Bio

It’s a mii, Joe! I was born April 7, 1985 in Berkeley, California and was 2 and half months premature. I weighed about 3 pounds and apparently was about the size of my mom’s fist and forearm. My dad is a 1st generation immigrant from Hong Kong, whereas my mom is from Korea. Growing up in a bi cultural home meant I spoke English most of my days as a youth, which I sort of regret now that I can’t particularly speak any other language very well. I spent all of my pre-college years growing up in Fremont, California where the most popular local attraction is probably Fry’s Electronics.

God found me sometime between 5th and 6th grade at a youth retreat I went to. However, my spiritual growth spurt didn’t really hit until I started high school at Mission San Jose High. This was also around the time that I started to attend Third Home of Christ Church. Somehow around that time I thought it would be fun to do Christian leadership and so I became an officer of Youth Alive, a Christian club at my high school. I also became increasingly involved at my church and found my first ministry love of leading worship. These early years of ministry set an important foundation for me in following Jesus. Through my many blunders, God smacked some humility into me and I learned many important lessons in leadership that I still carry today.

After graduating high school, I trekked my way down to sunny San Diego where I hung out with Shamu and friends and splashed around at the beach. In my free time I attended the University of California, San Diego. I began my college career as a Mo-Bio (Molecular biology) major, but quickly switched when I noticed that I couldn’t stay awake during any of my chem 6a class. After this, I tried becoming metaphysical with the philosophy crew, and munched on some numbers with the econ folks. I even tried dancing around in a Tu-Tu with the performing arts crew (just kidding). But I finally settled with studying human social interaction and worked toward a BA in Sociology. Four long years and a couple of tens of thousands of dollars later, I graduated without honors in June 2007.

Somewhere between not studying and sleeping, I was extremely involved with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. In my four year run with IVCF, I led freshmen and upper classmen bible study and then spent a year as the worship ministry coordinator. All the while, God was doing crazy things with my heart, molding (and often beating) in some character and passion for His glory. By the time I ended college, I was hired onto InterVarsity staff, which is ironic considering that during my freshmen year I never planned to stick around in IV.

After spending four years on IV staff, I felt God lead me to really begin pursuing my call to church planting. Right now I’m a full-time M. Div. student at Bethel Seminary San Diego and a pastoral intern at my church, Coast Vineyard Church.  So that I don’t starve to death, I also work half time at ACCION San Diego doing marketing and communications. This crazy whirlpool of busyness that I currently call life will hopefully in some shape, way, or form prepare me to church plant within the next four years.

My passions include not only leading people into God’s presence through worship and preaching, but mentoring and teaching students. I have a particular heart for the Asian-American Church, and in seeing them awaken to God’s purposes for them. I also desire to explore what it means to build a multi-ethnic, multi-denominational community that continues to cross and break barriers. In all this, I hope to continue to seek God’s heart and lead students into that same place of intimacy. I want to be a part of raising up world changers who live not for themselves, but for God, His purposes, and His people.

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(Condensed Version)

Joseph Lee is a pastoral intern at Coast Vineyard, a hopeful future church planter, and a former campus minister with InterVarsity.  He graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Sociology and is currently working towards a M. Div. at Bethel Seminary San Diego. He resides in San Diego, California and blogs at JosephJLee.com. His interests include hanging out, his MacBook Pro with Iron Man Decal, and surfing…. wikipedia. Oh, and God.