I am a female AAPI pastor in the Vineyard and a Spiritual Director working in both Asian-American and multi-ethnic contexts. About a year ago, I began searching for writing on spiritual formation for AAPI Christians. I quickly discovered that while there are accounts of Asian American religious identity and history, hardly any work exists specifically on spiritual formation. I would like to identify practices or models of spiritual formation unique to the AAPI Christian community as well as explore the the integration of AAPI spirituality with contemplative practices such as spiritual direction, Ignatian spirituality, and contemplative prayer. How can these two areas inform and enrich one another? How might contemplative practices be adapted and enlarged in order to address the spiritual needs of the Asian American community? And what gifts does the Asian American community have for the wider North American church?

To answer these questions, I plan to read foundational and current research in order to build my understanding of Asian American Christian consciousness and identity; conduct interviews with Asian American Christian ministry leaders and spiritual directors; attend the annual Center for Asian American Christianity Conference and the Vineyard AAPI Association annual summit; conduct an online survey of Asian American Christians; and create contemplative practices and a mini retreat specifically for the Asian American Christian community. I intend for the work produced during this research period to lead to articles and later a book that will offer practical applications for pastors, spiritual directors, retreat leaders, and individual Christians who are pursuing spiritual formation in their own lives, as well as to deepen my own work as a spiritual director and pastor.