About us
Our team
Derek Chinn
Pastoral Ministry
Dr. Chinn has over 30 years of pastoral ministry experience in ethnic/multiethnic congregations. He attends a multiracial church he helped start and pastored. He is passionate about how the Gospel is revealed through diversity whether it is through such things as race, class, socioeconomics, age, and education. He believes that one of the extraordinary things about diversity is that it has much to tell us about Jesus and we ignore the voices and realities of other believers to our detriment — how others have encountered Christ are stories we need to hear. Portland is a dynamic laboratory for the Christian life.
In his free time, Dr. Chinn enjoys reading, playing soccer, following Oregon Duck football, and the outdoors with his family and friends.
Kristyn Kidney
TESOL
Professor Kristyn Kidney’s 20+ year teaching career has taken her to a variety of places all over the world and allowed her to dialogue with diverse learners from a variety of cultures and contexts. She has taught in Japan, US universities, public school, and private language schools. In Portland she has taught community language learners, international college students, and ESOL teachers in training. She loves teaching English, not because she loves English, but because she loves students. Teaching allows her to serve students, build and establish relationships, and engage in multicultural dialogue.
In her free time, Kristyn enjoys reading, having good coffee and conversation with friends, and exploring new places with her family.
Our Community
Portland, Oregon
The language hospitality project began in Portland, Oregon. This is a city with a reputation for many different things. Being a little different is definitely a part of that reputation. However, our rising linguistic diversity and our need for hospitality and good neighbors are ways our community is probably a lot like yours. We appreciate the lessons we have learned and continue to learn from our community context. This is a project that is from a place that is admittedly imperfect, but ripe with opportunities.
Multnomah University
The language hospitality project began as a collaborative initiative of Multnomah Biblical Seminary and the Multnomah University TESOL Department.
