Staff
Pastor
Pastor Derek Nguyen
Pastor Derek Nguyen is a graduate of Claremont School of Theology and earned his Master of Divinity in 2019. He has been commissioned as a Provisional Elder at the June 2021 California-Pacific Annual Conference. He and his wife, Christine Nguyen, have a two-year-old girl named Madeline Ayla Nguyen.
Pastor Derek has experience in leading youth groups earlier in ministry. He also did his internship at Exodus UMC, where he engaged in a cross-racial cross-cultural program. Pastor Derek also has experience in Clinical Pastoral Education and served as a chaplain-intern at the VA Medical Center in La Jolla.
Pastor Derek’s calling began when he was a child when he almost drowned in a stream where he went swimming with his buddy. He believes that he had heard God’s voice guiding him to safety. He believes that God has saved him for a reason, and that is to become a bearer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and share the love of God with other people.
Pastor Derek is a Wesleyan at heart. He likes the United Methodist’s General Rules of doing no harm, doing all the good you can, and attending to the ordinances of God. He interprets the general rules as ways to love God and neighbor as God intended for us to do.
Youth Ministry Coordinator
Kangmin Kim
Hi, I'm Kangmin Kim, and I am the Youth Coordinator for LinC Ministry. I have been so fortunate to attend LinC Ministry as a student through 2002-2008 during my formative and angsty years under Pastor Sam Nam, David Kim, Jewel Kim, Johnny Kim, James Lim, Tony Choi, Joe Jung, and Sam Han. I grew up with and served alongside many LinC alumni such as the Kwon sisters, Kathy and Lee Bernstein, Chris Park, Tim Shin, the Yoons, Nate and Michael Choung, Ellison and Daniel Kang, Peter and Victor Kim, DJ, Diane Sohn, Alice Rhee, Daniel Lee (all of them and their wives), Jason and Jihoon Im, Sang, the Hwangs, the Mins, Mitch Pearl, Tae Kim, and my brother Cheol. I hold all of our shared retreats, events, conversations, conversions, challenges, and victories near and dear to my heart. I believe that through LinC Ministry, Jesus called me by name and led me to a spiritual journey that continues to astound and satiate my spiritual hunger for Him. I have served under Pastor Sam, Pastor Hannah Chang, Pastor Dan Kim, and Pastor John Mun, and I have been blessed by their leadership and hearts of servitude. Through all the blessings I have received, I serve our youth today knowing that God continues to pour out the Holy Spirit unto the new generation of students and leaders. God continues to be faithful to us, even to this day, which is where we draw our strength and ability to continue to be faithful to Him.
Currently, I am married to my beautiful wife, Andrea, the mother of my amazing three boys: Emerson, Judah, and Samuel. God has been so, so good to me. I work full-time as a social worker, and I aspire to continue my seminary education when the time is right.
Join us as we pray for our youth, our church, and for God's glory to be made known to and through us!