In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay sits down with Dennis Liu to talk about his recent transition to lead pastor of Vineyard of Hope church, and some of the conversations and considerations unique to a leadership transition in an immigrant church. Dennis shares about the “silent exodus” of young people from immigrant churches, some of the cultural blessings and challenges, and some of his dreams for the Asian American church, particularly relating to worship.
Dennis Liu is the leader of the Asian American Association for Vineyard USA and the lead pastor of Vineyard of Hope church in Walnut, CA (formerly known as Vineyard of Harvest). Having grown up in a Christian family in NJ, he feels extremely blessed with a rich Christian heritage. It was during his high school years that he began to sense that the Lord was calling him into full-time ministry. At the time, he ignored the call out of selfishness simply because he wanted to make a lot of money and become successful in the world’s eyes. Subsequently, he enrolled at Cornell University in the fall of 1996 with the intention of going on to medical school upon graduation. The Lord continued to work on his heart through his college years, and the calling of full-time ministry didn’t decrease but grew stronger. After college, the door opened up for him to come out to CA to minister after he graduated from college and to begin attending Fuller Theological Seminary. In May 2000, he headed out to CA and began to intern at Vineyard of Hope Church while pursuing a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies at Fuller. Over time, the ministry grew, and he joined the staff of the church on a full-time basis as the minister to the English congregation. In June 2005, he graduated from Fuller, and in 2007, he was ordained as a pastor. In 2011, he married Evangeline, who graduated with a Master of Divinity from Talbot Seminary. They have two sons named Silas and Levi and a daughter named Jubilee. Dennis and Evangeline are excited about the future of this congregation and envision a church that plants many churches!
Show Notes:
Miracle Work by Jordan Seng
Vineyard USA’s recommended reading for May
https://bit.ly/382EPdN
Vineyard of Hope Church
https://www.vineyardofhope.org
