Asian American and Pacific Islander authors bring important perspectives to their work, with insights and wisdom for every reader. On this page, you'll learn more about our API and AAPI authors and their books. You'll also find articles, videos, and podcasts where you can hear directly from these API and AAPI voices as they share more about their books and the impact that they are having in the church and the world.
May is when we recognize AAPI authors during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Looking for even more voices to learn from? Discover more authors of color and women authors, or browse all of IVP's authors. You can also hear from a wide variety of diverse voices on IVP's Every Voice Now podcast.
La Thao, who is Hmong American, is an InterVarsity campus staff in Wisconsin and previously served as the director of InterVarsity's Hmong Christian Collegiate Conference.
Paul Tokunaga (Master of Christian Studies, New College, Berkeley) is vice president and director of strategic ministries for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He started with InterVarsity as a student at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and has also worked with 2100 Productions and as Southeast Regional Director.
Nikki A. Toyama-Szeto is executive director of Christians for Social Action (CSA), where she helps Christians have a faith-fuleed engagement with social issues. Previously, she served as senior director of biblical justice integration and mobilization at International Justice Mission (IJM) in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining IJM, Nikki worked with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for twelve years, including serving as program director for InterVarsity's Urbana Student Missions Convention. She is the coauthor of Partnering with the Global Church and More Than Serving Tea.
Gideon Yee Shun Tsang is an artist, writer, photographer, and spiritual leader. He was the founding pastor at Vox Veniae in Austin, Texas, where he's been living for the past twenty years. He originally hails from Canada. He can be found meandering the country in his van, bike camping in national forests, or cliff jumping into cenotes.
Shao Kai Tseng (DPhil, University of Oxford) is assistant professor of systematic theology at China Evangelical Seminary in Taipei, Taiwan. He is the author of a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Christian Thought, as well as several books and scholarly articles in both English and Chinese. Previously he served as a pastor at Faith Chinese North American Baptist Church in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia.
J. D. Tseng (pseudonym) is a leader in partnering organizations between Chinese and Western Christians, notably the Center for House Church Theology.
Kathy Tuan-MacLean (PhD, Northwestern) is the national faculty ministry director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, where she invites and resources faculty to follow Jesus together. Since joining InterVarsity in 1990, she has led numerous students and faculty in Bible study, spiritual formation, and leadership development. She is also a spiritual director who has led marriage ministry and women's retreats.
Van Riesen is an area director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship serving students at Stanford University, Santa Clara University, UC Santa Cruz and California State Monteray Bay University. Her parents emigrated from Korea when she was five years old. She is a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.
Prasanta Verma (MBA, MPH) was born under an Asian sun, raised in the Appalachian foothills in the South, and now resides in the Upper Midwest. Her essays and poetry have been published in Sojourners, Propel Women, (in)courage, Inheritance Magazine, the Indianapolis Review, Barren Magazine, and the Mudroom blog. She served as a speech and debate coach for over ten years.
Wafik W. Wahba is professor of Global Christianity at Tyndale University in Toronto, Canada. He has taught and lectured on global Christianity and Christian-Muslim relations in twenty-five countries, including in the United States, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America. He has contributed to several publications, including Edinburgh Companion to Global Christianity, The Rowman and Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East, and Cascade's series The Global Story of Christianity. He served on the editorial advisory board and contributed several entries to the Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South.
Allen M. Wakabayashi has served on various campuses with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Currently, he serves at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he previously served at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is the author of Kingdom Come.
Daniel Yang is the director of the Church Multiplication Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, a think tank for evangelism and church planting. He has pastored and helped plant churches in Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth, Toronto, and Chicago. He earned an MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a BS in computer science from the University of Michigan, and is currently a PhD student in intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Jenny Yang is the senior vice president of advocacy and policy for World Relief, where she has served immigrants, refugees, and asylees for over 15 years. She received her BA in International Relations and Affairs from Johns Hopkins University, and is the coauthor of Welcoming the Stranger along with Matthew Soerens and Leith Anderson.
Bryan Ye-Chung is an artist, designer, and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder and creative director of Alabaster Co., and has been featured in the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Forbes, the LA Times, Hypebeast, and Vox. He was named as one a Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022 in the Retail & Commerce category.
Allen Yeh (DPhil, Oxford University) is associate professor of intercultural studies and missiology at Biola University. A missiologist who specializes in Latin America and China, he has traveled to over sixty countries and every continent to study, do missions work, and experience the culture. He is the coauthor of Routes and Radishes: and Other Things to Talk About at the Evangelical Crossroads and co-editor of Expect Great Things, Attempt Great Things. A member of over twenty associations, Allen is a member of the executive planning committee for the Asian American Pacific Islander Faith Alliance and is founder and chairman of the World Christianity study group at the Evangelical Theological Society.
Jeanette Yep, an American-born Chinese, served as coordinator for Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents. She was an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship student leader at Mount Holyoke College. After graduation she spent a year studying Chinese language and culture in Taiwan. Recently she received an M.A. in communications from Northwestern University. Now in her twenty-first year on IV staff, she is a divisional director, based in Chicago. She is affectionately known by Urbana Student Mission Convention delegates as "Auntie Jeanette." She serves as a special director of staff training and development, working with student movements around the world.
Wang Yi is a leader of a Chinese house church. His views are not shared by all, but he is part of an important debate about freedom of religion in China. He is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence for refusing to comply with PRC regulations regarding church registration.
Amos Yong (PhD, Boston University) is professor of theology and mission and director of the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author or editor of over two dozen books, including Spirit of Love: A Trinitarian Theology of Grace, Afro-Pentecostalism: Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in History and Culture (coedited with Estrelda Alexander), Science and the Spirit: A Pentecostal Engagement with the Sciences (coedited with James K. A. Smith), and The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology.
May Young (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is associate professor of biblical studies and chairs the Department of Biblical Studies, Christian Ministries, Intercultural Studies, and Philosophy at Taylor University. She has contributed to several volumes focused on lament. She is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature and serves on the board of directors of the Institute of Biblical Research, as well as the editorial board for Sacred Roots.
Nancy Wang Yuen is a sociologist and pop culture expert. She is the author of ‘Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism’ and the co-editor of Power Women: Stories of Motherhood, Faith, and the Academy. She was the host of two seasons of The Disrupters Podcast and has appeared on PBS, NPR, MSNBC, BBC World, and Dr. Phil. She is a guest writer at CNN, Elle, Los Angeles Times, NBC, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair.
Hear More from Our AAPI Authors
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, join IVP for a conversation with the authors of Learning Our Names. Sabrina S. Chan, Linson Daniel, E. David de Leon, and La Thao share insights into the creation and purpose of the book, what they hope readers take from it, and more.