Meet Daniel Rau

I was born in upstate NY to a white father and Taiwanese mother before moving to and growing up in Taiwan, where I found and married my wife of 11 years, Vicky. I grew up in a Christian family that was highly involved in church, and every time a speaker at church invited us to do something (accept Christ, give life to Christ, go into full-time ministry, etc.) I would always raise my hand. In Chinese culture, education is extremely important, so I got a BA (psychology and sociology) in MN and then a MA (translation and interpretation) in CA. I was then told to get some work experience, so I worked as a marketer in industry while continuing to serve in the college ministry at our Chinese church in DE.

Finally, in 2019, we felt God's call to full-time ministry could not be ignored any longer, and so I entered into half-time ministry at our church continuing to serve the college students and young professionals while working on my MDiv. This led to more teaching opportunities in church as well as in increased focus on pastoral care by inviting students to our house so that we could cook for them and see how they were doing. This became even more important as the pandemic hit and people became isolated. International students, and particularly Chinese students, suffered immensely due to the constantly shifting politics, deepening racial divides, and pressure from family members at home to come home, which would put their studies and careers on hold (and in certain cases, shut the door completely).

Seeing the difficulties that the students faced, God also put into our hearts the many children who do not have families, and so we have begun the foster adoption process, which we hope will be an opportunity for us to open the church’s eyes to the needs of the “smallest ones” of the world. If we as ministers of the gospel do not set an example, how can we expect anyone to follow? May God continue to use us as His hands and feet.