Authors of color bring important perspectives to their work, with insights and wisdom for every reader on the most important conversations happening today. On this page, you'll learn more about our authors of color and their books. You'll also find articles, videos, and podcasts where you can hear directly from these diverse voices as they share more about their books and the impact that they are having in the church and the world.
Take a look below at authors of color who have published books with IVP in the past three years. You can see Black authors, AAPI authors, Latino authors, Indigenous authors, or browse all of IVP's authors. Hear from a wide variety of diverse voices on IVP's Every Voice Now podcast.
Ebony S. Small is the vice president of multiplication at PULSE. She was formerly director of Movement Day Expressions with movement.org, where she was dedicated to catalyzing leaders to affect cities across the globe. She was selected as a Lausanne Younger Leader in 2016. Ebony also serves as an associate pastor at Bethel Gospel Assembly in New York City.
Kay Higuera Smith (PhD, Claremont Graduate University) is on the faculty of Azusa Pacific University in biblical and religious studies and practical theology.
Efrem Smith (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the colead pastor of Midtown Church, a thriving multiethnic community in Sacramento, California. His books include Raising Up Young Heroes and The Post-Black and Post-White Church.
Yolanda M. Solomon is the Pastor-In-Residence at Mosaic Church Roosevelt Island in New York City. Yolanda has also worked as the Director of Discipleship at Epiphany Church in Brooklyn, New York, and in campus ministry at Columbia University where she served undergraduate students for many years. Yolanda is a disciple of Christ, a Brooklyn native, and a lifelong Knicks fan, which richly fuels her prayer life. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Felicia Wu Song (PhD, University of Virginia) is a sociologist and author of Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age and Virtual Communities: Bowling Alone, Online Together. With almost twenty years’ experience serving as faculty at Louisiana State University and Westmont College, she combines her training in history, communication studies, and sociology with a personal interest in theology to speak and teach on matters of spiritual formation and well-being in a digitally-saturated society. Living in the Pacific Northwest, she enjoys discovering a good food truck with her husband and two teenaged children. For her latest activities, see http://feliciawusong.com.
E. K. Strawser (DO, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine) is the co-vocational lead pastor of Ma Ke Alo o (which means "presence" in Hawaiian)—non-denominational missional communities multiplying in Honolulu—and a community physician at KeOla Pono. She is the founder of `Iwa Collaborative, a consulting and content-developing firm to empower kingdom-grounded leaders to navigate change, grow adaptive capacity, and foster local flourishing. Prior to transitioning to Hawaii, she served as adjunct professor of medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and of African Studies at her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania (where she and her husband served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship), after finishing her Fulbright scholarship at the University of Dar es Salaam. She is the author of Centering Discipleship, and she and Steve have three seriously amazing children.
Walter R. Strickland II (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is associate professor of systematic and contextual theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has coauthored or contributed to several books, including For God So Loved theWorld: A Blueprint for Kingdom Diversity. He is a host of the White Horse Inn podcast and founder of Cultural Engagement and Aptree Learning.
Dan Stringer grew up as a third culture kid in five countries on three continents. He is a graduate of Wheaton College and Fuller Theological Seminary, ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and serves as team leader for InterVarsity's Graduate and Faculty Ministries in Hawai'i. He is pastor of theological formation at Wellspring Covenant Church in Hālawa, Hawai'i. He previously was a social worker helping people obtain housing and employment. He has written for Missio Alliance, Inheritance, and Level Ground, and is a contributor to Father Factor.
Mark E. Strong (DMin, Portland Seminary) is senior pastor of Life Change Church, a diverse congregation located in the heart of inner-city Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of Church for the Fatherless, and he serves on the Board ofRegents at George Fox Seminary. He and his wife, Marla, have four children.
Jenn Suen Chen is a spiritual director, speaker, and leader in the area of spiritual formation and crosscultural ministry. She is codirector of Summit Clear (with her husband, John), an organization focused on providing spiritual direction, mentoring, and leadership coaching for those in crosscultural work. She serves with Pioneers and spent twenty-five years living in Asia raising her family. Jenn and John have four adult children and live in the Pacific Northwest.
Christine Yi Suh is a writer, spiritual director, and pastor. She has previously served as a pastor of spiritual formation and as the assistant director of spiritual formation and care at Pepperdine University. Christine received her MA in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is a graduate of the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. She is a regular contributor to Missio Alliance and the Nine Beats Collective. She and her spouse, David, live with their two children outside of Los Angeles.
Chloe T. Sun (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament and academic dean at Logos Evangelical Seminary and has published books in Chinese and English, including The Ethics of Violence in the Story of Aqhat, LoveAlready but Not Yet: A Commentary on the Song of Songs and Attempt Great Things for God: Theological Education in Diaspora.
S. Joshua Swamidass (MD, PhD, UC–Irvine) is a scientist, physician, and associate professor of laboratory and genomic medicine at Washington University in Saint Louis, where he uses artificial intelligence to explore science at the intersection ofmedicine, biology, and chemistry. He is a Veritas Forums speaker and blogs at Peaceful Science.
