In a Student Life Newsletter in early January, it was announced that Mike Ahn would be the new dean of Spiritual Development beginning Jan.8. This role involves overseeing chapel programs, worship teams, pastoral care and more.
AHN’S JOURNEY
Ahn has been a part of Biola’s community for a significant time. He began his career with a part-time job at a Christian high school and at a local church. After discovering that he did not feel very fulfilled with those jobs, he quit and became a stay-at-home dad to take care of his young daughter. As he began to search for new jobs, he struggled to find his true vocation.
“I always thought I’d work in a church,” he said. “I’m in Los Angeles at this time and so I was applying to churches in Hollywood and downtown and things like that. I almost got hired at a few churches. Then, there’s this position at Biola that came up in 2012. The position kind of lingered so I eventually applied for it and I got the job.”
After that, he felt like a part of him was not ready to work outside of a church. His mindset slowly began to change as he got used to Biola’s environment. He found friendship and mentors in Biola’s faculty and soon his family moved closer to Biola and he began to thrive.
“I just appreciated the environment and so we moved down here and little by little it’s been 12 years and I’ve really enjoyed my time at Biola and I think I hope I get to stay here as long as I can,” he said.
PLANS FOR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
In his new role, there were a lot of new issues Ahn had to face. Thinking of how to make chapels effective and helping students grow in their faith were a few of the things that needed to be discussed.
“You’re like ‘What is the best way to serve students and what are some ways that we can provide paths forward for students?’. Those kinds of things excite me, you know, finding best ways forward to make sure our students are doing well and students are learning to thrive here,” Dr. Ahn said.
Ahn plans to have more ways spiritual development can connect with students outside of chapels. He plans to have more service projects and robust programming in the community. The Biola Shares Food Pantry, which serves students who are food insecure, works through Spiritual Development as well.
“You know, Biola is such a unique space. So, while you’re here for 2 to 5 years, it’s an amazing place to challenge yourself to experience different chapels but it’s also important to experience different clubs and different groups. It’s [Biola] such a safe place to engage with people who are different,” Dr. Ahn advised.
Dr. Ahn wants to remind students that Pastoral Care is always open and available to students if they need to process any troubles.
“We want to be able to meet with them and let them know that they don’t have to do it alone. There are good experiences and a lot of difficult experiences but, you know, all of those things are what shape into the energy we see with students,” Ahn mentioned.
Ahn looks forward to his future years serving Biola and it’s students. Recently, he shared a speech at the Stand Up For Your Community event in January and has spoken at many chapels. He encourages the local community saying, “I just want you to know that there are so many people here that are for you and they’re for the students and to see students thrive.”
