In this episode of We Are Vineyard, we celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month by hearing from three Asian American women in ministry: Mary Anne de la Torre (leader of our AAPI Association), Susan Van Riesen (lead pastor of Palo Alto Vineyard), and Sabrina Chan (national director of Asian American Ministries for InterVarsity).
Susan talks about feeling connected to her Korean culture despite growing up as a minority in Oregon, her family’s reaction to her choosing a life of ministry, and how that compares to her perspective now as a parent. Susan also shares about what’s giving her hope for the next generation of Asian American leaders, and how her Korean heritage enhances the diversity of tools in her leadership toolbox.
Sabrina shares about the challenges she faced growing up in Richmond, VA and how she came to understand a healthier view of what it means to be Chinese American. They also discuss the tenderness of vocation for many Asian Americans, and how InterVarsity’s Asian American ministry tackles the diversity within the Asian Community.
Susan Van Riesen has been serving as Palo Alto Vineyard Church’s Lead Pastor since 2017. She served on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for 16 years at 6 different college campuses before spending time as a full-time mom of three very energetic, passionate children. She has great love for adoption, children with special needs, and gardening.
Rev. Sabrina Chan is the national director of Asian American Ministries for InterVarsity, and a daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong. She is an author of Learning Our Names: Asian American Christians on Identity, Relationships, and Vocation (IVP, 2022). She worked as a computer network engineer after graduating from Rice University. She has led campus ministries and supervised staff teams in Texas and the San Francisco Bay Area. Sabrina loves preaching and consults and trains in leadership development and ethnic and racial development and justice. Sabrina earned her Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Seminary, helped planted a church, and is an ordained minister. Sabrina is a bike commuter and an avid tea drinker. Find her on social media @sabrinachanwrites
Show Notes:
Register for Vineyard USA’s 2025 National Conference!
Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents by Jeanette Yep, Peter Cha, Susan Cho Van Riesen, Greg Jao, and Paul Tokunaga
Learning Our Names by Sabrina S. Chan, Linson Daniel, David de Leon, and La Thao
InterVarsity: Asian American Ministries
Vineyard USA’s AAPI Association