Steve Tamayo serves as a strategist for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, working in the Latino Fellowship and the Creative Labs. In these roles, he equips and resources InterVarsity's national pivot to online ministry. He is the showrunner for the podcasts Con Confianza and Ministry During the Disruption. Steve holds degrees from Duke University and the University of Oxford. In addition to his work with InterVarsity, Steve has served as the executive pastor at Chatham Community Church and the pastor of spiritual formation at Crossway Church. He is also the CEO of Orange Apple, a consulting firm that helps non-profits and small businesses make better decisions. He and his wife live with their four children in Tampa.
Kang-San Tan (PhD, Aberdeen University) is general director of BMS World Mission. He is also chair of the Commission on Mission and provides leadership for the Global Baptist Mission Network of the Baptist World Alliance, and he has previously served as head of mission studies at Redcliffe College and executive director of AsiaCMS.
Erica Tan (PsyD, Regent University) is a licensed psychologist in Oregon and an adolescent and family team member at Portland DBT Institute. In addition, she provides training and consultation in DBT nationally with PDBTI.
Len Tang is the director of Fuller Theological Seminary's church-planting program. He is a Fuller alum and an ordained Presbyterian pastor, and currently is planting his second church, Missio Community Church in Pasadena, California.
John Teter is senior pastor of Fountain of Life Covenant Church in Long Beach, California. He also serves as executive director of Fountain of Life Antioch, the FOL's church planting wing. John has also served as the Evangelical Covenant Church'schurch planting team leader and evangelism team leader. He formerly served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at USC, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Compton College. John is a Bible expositor, evangelistic preacher, and author of two books, Get the Word Out and Jesus and the Hip-Hop Prophets (coauthored with Alex Gee). He and his wife, Becky, live in Long Beach with their three children.
La Thao (Hmong American) is an InterVarsity campus staff in Wisconsin and previously served as the director of InterVarsity's Hmong Christian Collegiate Conference.
Yudha Thianto (PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is professor of history of Christianity and Reformed theology at Calvin Theological Seminary. He previously taught as professor of theology at Trinity Christian College. He is the author of TheWay to Heaven: Catechisms and Sermons in the Establishment of Dutch Reformed Church in the East Indies in the Seventeenth Century.
Shundrawn A. Thomas is president of a trillion-dollar global investment management business, and is a management group member of a leading financial services company. He previously advised institutional equity investors as a vice president for Goldman Sachs, and held positions in sales, trading, and research in the fixed income division of Morgan Stanley. He is an engaged civic leader serving as a trustee for Wheaton College and as a board director of the Museum of Science and Industry. Thomas is a motivational speaker and lecturer speaking nationally on topics including professional development, leadership, values, faith, strategy, and finance. He is the author of Ridiculous Faith: Ordinary People Living Extraordinary Lives, and Driving Under the Influence: Finding Your Way on the Road of Life.
A. D. "Lumkile" Thomason is a speaker, poet, and award-winning filmmaker. He has spoken around the nation and in places such as Sudan, South Africa, China, and Palestine. As an adjunct professor at Kilns College, he teaches on human rights, de-colonizing your faith, and filmmaking. A native of Detroit, A. D. has more than seventeen years of experience preaching and teaching the peace of Jesus in ethnically divided countries, cultures, and communities. He and his wife, Dawntoya, live in the Atlanta area with their family.
Jemar Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's Complicity in Racism. His writing has been featured on CNN, and in the Washington Post, theAtlantic, and the New York Times. He is the founder and president of The Witness Black Christian Collective and the cohost of the Pass the Mic podcast.
Paul Tokunaga (Master of Christian Studies, New College, Berkeley) is vice president and director of strategic ministries for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He started with InterVarsity as a student at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and has also worked with 2100 Productions and as Southeast Regional Director.
Nikki A. Toyama-Szeto is senior director of biblical justice integration and mobilization at International Justice Mission (IJM) in Washington, DC. She provides strategic leadership to the IJM Institute for Biblical Justice and IJM's Global Prayerteam to ignite passion for biblical justice among the global church. She previously served as program director for InterVarsity's Urbana Student Missions Convention. She is the coauthor of Partnering with the Global Church and More ThanServing Tea.
Hear More from Our Authors of Color
In this article, four authors share wisdom from their stories, cultures, and faith journeys. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe, Terry Wildman, Randy Woodley, and H. Daniel Zacharias offer reflections on what they treasure most about their heritage, what they wish others understood, and why Indigenous wisdom is vital for the future of the church and the world.
En honor al Mes de la Herencia Hispana, los autores de IVP Natalia Kohn Rivera, Robert Chao Romero, Kristel Acevedo y Marlena Graves comparten sus perspectivas sobre la celebración de la historia, cultura e identidad hispana y latina y comparten palabras de aliento a estas comunidades para hoy.