OUR HISTORY
The founding of Pastoral and Laity Ministries (PaLM) can be traced back to an American Born Chinese (ABC) conference that had taken place in Chicago in the spring of 1982. A number of ABC pastors and lay leaders from the New York Metropolitan area had attended the conference for the purposes of networking and learning more about ABC ministries in general. After the conference ended, one of the leaders of the conference sent a letter to all the New York delegates asking about the possibility of our hosting an ABC conference in the New York Metropolitan area. Upon receipt of the letter I, Howard Chan, who at the time was a layman, became excited about the possibility of hosting such a conference in New York. But, when he surveyed the New York delegates, key pastors and lay leaders about the conference, almost all agreed that the conference content would not be relevant to our local situation. However, everyone did agree that it would be beneficial for us all to come together to discuss our common ministry problems and difficulties.
Spurred on by everyone’s agreement to meet, Howard arranged a date, time, and place for our first meeting. The group met for the first time on September 26,1982. The meeting that day resulted in a number of key decisions being made: a) the group agreed to meet quarterly, b) all agreed that both pastors and lay leaders needed to work together closely and c) the purposes of the meetings included the following: c1) developing stronger relationships between pastors and lay leaders, c2) the sharing of our own experiences with others for the purposes of edification and encouragement and lastly, c3) the meetings would give everyone the opportunity to pray for one another.
In 1983 the group divided into two teams, a core group – comprised mostly of lay leaders – that became the “arms and legs” of PaLM and a support group – comprised mostly of pastors – that provided "the core" with advice and direction. In 1988 PaLM gave "the core" a new title, "Executive Committee." It wasn't until January 1991 that our supporting pastors took on the title, "Pastoral Associates."
During the early nineties PaLM took steps to become an officially recognized non-profit organization. In 1990 PaLM incorporated. In 1994 the Internal Revenue Service officially recognized PaLM as a 501 (c) (3), non-profit, tax-exempt organization. And in 1995 New York State joined the IRS in granting PaLM tax-exempt status.
On January 01, 2001, PaLM went through two significant changes. The first significant change involved Rev. Howard Chan becoming PaLM’s first full-time paid Executive Director. Howard is well suited to serve as PaLM’s Executive Director for several reasons. First, he played a key role in the birth of PaLM. Second, his vision and mission and PaLM’s vision and mission are synonymous. And third, Howard’s gift-mix is a perfect match for this ministry. The second significant change involves the scope of PaLM’s ministry. Initially, PaLM was formed to provide a vehicle for Chinese Americans to network and work together. Effective January 01, 2001, PaLM’s scope of ministry was expanded to include Korean Americans and other Asian Americans. PaLM made the decision to expand its work to include other Asian Americans for several reasons:
a) Howard’s new role as full-time Director permits PaLM the opportunity to expand its work,
b) there is much that Chinese Americans and Korean Americans can learn about ministry from one another,
c) by working together Chinese American and Korean American Christians can do much to help one another as well as themselves.
In June 2002 Rev. John Ng joined PaLM as an Associate Director. In light of his experience as a pastor and his work as vice-president of Church Growth with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, PaLM felt his expertise in this area could greatly benefit our Asian American churches. Thus, our Ekklesia (Greek for "church") Ministry was birthed to offer our pastors, and church leaders the tools needed to grow their congregations and retool their ministry tasks. John's tenure with PaLM also played a key role in helping to establish our MAP (Ministry Apprenticeship Program) training which helped pastors adopt and practice mentoring to raise up more, and better trained workers for our churches. Sadly, John retired from PaLM and Alliance Theological Seminary in the summer of 2011. Regrettably, John's departure also meant our Ekklesia Ministry was no longer viable and was terminated. Normally, John's association with PaLM would end here. However, since his retirement, John has changed his status from "retired" to that of "retreat" (e.g., willing to work with PaLM informally) which opens new doors of possibilities that we at PaLM will eagerly explore.
