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NAA Fellowship to introduce second-generation group


PHOENIX (BP) — The National Asian American (NAA) Fellowship representing eight Asian nationalities will announce in June a new Southern Baptist group for second-generation Asian Americans, those born in the U.S.

The NAA Fellowship will work cooperatively with the National Asian American Second-Generation Fellowship, helping members of the new group navigate the Southern Baptist Convention and guiding them into leadership posts, said Paul Kim, Asian American relations consultant for the SBC Executive Committee.

NAA Fellowship President Ted Lam will announce the new group during the fellowship banquet June 12 from 7–9 p.m. in Room North 132 B/C on Level 100 of the Phoenix Convention Center in advance of the SBC 2017 annual meeting in Phoenix.

Frank S. Page, SBC Executive Committee president, will bring greetings as will Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg.

Incoming NAA Fellowship leaders for 2017–2018 are President Tra Xiong, executive director of the Hmong Baptist National Association in Oakdale, Minn.; vice president Cao “Paul” Bao Tai, pastor of Vietnamese Baptist Church in Jamestown, N.C.; and secretary/treasurer Masashi Sugita, Japanese Chapel pastor of Dublin Baptist Church in Dublin, Ohio.

Already named as second generation group leaders are President Thomas Wong, pastor of Point Community Church in North Brunswick, N.J.; vice president Ben Yi, English ministry pastor of New Song Church in Carrollton, Texas; and secretary/treasurer Alvin Jay Camota, pastor of International Christian Fellowship in Suffern, N.Y.

While the second generation group will work cooperatively with the NAA Fellowship, the younger group also will function as a separate fellowship, holding its own events.

About 1,900 Asian American congregations in the U.S. are Southern Baptist, including Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian and Vietnamese churches.