During the grant period, our research team carried out a series of carefully planned and richly contextualized activities aimed at deepening our understanding of first-generation East Asian American Christians. We sought to learn how migration, ethnic identity, religious experience, and sociopolitical contexts intersect to shape these believers’ faith and communal life. Our multifaceted approach—ranging from oral history collection and multilingual transcription to iterative coding sessions and collaborative seminars—enabled us to uncover narrative richness and complexity often neglected in existing academic and ecclesial frameworks.
1. Primary Project Activities Completed
Oral History Interviews:
The centerpiece of our work involved conducting more than 60 in-depth oral history interviews with first-generation East Asian American Christians, including individuals of Chinese, Korean, and other East Asian ethnic backgrounds. We reached out to diverse communities, from large immigrant churches in urban settings to smaller congregations in suburban and semi-rural areas. Across different locales—such as Cantonese-speaking communities in Vancouver, Korean Christian enclaves in Boston, and Mandarin-speaking groups in New Jersey—we recorded life stories that illuminated the interplay of religion, family, immigration policy, cultural adaptation, and community formation.
Our interviews were semi-structured but open-ended, beginning with a focus on each narrator’s family background and migration journey before exploring their initial encounters with Christianity (whether shaped by homeland traditions or sparked anew in North America). We asked questions about why and how they chose certain churches, how language barriers influenced their spiritual life, and how denominational complexity impacted their faith identity. For instance, a Korean immigrant who arrived in the 1970s described the shock of navigating American churches without fully grasping English, while a Cantonese believer recounted how the 2019 Hong Kong protests colored her spiritual outlook and spurred her to reevaluate notions of justice and lament within the church.
Data Management, Transcription, and Translation:
Given the linguistic diversity of our participants—some interviews conducted in Mandarin or Cantonese, others in Korean or English—we allocated substantial effort to precise transcription and translation. Our research assistants, fluent in relevant languages, meticulously produced transcripts that captured not only words but also cultural inflections and tonal nuances. For example, if a Korean interviewee slipped in English loanwords or a Cantonese speaker used a specific proverb unique to Hong Kong culture, we annotated the transcripts to preserve those markers. Such attention to language intricacies ensured that we could later interpret the interview data with authenticity, avoiding the flattening of cultural meaning that can occur with more literal or context-blind translations.
Coding and Thematic Analysis Seminars:
Once we had a substantial corpus of transcripts, we held multiple working seminars—intensive coding and analysis sessions. We employed an abductive reasoning approach: rather than testing a preconceived hypothesis, we allowed themes to emerge from the data itself. Concepts like “inheritance” (the set of cultural-religious values one carries from the homeland), “sacred consciousness” (moments of encountering the divine), and “sacred values” (enduring commitments like family solidarity, communal activism, or intergenerational care) rose organically from these iterative discussions.
In these seminars, we frequently paused to note surprises and patterns. For example, while some might assume that first-generation immigrant churches prioritize ethnic fellowship or doctrinal purity, we found numerous accounts challenging such narrow views. Some narrators voiced skepticism about denominational differences, others recounted supernatural experiences (such as a warm current felt during prayer), and still others noted how family obligations and political unrest reconfigured their religious priorities. These insights would not have surfaced if we had relied solely on standard sociological frames or theological categories. The coding seminars thus became a forum where theoretical creativity and empirical rigor met, guided by the narrators’ own terms and experiences.
Research Assistant Training and Mentorship:
We made it a priority to involve a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) student as a research assistant. This student actively participated in interviews, transcription checks, and coding sessions. Through one-on-one methodological coaching and group seminars, the student gained qualitative research skills, understanding of oral history methods, and familiarity with emerging theoretical frameworks. By mentoring this future scholar-practitioner, we ensured that the project’s capacity-building dimension extended beyond data collection—fostering the next generation of researchers who can bridge Asian American studies, theology, and ecclesial practice.