In October 2005 Mr. Peter Ong joined PaLM as an Associate Director. Peter has a heart for the lay-leaders of our churches. He rightly saw the need for teaching, training and providing our Asian American church laity the resources and tools needed to better serve our churches. In view of his burden, PaLM gave Peter the opportunity to start a Laity Ministry from which he could interact with, and serve, the Asian American lay-leaders in our churches. Through regular monthly gatherings, Peter and other lay-leader experts presented lectures, workshops and seminars through which our church youth pastors and lay leaders explored different aspects of their leadership roles. Peter's time with us also enabled him to play a significant role in PaLM's MAP training. While serving, Peter began to see within himself the possibility of serve God as a Pastor. Up to this point, that had never been an option. To help Peter explore his calling to the pastorate, in the summer of 2008 PaLM "loaned" him on a part-time basis to Living Faith Community Church for two years. By the end of that time "The Call" was deafening. Peter continued to serve with PaLM until December 2011 when he turned his full attention to planting King's Cross Church in Flushing, NY. With his departure, PaLM could no longer sustain the Laity Ministry. It too was terminated. We regret Peter's departure from PaLM. However, our loss of Peter's services means the birth of a new church for God! From that perspective, we gladly release Peter.
The departure of John and Peter meant no Ekklesia and Laity Ministries, but their departure also put at risk our MAP training. The straw that "broke the camel's back" came when Rev. Stephen Ro stepped down as a PaLM Board member in June 2012. Stephen had been a part of our MAP training from its inception in 2006, providing invaluable leadership, training and skills. But, by now he was shepherding two full church congregations and could not afford the time or energy to serve on MAP, or our PaLM Board. As a result, our MAP training ceased to exist.
In addition to these seismic changes, a few other significant events took place in 2012 greatly impacted us. I don't care to get into these "other matters." I only mention them in passing to say that "when it rains, it pours."
As a result of all these changes, Howard became discouraged and lost. PaLM needed to go in a new direction. It took some time. (God never seems to be in a hurry...isn't that so?) In 2013 God finally answered when he reminded Howard of the unfulfilled potential of PaLM's Website and provided him with a means to rework the site himself. Today, you can see for yourself the result of that work. Where God takes this website remains to be seen. But, one thing is for sure, where God is involved, wonderful things happen.
More recently, many new workers have moved into our region while those remaining workers who have served our region since the 1980’s will soon be gone. Before that happens, PaLM wants to foster and establish a strong connection between the two groups. Such a connection lends itself to many benefits: continuity, mutual support, passing on the baton, etc. We look forward to seeing the blessings and benefits of such connections.
When 2016 rolled around, Howard was tired, greatly discouraged and ready to retire. Ultimately, this meant PaLM would need to close since a new worker to take over PaLM had not emerged. But God had other plans. While seeking to find a date to inform the Board of his decision, God revealed to Howard another path. He would reduce the number of hours he worked so that he could work at a slower pace and also allow him the time needed for Howard to care for this dad who was now 99. In Aug 2017 Howard's dad passed. With his dad's passing, Howard made the decision to work one more year and retire in December 2018. But again, God had another plan in mind. A number of pastors, who attended the bi-monthly fellowship meetings, felt the fellowship meetings were important and necessary. As a result, they exhorted Howard to stay and continue to host the meetings. Eventually, Howard agreed to continue with PaLM on a part-time basis to allow God the time to do whatever it was that he sought to do.
In 2019, God revealed to Howard what he had in mind...a potential new worker to take over PaLM. That year, Howard met with the potential new worker to determine his interest in serving PaLM. After a number of discussions, Greg C. Woo agreed to see if he could be that new worker who could eventually take over PaLM. In agreeing to seek out that answer, Greg agreed to serve PaLM on a probation period for one-year, beginning in January 2021.
