our founder’s religious expertise

Eglise de la Résurrection, Schoelcher, Martinique – January 29, 2017

Adam Ensign grew up attending autonomous Christian churches associated with the Restoration Movement (also known as the Stone-Campbell Movement), which emerged in nineteenth-century America during the Second Great Awakening. During high school, he felt called to study the Bible instead of pursuing a career in theatrical arts. After earning his bachelor’s in Biblical research, he dedicated himself to studying Chinese and having a positive impact through vocational service. Apart from Christian service at various churches in the United States and East Asia, he has also volunteered teaching English to orphans and migrant children and engaging in other charitable work.

While working as a translator for the Palace Museum in Beijing, Adam cultivated expertise regarding imperial religious belief and practice during China’s dynastic history, and, in his spare time, he conducted extensive research on Manchu Bible translations by Jesuit and Russian Orthodox clergy. During his travels, he has visited hundreds of religious sites—including churches across the Christian denominational spectrum, mosques of different Islamic sects, and temples associated with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism—throughout China as well as in France, the French Antilles, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. He has engaged with religious scholars, faith leaders, and devout laypeople of many spiritual traditions on a personal and professional level in the United States and around the world.

Shrine of Eastern Illumination (Tōshō-gū), Tokyo, Japan – September 4, 2019