Asian gathering gives picture of heaven

The room at Music City Center was packed as the Asian American Collective gathered for its first annual meeting June 13.

Jonathan Hayashi, pastor of Northern Hills Baptist Church, Holt, Missouri, opened the meeting after a time of worship and prayer.

Looking around the room at those gathered — mostly Asian, but also worshipping alongside Christians of several other ethnicities — he beamed.

‘Faint picture’

“The Scripture says every tongue, tribe, nation will be ablaze in the glory of God,” Hayashi said, quoting Revelation 7:9. “This is a faint picture of what we will one day see in heaven.”

Peter Yanes, executive director for Asian American relations and mobilization for the SBC Executive Committee, announced that 11.6% of new church plants in 2019 were Asian American.

“We are moving forward together,” he said.

Yanes also encouraged attendees to participate in the events and business at the SBC annual meeting.

“Every voice matters in the SBC,” he said.