Beginning in January 1, 2022, the Reverend Greg C. Woo took over as the Executive Director of PaLM on a part-time basis while Howard stepped back into a part-time administrative supportive role. In essence Greg will serve PaLM in the same manner Howard initially served PaLM. From the time PaLM was founded in 1982 until 2000 Howard served PaLM on a part-time basis while concurrently working/attending full-time: Metropolitan Life (1971-1984), InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (1984-1988), Alliance Theological Seminary (1988-1991), and Queens Herald Church, CM&A (1990-2000).
Where Greg will take PaLM depends on where God leads Greg. Pray for God's guidance, direction and grace as Greg seeks his will in this new endeavor.
Spurred on by everyone’s agreement to meet, Howard arranged a date, time, and place for our first meeting. The group met for the first time on September 26,1982. The meeting that day resulted in a number of key decisions being made: a) the group agreed to meet quarterly, b) all agreed that both pastors and lay leaders needed to work together closely and c) the purposes of the meetings included the following: c1) developing stronger relationships between pastors and lay leaders, c2) the sharing of our own experiences with others for the purposes of edification and encouragement and lastly, c3) the meetings would give everyone the opportunity to pray for one another.
In 1983 the group divided into two teams, a core group – comprised mostly of lay leaders – that became the “arms and legs” of PaLM and a support group – comprised mostly of pastors – that provided "the core" with advice and direction. In 1988 PaLM gave "the core" a new title, "Executive Committee." It wasn't until January 1991 that our supporting pastors took on the title, "Pastoral Associates."
During the early nineties PaLM took steps to become an officially recognized non-profit organization. In 1990 PaLM incorporated. In 1994 the Internal Revenue Service officially recognized PaLM as a 501 (c) (3), non-profit, tax-exempt organization. And in 1995 New York State joined the IRS in granting PaLM tax-exempt status.
On January 01, 2001, PaLM went through two significant changes. The first significant change involved Rev. Howard Chan becoming PaLM’s first full-time paid Executive Director. Howard is well suited to serve as PaLM’s Executive Director for several reasons. First, he played a key role in the birth of PaLM. Second, his vision and mission and PaLM’s vision and mission are synonymous. And third, Howard’s gift-mix is a perfect match for this ministry. The second significant change involves the scope of PaLM’s ministry. Initially, PaLM was formed to provide a vehicle for Chinese Americans to network and work together. Effective January 01, 2001, PaLM’s scope of ministry was expanded to include Korean Americans and other Asian Americans. PaLM made the decision to expand its work to include other Asian Americans for several reasons:
a) Howard’s new role as full-time Director permits PaLM the opportunity to expand its work,
b) there is much that Chinese Americans and Korean Americans can learn about ministry from one another,
c) by working together Chinese American and Korean American Christians can do much to help one another as well as themselves.
In June 2002 Rev. John Ng joined PaLM as an Associate Director. In light of his experience as a pastor and his work as vice-president of Church Growth with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, PaLM felt his expertise in this area could greatly benefit our Asian American churches. Thus, our Ekklesia (Greek for "church") Ministry was birthed to offer our pastors, and church leaders the tools needed to grow their congregations and retool their ministry tasks. John's tenure with PaLM also played a key role in helping to establish our MAP (Ministry Apprenticeship Program) training which helped pastors adopt and practice mentoring to raise up more, and better trained workers for our churches. Sadly, John retired from PaLM and Alliance Theological Seminary in the summer of 2011. Regrettably, John's departure also meant our Ekklesia Ministry was no longer viable and was terminated. Normally, John's association with PaLM would end here. However, since his retirement, John has changed his status from "retired" to that of "retreat" (e.g., willing to work with PaLM informally) which opens new doors of possibilities that we at PaLM will eagerly explore.