2. Effective Activities and Methods
Abductive, Open-Ended Interviewing:
We found that our decision to adopt an abductive, flexible interview style was the single most effective methodological choice. Instead of imposing categories like “evangelical/mainline” or “orthodox/heretical,” we invited narrators to define what mattered most. This open posture allowed them to speak freely about unexpected influences: a grandmother’s Buddhist piety, early morning prayer meetings that felt more charismatic than their stated denominational affiliation, or the way a church’s hospitality, rather than doctrine, first drew them in. By letting the narrators guide the discovery process, we uncovered abundant “narrative surplus” that enriched the scholarly conversation well beyond familiar frameworks.
Collaborative Coding and Interpretation Sessions:
Our working seminars, where team members discussed transcripts, proved invaluable. We asked questions at the intersection of sacred value and passions. The synergy of diverse disciplinary backgrounds—scholars trained in theology, sociology, history, and lived religion—allowed interpretive creativity and methodological rigor to flourish side by side. The result was a more complex, layered understanding of first-generation Asian American Christian life.
Multi-Lingual, Context-Aware Transcription:
Because so much meaning resides in language choice, idioms, and cultural references, our careful transcription and annotation practices proved central to producing reliable, interpretable data. For example, when a Mandarin speaker borrowed a phrase from English to describe a “controlling vision” of God’s will, we highlighted that English term to understand how transpacific linguistic hybridity affected theological articulation. Such attention to detail ensured that we did not reduce cultural and spiritual complexity to generic religious terms.
3. Collaboration and Engagement Between Academics and Pastoral Leaders
Although the project’s initial design was scholarly, the inclusion of pastors, elders, and lay leaders as interviewees inherently bridged the academic-ministry divide. Their firsthand accounts of shepherding communities through linguistic barriers, generational tensions, and moral dilemmas (e.g., how to address mental health openly, or how to respond to political unrest) grounded our analyses in lived pastoral realities.
Pastors as Narrators:
Some of our interviewees were pastors who had guided their congregations through the uncertainties of immigrant life. One Korean pastor detailed how he balanced denominational resources—often used to secure funds for a building or a new ministry program—with the need to remain flexible and responsive to congregants who questioned why multiple denominations even existed. Another Cantonese lay leader who often performed pastoral-like roles in the absence of ordained clergy shared how he fostered a sense of family and belonging by organizing informal gatherings, prayer circles, and support networks that transcended doctrinal differences. These voices brought to life the day-to-day spiritual leadership that shapes faith communities from within.
Potential for Future Congregational Implementation
Though the grant period focused on research rather than direct interventions in church life, the project’s results open doors to future collaborative ventures. The nuanced understanding of how first-generation congregants perceive community care, denominational identity, or sacred family ties can aid pastors and ministry leaders in designing more culturally sensitive discipleship programs. For instance, a church-based training session might integrate insights from our interviews to help leaders understand why some first-gen members resist denominational labels or why they consider family conflicts a spiritual concern as much as a personal one. In this way, the project sets the stage for ongoing dialogue and shared learning between academic researchers and pastoral figures.
Conclusion
Throughout the grant period, we engaged in a comprehensive set of activities—interviewing first-generation East Asian American Christians, managing complex translation processes, coding transcripts in detail, and holding reflective seminars. The abductive, open-ended research approach, multilingual transcriptions, and collaborative coding proved most effective. These methods revealed unexpected patterns and allowed the participants’ own voices to shape our frameworks.
Crucially, involving pastors and lay leaders as narrators and inviting their perspective on emerging themes enriched our analysis. Their experiences humanized abstract concepts, ensuring that our interpretations remained grounded in community realities. The relational dimension—connecting academics, research assistants, and pastoral practitioners—provided a modest but meaningful engagement across the academic-ministry boundary.
Looking forward, the knowledge gained from these project activities promises to inform not only scholarly discourse but also pastoral practice, church-based leadership training, and future collaborations that further integrate academic insight with ecclesial wisdom.
