This Year's Cohort
The 2025 cohort brings together writers who speak to the Asian American Christian community with both love and challenge. Writing with prophetic tenderness, they invite us into deeper reflection on ourselves, our faith, and the world.
The Cohort
E. David de Leon (he/him) is a child of Pilipino immigrants and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He currently resides in New York City with his wife and two sons, and is a PhD candidate at Fordham University studying Christian systematic theology and its intersections with Pilipino/Pilipino American history, colonialism, and decoloniality. He loves carbs (baked and eaten) and running (long distances, but slowly). IG/threads: @emmanueldl
Raised along the Pacific Rim (Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), Barnabas Lin (he/him) has over a decade of ministry experience (with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) which drove him to investigate the theologies and philosophies undergirding evangelical ministries. A PhD candidate in Theological Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, Barnabas is a practitioner at heart, continuously motivated by the needs of hurting people. Currently, this is focused at Bethel Community Presbyterian Church where Barnabas ministers as the Theologian in Residence, where he wonders with the church how Christianity can be rehabilitated to be again the loving presence of Jesus in a world understandably at war.
Kai Ngu (they) is a writer and Ph.D. student at University of Michigan. Born in Malaysian Borneo, they call New York City home. Kailinngu.com.
Nate Lee (he/him) is a third gen Chinese American who lives in San Francisco, CA. He loves noodle soups, the Warriors, and Buy Nothing groups. He is a pastor at an immigrant church in SF Chinatown.
Timothy Sean Ignacio (he/him) is a 2nd Gen Filipino-American from California. In 2018, he moved to Quezon City, Philippines to live alongside and serve a working-class community with the Non-Government Organization, Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor. As a creative and musical artist under the name “ITM” (reiteration of the Tagalog word, “itim” meaning “dark”), he also uses his creative work to express his musings and advocacies around his decision to move to his family’s Motherland. You can follow him on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Spotify @sobrangitm.
Sarah D. Park (she/her) is a second generation Korean American born in Los Angeles, CA. Her work reflects her value for finding abundance in community and the power of telling our own stories. She’s currently based in NYC and spends her time eating cheeseburgers, creating community spaces, and enjoying her son.