In October 2005 Mr. Peter Ong joined PaLM as an Associate Director. Peter has a heart for the lay-leaders of our churches. He rightly saw the need for teaching, training and providing our Asian American church laity the resources and tools needed to better serve our churches. In view of his burden, PaLM gave Peter the opportunity to start a Laity Ministry from which he could interact with, and serve, the Asian American lay-leaders in our churches. Through regular monthly gatherings, Peter and other lay-leader experts presented lectures, workshops and seminars through which our church youth pastors and lay leaders explored different aspects of their leadership roles. Peter's time with us also enabled him to play a significant role in PaLM's MAP training. While serving, Peter began to see within himself the possibility of serve God as a Pastor. Up to this point, that had never been an option. To help Peter explore his calling to the pastorate, in the summer of 2008 PaLM "loaned" him on a part-time basis to Living Faith Community Church for two years. By the end of that time "The Call" was deafening. Peter continued to serve with PaLM until December 2011 when he turned his full attention to planting King's Cross Church in Flushing, NY. With his departure, PaLM could no longer sustain the Laity Ministry. It too was terminated. We regret Peter's departure from PaLM. However, our loss of Peter's services means the birth of a new church for God! From that perspective, we gladly release Peter.
The departure of John and Peter meant no Ekklesia and Laity Ministries, but their departure also put at risk our MAP training. The straw that "broke the camel's back" came when Rev. Stephen Ro stepped down as a PaLM Board member in June 2012. Stephen had been a part of our MAP training from its inception in 2006, providing invaluable leadership, training and skills. But, by now he was shepherding two full church congregations and could not afford the time or energy to serve on MAP, or our PaLM Board. As a result, our MAP training ceased to exist.
In addition to these seismic changes, a few other significant events took place in 2012 greatly impacted us. I don't care to get into these "other matters." I only mention them in passing to say that "when it rains, it pours."
As a result of all these changes, Howard became discouraged and lost. PaLM needed to go in a new direction. It took some time. (God never seems to be in a hurry...isn't that so?) In 2013 God finally answered when he reminded Howard of the unfulfilled potential of PaLM's Website and provided him with a means to rework the site himself. Today, you can see for yourself the result of that work. Where God takes this website remains to be seen. But, one thing is for sure, where God is involved, wonderful things happen.
More recently, many new workers have moved into our region while those remaining workers who have served our region since the 1980’s will soon be gone. Before that happens, PaLM wants to foster and establish a strong connection between the two groups. Such a connection lends itself to many benefits: continuity, mutual support, passing on the baton, etc. We look forward to seeing the blessings and benefits of such connections.
When 2016 rolled around, Howard was tired, greatly discouraged and ready to retire. Ultimately, this meant PaLM would need to close since a new worker to take over PaLM had not emerged. But God had other plans. While seeking to find a date to inform the Board of his decision, God revealed to Howard another path. He would reduce the number of hours he worked so that he could work at a slower pace and also allow him the time needed for Howard to care for this dad who was now 99. In Aug 2017 Howard's dad passed. With his dad's passing, Howard made the decision to work one more year and retire in December 2018. But again, God had another plan in mind. A number of pastors, who attended the bi-monthly fellowship meetings, felt the fellowship meetings were important and necessary. As a result, they exhorted Howard to stay and continue to host the meetings. Eventually, Howard agreed to continue with PaLM on a part-time basis to allow God the time to do whatever it was that he sought to do.
In 2019, God revealed to Howard what he had in mind...a potential new worker to take over PaLM. That year, Howard met with the potential new worker to determine his interest in serving PaLM. After a number of discussions, Greg C. Woo agreed to see if he could be that new worker who could eventually take over PaLM. In agreeing to seek out that answer, Greg agreed to serve PaLM on a probation period for one-year, beginning in January 2021.
Beginning in January 1, 2022, the Reverend Greg C. Woo took over as the Executive Director of PaLM on a part-time basis while Howard stepped back into a part-time administrative supportive role. In essence Greg will serve PaLM in the same manner Howard initially served PaLM. From the time PaLM was founded in 1982 until 2000 Howard served PaLM on a part-time basis while concurrently working/attending full-time: Metropolitan Life (1971-1984), InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (1984-1988), Alliance Theological Seminary (1988-1991), and Queens Herald Church, CM&A (1990-2000).
Where Greg will take PaLM depends on where God leads Greg. Pray for God's guidance, direction and grace as Greg seeks his will in this new endeavor.