites participants to engage in their own stories, those of others, and the various narratives within our local contexts, for the purpose of self-discovery, establishing meaningful connections, and aspiring toward story-inspired ministry impact. Designed around the framework of ME-YOU-US, Rev. Dr. Lauren Lisa Ng, Senior Program Officer at BST and director of the Arc Initiative, will guide learners through exercises around storytelling, the art of listening, de-centering and building trust, identifying new narrative streams within Scripture and in our own lives, and harnessing the power of stories for individual and congregational ministry.
If your congregation is interested in sponsoring one of our Storytelling Workshops, please contact Rev. Dr. Lauren Lisa Ng at LNg@bst.edu
Arc Fellowship for Young Creatives
How can we create art that makes a difference in our world today? The Arc Fellowship for Young Creatives—a 6-month cohort designed for Asian American Christians ages 18-35 who identify as creatives/creators/artists—introduces Fellows to a theological framework and practice of designing creative and prophetic work that changes the world. The Fellowship features an integrative program that includes a 2-day pilgrimage, online gatherings, an in-person retreat, and a capstone project. Informed by theological aesthetics and human-centered design, we will ask Fellows to love God and their neighbor by developing a creative expression or project born from spiritual reflection and biblical inquiry. The Arc Fellowship is led by Rev. Samuel Kim, Executive Associate Minister of Innovation and Design at the Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches and Rev. Dr. Lauren Lisa Ng, Senior Program Officer and director of the Arc Initiative at BST.
Key Dates
September 25-27, 2026 | Arc Pilgrimage to Manzanar Historic Site (this pilgrimage serves as the kickoff event for the Fellowship)
October 23-25, 2026 | Friday dinner to Sunday lunch | Arc Fellows Retreat (in person at a location TBD in the Bay Area)
February 26 or 27, 2027 | exact date TBD by cohort | Closing Gathering (in person on BST’s campus)
Cost
There is no participant cost for Fellows who are accepted into the program. A $1000 Fellowship Grant is available to each Fellow for the purpose of supporting their creative capstone project.
The application will be open from May 1 to June 30, 2026
The application for the Arc Fellowship for Young Creatives is now closed. Please check back regularly for more information about the 2026 application cycle.
ARC INITIATIVE STAFF AND ADVISORY GROUP
Angela Barker Jackson
Lauren Lisa Ng
Laura Lisa Ng
Project Director
Senior Program Officer
Berkeley School of Theology
Angie Barker Jackson
BST Staff
Berkeley School of Theology
Administration
Sangyil Sam Park
BST Faculty
Professor of Preaching and
Director of DMin Program
Berkeley School of Theology
Katharine Hsiao
Advisory Group
Caucus Coordinator
Alliance of Asian American
Baptist Churches
Russell Jeung
Advisory Group
Professor of Asian American Studies
San Francisco State University
Michele Turek
Advisory Group
National Coordinator for
Asian Ministries
American Baptist Home
Mission Societies
Samuel Kim
Advisory Group
Executive Associate Minister
of Innovation and Design
Evergreen Baptist Association
BST DMin Candidate
Hili Anito Yepthomi
Advisory Group
BST Alumni
Mitch Homma
Advisory Group
President of Amache Alliance
and Board of Managers
Secretary for American Baptist
Historical Society
Jason Ashimoto
Advisory Group
Senior Pastor
Evergreen Baptist Church
of Los Angeles
Contact: Rev. Dr. Lauren Lisa Ng, Senior Program Officer, LNg@bst.edu
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