Education & Ministry

My theological education and ministry began within the church in China.

In 1997, I entered East China Theological Seminary in Shanghai, where I received formal theological training and graduated in 2001. During my years there, I served as president of the 14th Student Union and participated in ministry among churches on the outskirts of Shanghai.

After graduation, I returned to Wenzhou and served in full-time pastoral ministry at Yahui Church, Aojiang Tianmen Church, Zhenglou Church, Mabu Gaosha Sheng’ai Church, and my home church, Aojiang Ximei Gospel Church.

My ministry gradually grew beyond preaching and pastoral visitation to include children’s Sunday school, youth ministry, discipleship, choir development, evangelism, short-term missions, church leadership, and the training of emerging leaders.

Because sacred music had become an important part of my ministry, I later returned to East China Theological Seminary for systematic training in church music, including music theory, piano, choral music, and conducting. I also had the privilege of studying under Professor Ma Geshun and other teachers who shaped my understanding of sacred music and its place in the life of the church.

When the Pingyang Christian Training Center opened its new campus in 2013, I helped establish its first sacred music program and served as the program’s class director, training musicians and worship leaders for local churches.

Beginning in 2014, my journey took a more difficult turn. During the campaign to remove church crosses in Wenzhou, I experienced firsthand the pressures facing churches in China. In 2015, I was arrested and spent more than eight months in detention.

That season became one of the deepest classrooms of my life, reshaping how I understand the cross, suffering, freedom, faithfulness, and the calling of a pastor.

After coming to the United States in 2018, I continued both theological education and ministry among Chinese immigrant communities. In 2025, I completed a Master of Divinity at Lincoln Seminary at Ozark Christian College. I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry at Asbury Theological Seminary, with an emphasis on preaching, spiritual formation, leadership, and discipleship.

Today, I serve as a pastor in the Indianapolis area while continuing to preach, teach, write, mentor disciples, and pursue theological research.

My current doctoral research focuses on:

Blessing, Wealth, and Discipleship in Chinese Immigrant Churches

At the heart of this research is a question that has grown increasingly important to me through years of ministry among Chinese Christians:

How do we become not merely successful people, but faithful disciples of Jesus Christ?

For me, education has never been an end in itself, and credentials have never been the destination.

Everything we learn should eventually return to life.

Everything we receive should eventually become service.

That is why I am still learning—and why I hope to keep learning for as long as God gives me the opportunity.