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Seminary attendance is one sign of Asian interest in leadership. Western Seminary, for example, has three campuses; Portland and Sacramento are 11 percent Asian, while San Jose is 40 percent. Fuller Theological Seminary reports that 1,100 out of its 5,000 students are either Asian citizens or Americans of Asian descent. Asians account for 25 percent of the students at Talbot School of Theology. In the Midwest, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) reports an almost 9 percent Asian population.

The opportunities for Asians to use leadership gifts are expanding. Professor Peter Cha says that when he graduated from TEDS in 1985, along with about 20 other Korean American students, their only choices were to minister in ethnic churches or to launch their own churches. Now, he says, some Asian students find open doors to minister in majority-white settings.

But some cultural challenges remain. Family expectations can get in the way of service. "The reality of duty to family, regardless of what Asian culture you come from or what your economic status is, is a huge, inescapable reality," Chen says. "In some cases, it is spiritual bondage. A number of Asian American students I have been in contact with over the years have felt called to fulltime ministry, but because their parents didn't approve, they went a different path. That happens so often."

Russell Jeung, professor of sociology at San Francisco State University, sums up well the strengths Asian Americans bring to the larger Christian community: "They have so much fervor and dedication, partly because of their Confucian background." For example, Asian Christians often set an example to other believers on campus by their seriousness and commitment. It's not unusual for Korean students to inspire a whole campus to pray more seriously.

"We [Asians] have a stronger sense of obligation and responsibility to give back to God," says Jeung. "We understand sacrifice, because our parents have sacrificed for us. We understand that Christ's sacrifice for us can't be repaid, but that it demands a great response. Confucianism is a pretty good background for responsibility, sacrifice, and grace."

Tim Stafford is a CT senior writer.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has more information about its multiethnic ministries.

Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Christian Fellowship has information about its ministry.

More Christianity Today articles on campus ministry include:

The Holy and the Ivy | Intellectual skepticism persists in the Ivy League. Thankfully, so does a vibrant Christian faith. (Sept. 1, 2005)

Campus Collisions | Why InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was "derecognized" at some of America's leading universities. (Oct. 3, 2003)

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April 2006, Vol. 50, No. 4