Kenneth Hom
Pastor, English Congregation
Kenneth was born and raised in a non Christian home in New York City. Since he grew up in a non-religious family, he had very little exposure to Christianity. It had never dawned on him that he had any need for a savior. Throughout his life he had always thought that if he was good he would be ok, never thinking he needed a savior. Like a typical Asian child, it was ingrained in him that my purpose was to get good grades, get a good job and bring honor to his family. In his first two years of college his grades plummeted and he was on the verge of failing out of school. So much of what he had valued and set his hopes on was collapsing. It was then that he began looking for something much more stable to put all of his hopes in. That summer, he met a Christian who was in a similar situation, yet whose joy in the Lord was very obvious. They became friends, and he invited Kenneth to church one Sunday. Reluctantly he went with him. It was there that he heard the Gospel for the first time; it was there that he came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Kenneth attended Urbana 96 and it was there that God first put the idea of full time work on his heart. But that had to wait, after graduation he went home to work. While working, he served at his local church learning about Christ and learning what it meant to serve. Throughout those four years he kept hearing about the dearth of Asian American pastors and he kept praying to God, “Here am I Lord, send me.” Still one obstacle remained, his unbelieving parents. One day he sat down with them to talk about his future and it was a very short conversation. Much to his surprise they were OK with him going off into full time ministry. God had made a way! He went to Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and it was there that God confirmed in his heart for the Chinese church, specifically, Chinese Americans. He believes that Chinese Americans face a unique task of navigating two cultures, Chinese and American, never fully both, and never fully accepted by either. At the same time they are trying to express the love of Jesus in an ever growing, complex, anti-Christian world. It is within that context that he felt called to minister. After seminary he served in a Chinese church in Baltimore county as the English pastor and at Chinese Bible Church of Maryland as their Young Adult/College Pastor. He is married to Joanne and they have two lovely daughters.