Please join us for a Q&A session hosted by Rev. Dr. Lauren Lisa Ng, director of the Arc Initiative, to learn more about its program offerings and how to apply!
Tuesday, January 14, 2025, from 4:00-5:00 pm Pacific
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.
MODULES
The Arc Initiative offers Asian American congregations and leaders several ways to participate. Modules are offered à la carte on an annual basis; you may choose to apply for one or all of them in the course of one year or over the next few years.
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
May 2-3, 2025: Convening (in-person on BST’s campus)
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 will go live on January 1, 2025, and will remain open until March 31st. Please visit this web page again on January 1 to access the form and submit your application.
Module B: Pilgrimage
A 2-day bus tour facilitated by Dr. Russell Jeung, Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, the Arc Pilgrimage features stops at Bay Area sites of historical significance to Asian American Christians. The educational and interactive itinerary includes visits to Angel Island, Chinatown including the I-Hotel, Japantown, and the Southeast Asian Youth Development Center in the Tenderloin. Together we will explore topics and themes such as immigration, exclusion, acculturation, education, gender, stereotypes, Japanese American incarceration, redevelopment, solidarity, youth development, and cultural reclamation.
Key Dates
June 26-27, 2025: Pilgrimage (Does not include overnight accommodation. Participants will convene at rendezvous points each morning and will commute home on the evening of June 26.)
November 8, 2025: Arc Initiative Closing Celebration Event and Fellows Gallery (in-person on BST’s campus)
Cost
$199/person (includes charter bus transportation to all sites, Angel Island ferry tickets, and lunch on both days)
The application for this module will go live on January 1, 2025, and will remain open until March 31st. Please visit this web page again on January 1 to access the form and submit your application.
Module C: 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.
By invitation only in 2025. Applications will be open to the public in 2026.
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 5-month cohort designed for Asian American Christians ages 18-29 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 and an in-person retreat, and a capstone project that will be presented at a closing gallery event. 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
June 26-27, 2025: Pilgrimage (Does not include overnight accommodation. Participants will convene at rendezvous points each morning and will commute home on the evening of June 26.)
August 15-17, 2025: in-person retreat at a Bay Area location TBD
November 8, 2025: Arc Initiative Closing Celebration Event and Fellows Gallery (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 for the Arc Fellowship for Young Creatives will go live on January 1, 2025, and will remain open until February 15th. Please visit this web page again on January 1 to access the form and submit your application.
ARC INITIATIVE STAFF AND ADVISORY GROUP
Angela Barker Jackson
Lauren Lisa Ng
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December 12
Fecha Límite de Solicitud – Primavera 2025
Fecha límite general de solicitud para comenzar en la primavera de 2025. ¡APLICA AQUÍ!
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February 3
Comienza el Semestre – Primavera 2025
Contact: Rev. Dr. Lauren Lisa Ng, Senior Program Officer, LNg@bst.edu
