Asian Indian presence has grown significantly on the American landscape, including the first-ever woman Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris (whose mother is an Indian Hindu and father is a Jamaican Christian and has embraced the Christian faith). Indian Americans are now over 5 million strong (the fastest-growing immigrant group in the US) and constitute the most educated and wealthiest ethnic minority group in the United States. Their disproportionate influence in the socioeconomic, technological, and political spheres has become increasingly evident lately.

However, what most people are unaware of is that nearly 20 percent of Asian Indians in the United States are Christians (Christians are only 2.5 percent in India). This adds up to about a million Indian American Christians who speak different languages and follow diverse cultural and denominational traditions. Since the first Asian Indian church was established in 1967 in New York City, the Indian American Christian community has grown considerably and now has established over 1500 churches over the last 55 years – a remarkable feat among any of the post-1965 immigrants to the United States.

This research aims to survey and document the history of a minority immigrant Christian community in the US and capture its early developments by interviewing pioneering immigrants, various denominational and community leaders located in major cities of settlement of Indian American Christians. It will develop an online searchable database of all Indian American churches and ministries to facilitate greater understanding and collaboration within the community as well as with other Christians of the host society. Because of rising racism against minorities in America, it is important to record the histories of new immigrants to avoid stereotypical caricatures and educate the masses about multifaceted Indian American Christianity accurately.