Walton Yuen
Tina Yuen
Staff History
Walton's Story
Growing up in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, I remember long summers and a blend of strange customs. Each year, I tossed fake money into a graveyard firepit to amass wealth for my ancestors in the afterlife. At the same time, my dad, who didn't really believe in a God, trained me to question everything and accept nothing at face value. My parents also sent me to Catholic private schools, hoping to keep me away from the local drug scene. Looking back, I appreciated the academic emphasis, but it also left me with a bad taste of religious apathy and hypocrisy. All in all, by the time I left in 1983 to attend college at MIT on the distant East Coast, I had set aside any internal confusion and focused on pragmatically carving out a successful life for myself.
However, life doesn't always work the way you expect.
I arrived confident that I would coast through the courses and the college lifestyle. But, I was wrong. The workload was extremely demanding. Even more troubling was the slow realization that for the first time in my life I was entirely on my own. I experimented a lot with my newfound freedom; I pushed things to the edge. But I also remember many times just sitting up late at night and reflecting on why life hurt so much and what I could do about it.
But God remained faithful. During the second term of my freshman year, I met a born-again Christian named Barry. Over the course of the next two years, he, along with other Christians I would meet, shared his faith, his values, his time, and his life with me. At first, I was indifferent. I assumed I knew all that I needed to know about Christianity from my past experiences. However, I noticed something was different: these folks sure liked to talk about Jesus. Their emphasis on Christ intrigued me, and the way they lived their lives kept drawing me to them for advice.
Finally, in my junior year, after another disappointing relationship at school, I found myself visiting Barry and talking to him once more. We talked for a while, and then he confronted me with my need for the gospel. He said that I had all the knowledge I needed to accept Christ but that I wasn't stepping out in faith. We talked for a few more hours, and the thought broke into my mind that the biggest obstacle to my accepting Christ was the fear of change, of taking the risk to start anew. I knew my ideals and relationships had failed me up to this point in my life. All the evidence, all the logic, all the stories... pointed to Christ as the only sure Hope in life. Late that night, I turned from sin and trusted in Christ with my life. I went to bed sensing that my life had crossed a pivotal point. And in retrospect, knowing Jesus has been and continues to be the most profound and powerful element of my life.
Growing up in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, I remember long summers and a blend of strange customs. Each year, I tossed fake money into a graveyard firepit to amass wealth for my ancestors in the afterlife. At the same time, my dad, who didn't really believe in a God, trained me to question everything and accept nothing at face value. My parents also sent me to Catholic private schools, hoping to keep me away from the local drug scene. Looking back, I appreciated the academic emphasis, but it also left me with a bad taste of religious apathy and hypocrisy. All in all, by the time I left in 1983 to attend college at MIT on the distant East Coast, I had set aside any internal confusion and focused on pragmatically carving out a successful life for myself.
However, life doesn't always work the way you expect.
I arrived confident that I would coast through the courses and the college lifestyle. But, I was wrong. The workload was extremely demanding. Even more troubling was the slow realization that for the first time in my life I was entirely on my own. I experimented a lot with my newfound freedom; I pushed things to the edge. But I also remember many times just sitting up late at night and reflecting on why life hurt so much and what I could do about it.
But God remained faithful. During the second term of my freshman year, I met a born-again Christian named Barry. Over the course of the next two years, he, along with other Christians I would meet, shared his faith, his values, his time, and his life with me. At first, I was indifferent. I assumed I knew all that I needed to know about Christianity from my past experiences. However, I noticed something was different: these folks sure liked to talk about Jesus. Their emphasis on Christ intrigued me, and the way they lived their lives kept drawing me to them for advice.
Finally, in my junior year, after another disappointing relationship at school, I found myself visiting Barry and talking to him once more. We talked for a while, and then he confronted me with my need for the gospel. He said that I had all the knowledge I needed to accept Christ but that I wasn't stepping out in faith. We talked for a few more hours, and the thought broke into my mind that the biggest obstacle to my accepting Christ was the fear of change, of taking the risk to start anew. I knew my ideals and relationships had failed me up to this point in my life. All the evidence, all the logic, all the stories... pointed to Christ as the only sure Hope in life. Late that night, I turned from sin and trusted in Christ with my life. I went to bed sensing that my life had crossed a pivotal point. And in retrospect, knowing Jesus has been and continues to be the most profound and powerful element of my life.
Tina's Story
I was born in a small town in Massachusetts, where my parents lovingly raised me and my two brothers. All I wanted to do in life was to please my parents and live a comfortable life. Growing up I regularly went to church. But it wasn't until the eighth grade that I accepted Christ as my Savior. I believed I was a sinner and needed Jesus to go to heaven.
When I signed up to major in architecture at Carnegie Mellon, I struggled deeply with this decision. I began to ask questions such as
“What's the purpose of this career path?” ,
“Will being an architect bring me long-term satisfaction?”,
“Why do I need to be so far from my parents to go to college?”, and
“What is the meaning of life?”.
