Allen Hou

Allen lived his whole life navigating in-between cultures and have adopted frameworks to embrace and engage diverse cultures. As Aotearoa becomes more diverse culturally, socially, and in its beliefs, it is paramount that we feel courageous in navigating through the difference while confident in providing the services.

Allen strongly believes everything rise and fall with leadership, and organisational health starts from trusting accountability within the leadership. “Supervision and Coaching is the best way to keep leaders accountable in their wellbeing, developments, and outcomes.”

Allen migrated to Christchurch in 1998 and attended a local Chinese church with his family. After receiving first class honours in Electrical Engineering in 2008, he enrolled in the Masters Program for Fire Engineering but found himself called to 24-7 Youth Work in 2009. He became the youth pastor at his church and started an English youth ministry in 2010, then started and pastored the English congregation from 2015. Allen married a Malaysian-Chinese and has two beautiful children. In 2023, Allen started working full-time with Asian Community Transformation Trust, which he started in Christchurch to raise up local ethnic community leaders to meet the unique challenges each community faces as immigrants in New Zealand.

Allen was one of the first bilingual Asian youth workers in 24-7 Youth Work, to start an English youth ministry and English service among immigrant churches in Aotearoa; and to start a charitable trust providing training and education towards Asian communities and organisation servicing Asian communities. His unique experiences formed a unique perspective on organisational and leadership development in both faith-based and secular environments that recognises the strengths and differences of them in various contexts.

“I believe youths need presences of adults who will value the slow formation they are in and development them to embrace their created uniqueness to contribute towards a purposeful future. I want to see youth workers being given the same care they are tasked to give to our next generations.”