Studying architecture didn’t come naturally to me. I had to work hard in school. Many times the grades still didn’t reflect all the effort put in. During my first year of architecture school I became very depressed because I couldn’t see what life was worth living for. Around this time I began to notice many of my friends were Christians. I admired them for their character and love for Jesus Christ. Jesus was real to them. They would go the extra mile to share Christ’s love to me, including visiting me at 4am at the architecture studios. There was just something different about them. They started to invite me to attend their church and fellowship. Then someone shared the good news of Jesus Christ with me, and I began to understand that the purpose of my life was to live out and share the good news of Jesus Christ. I realized it didn’t matter what I do as a living as long as I sought to obey Christ and share about Him and his love. Jesus became real and personal to me every day.
After rededicating my life to Christ, I’ve experienced real joy, peace, love and contentment from the Lord. I’ve also found meaning and purpose in my life through sharing about Him. I look forward to serving Him and those He calls me to serve.
I was born in a small town in Massachusetts, where my parents lovingly raised me and my two brothers. All I wanted to do in life was to please my parents and live a comfortable life. Growing up I regularly went to church. But it wasn't until the eighth grade that I accepted Christ as my Savior. I believed I was a sinner and needed Jesus to go to heaven.
When I signed up to major in architecture at Carnegie Mellon, I struggled deeply with this decision. I began to ask questions such as
“What's the purpose of this career path?” ,
“Will being an architect bring me long-term satisfaction?”,
“Why do I need to be so far from my parents to go to college?”, and
“What is the meaning of life?”.
Studying architecture didn’t come naturally to me. I had to work hard in school. Many times the grades still didn’t reflect all the effort put in. During my first year of architecture school I became very depressed because I couldn’t see what life was worth living for. Around this time I began to notice many of my friends were Christians. I admired them for their character and love for Jesus Christ. Jesus was real to them. They would go the extra mile to share Christ’s love to me, including visiting me at 4am at the architecture studios. There was just something different about them. They started to invite me to attend their church and fellowship. Then someone shared the good news of Jesus Christ with me, and I began to understand that the purpose of my life was to live out and share the good news of Jesus Christ. I realized it didn’t matter what I do as a living as long as I sought to obey Christ and share about Him and his love. Jesus became real and personal to me every day.
After rededicating my life to Christ, I’ve experienced real joy, peace, love and contentment from the Lord. I’ve also found meaning and purpose in my life through sharing about Him. I look forward to serving Him and those He calls me to serve.
Staff History
A little more formal account of our background and history:
For Pastor Walton:
- Grew up in Hawaii
- Trusted in Christ in 1986 during my 3rd year in college
- Graduated from M.I.T in 1987 with a Bachelor's Degree in EE
- Worked 4 years in industry in Boston
- Attended Dallas Theological Seminary 1992-1996 in Dallas, Texas
- Graduated DTS in 1996 with Master's Degree in Theology, World Missions
- Served at Plano Chinese Alliance Church 1992-1997
(Part-time: adults, youth, and children ministries)
- Married Tina in 1995
- Served at Austin Chinese Church 1997-1999 (Students Ministry Pastor)
- Ordained and commissioned by Austin Chinese Church in 1999
- Church-planting team to France 1999-2001 with Christian Associates International (Small groups pastor, Communications and computer systems)
- Served at ACC 2001-2008 as Missions Pastor, Church planter,
and Interim Teaching Pastor
- Currently pastoring Horizon Christian Community Church in Austin, TX
For Tina:
- Grew up in Wayland, Massachusetts
- Graduated in 1991 from Roger Williams University, Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts
- Worked as a Graphic Designer 1991-1995
- Married Walton in 1995
- Served at PCAC 1995 - 1997 (Youth and children's ministries)
- Served with Walton at ACC 1997 - 1999, France 1999 - 2001 (Outreach, Mom's groups)
- Served at ACC 2001 - 2008
- Women's and children's ministry at Horizon currently
A little more formal account of our background and history:
For Pastor Walton:
- Grew up in Hawaii
- Trusted in Christ in 1986 during my 3rd year in college
- Graduated from M.I.T in 1987 with a Bachelor's Degree in EE
- Worked 4 years in industry in Boston
- Attended Dallas Theological Seminary 1992-1996 in Dallas, Texas
- Graduated DTS in 1996 with Master's Degree in Theology, World Missions
- Served at Plano Chinese Alliance Church 1992-1997
(Part-time: adults, youth, and children ministries)
- Married Tina in 1995
- Served at Austin Chinese Church 1997-1999 (Students Ministry Pastor)
- Ordained and commissioned by Austin Chinese Church in 1999
- Church-planting team to France 1999-2001 with Christian Associates International (Small groups pastor, Communications and computer systems)
- Served at ACC 2001-2008 as Missions Pastor, Church planter,
and Interim Teaching Pastor
- Currently pastoring Horizon Christian Community Church in Austin, TX
For Tina:
- Grew up in Wayland, Massachusetts
- Graduated in 1991 from Roger Williams University, Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts
- Worked as a Graphic Designer 1991-1995
- Married Walton in 1995
- Served at PCAC 1995 - 1997 (Youth and children's ministries)
- Served with Walton at ACC 1997 - 1999, France 1999 - 2001 (Outreach, Mom's groups)
- Served at ACC 2001 - 2008
- Women's and children's ministry at Horizon currently