Team

Hung and his family fled from war-torn South Vietnam in 1975 and came to the United States and was sponsored by a church in Chattanooga, TN. He and his wife Angela have been married for 27 years and have three children, Caleb, Brooke, and Jericho. They served with the high school ministry of Cru for 25 years and Hung currently serves as the Executive Director of Parable in Los Angeles.

Their passion is to help bring the love and truth of Jesus to teenagers around their city and the world. Their family embraces the messiness of ministry and loves sharing life with the staff, college students, and teens, whom they have the privilege of serving and leading.

The death of Susana’s mother at the age of five sent her and her older siblings to America to different relatives. It was a confusing time, culture, climate, and no dad for years. But when she was in grade school, something amazing happened. Susana’s older sister had gotten involved in campus ministry at her university and heard the good news of Jesus’ love for the first time. That same night, her sister shared with Susana how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Susana was surprised Jesus wanted to be a part of her life, and was excited to say Yes to Him.

As an adult volunteering with the high school ministry, Susana saw the emptiness of young people who were growing up in a tough complex culture filled with identity issues, sexual pressures, substance abuse, violence and high anxiety. She fell in love with the fact that a ministry goes to the teenagers – their school – their world! Bringing Jesus! It was then that she knew what she had to do. She joined the work full-time and is thrilled to show God’s heart to rescue the lost who are walking in darkness (Isaiah 61:1-4).

Susana’s passion is to share the Gospel of hope and love with young people, mentor them, and send them back to their campus to reach more, and home to reach their families. “I have seen the goodness of the Lord, and He will accomplish what He started in me!”

Jonathan is a San Diego native with a passion and hunger for serving God and understanding His Word. Jonathan’s earliest memories are being in Sunday School as a kid, learning about Jesus, and he attributes his heart of service to his parents who faithfully served in his local church’s various ministries. Upon graduating High School in 2020, Jonathan entered college, studying Engineering at Biola University, with hopes of transferring to USC, and he found security in his own plans and aspirations.

In 2022, Jonathan got into a freak skiing accident, fracturing both his wrist and spine. Through being physically broken, Jonathan realized the internal, spiritual brokenness he also faced, and just as he embarked on the long journey of physical recovery, he too had to address his spiritual brokenness through full submission to the Father. During this time, Jonathan felt a deep sense of calling from the Lord to step into the unknown and to dedicate his life, career, and purpose to service for the King. Jonathan now has found peace, following God’s plan instead of his own.

Jonathan is currently in his final semester of college, double majoring in Applied Physics and Bible Theology, and has a heart for evangelizing, discipling, and equipping the next generation.

Jordan, a Long Beach native, has a deep passion for Jesus, cherishes time with his wife Hanna, and strives to share Jesus’ love with others. Jordan was surrounded by faith from an early age, giving his life to Jesus as a young teen, and was involved in Cru at Long Beach Poly HS.

After college graduation, Jordan fulfilled a childhood dream by working in the television industry. But professional success did not meet his deep inner needs. The pandemic year of 2020 was a crossroads for Jordan, personally and professionally. He lost his job and saw his 7-year romantic relationship unravel.

During this challenging period, Jordan looked deep within himself and encountered Jesus in a transformative way. He found security in his identity in Christ, and is committed to sharing these life-changing truths with the young people he serves as a Parable staff person.

Daniel underwent a journey from disconnection to faithfulness. Growing up in a Vietnamese Christian community, he struggled to meet church expectations amidst his own doubts and fears. Feeling isolated, he turned away, finding love in friendships outside of the church. Yet, the Lord led him back, where he discovered love and acceptance through church and Cru. Inspired by the Prodigal Son parable, he accepted Christ, finding purpose in sharing the redemptive love of Christ with others. Following his high school graduation, he volunteered for two years with Cru and is now in his first year of internship, connecting students to the same loving community that saved him.

As he transitions to Parable, he hopes to impact students’ lives through Spirit-led stories, just as the Prodigal Son parable impacted his own.

Dan, a native of San Francisco, joined Cru’s high school ministry right out of college in 1981. His various ministry roles have taken him to Florida and Texas, and back to California, where he joined the LA/OC team in 2017.

Dan serves as the Operations Leader for the team, and coaches high school staff here and around the country in raising their personal financial support. Pat is Parable’s bookkeeper and general financial whiz.

Dan’s main passions beside the gospel are Pickleball and Piano. Pat serves regularly at a local food pantry and enjoys mentoring younger women in the faith. 

Dan and Pat’s two children and their spouses and granddaughter live in Orlando, Florida.

Even being raised in both a Catholic and Christian household, Amber had no idea what a relationship with Christ meant. In High School, her best friend invited her to Cru Club and later to a Getaway conference in June 2021, where Jesus met her. From being lost in her identity, depressed, and suicidal, the Lord called her out of that darkness and straight into ministry.

Amber has been volunteering with Cru’s High School Ministry since her high school graduation 2022, and became an intern in late 2024. Amber praises YHWH for the privilege of being able to run Parable’s social media accounts, disciple High School girls with similar testimonies as hers, and making a way for her to attend Biola University at the same time, to be well equipped to be a missionary, in His will. Amber is grateful for the continuous work, trials, and blessings He provides in her life as He uses her to search for the lost and bring them back to the house of the Lord!

Mickey and his three siblings grew up in a churchgoing family in Southern California. He believed in God but didn’t learn how to have a living and active faith. His life drastically changed as a sophomore at Long Beach Poly High School. Faced with chaos in his life and his family’s life, he discovered a High School Ministry on his campus. He met amazing, godly leaders who loved him and created an environment where he felt safe enough to bring them into the chaos of his life. They continually empowered him and pointed him to Jesus until he truly understood God’s grace and what a life of repentance looked like.

In the summer before his senior year, after much prayer for direction, God called Mickey into missions. He now has the privilege of serving students with Parable – students who were just like him, lost and in need of the hope and peace that only comes from Jesus through the Gospel.

Mickey invites you to partner with him in pursuing and radically changing students’ lives, helping to bring them from death to life, from sinner to son/daughter and saint.

David served as a leader in the restaurant industry with over 18 years of experience. He answered God’s calling into ministry in 2017 and continues serving people, but now it’s for Jesus. In an act of faith, David journeyed across the country from Atlanta, GA and settled in Long Beach to join staff with Cru’s High School Ministry.

David is passionate about helping others find and follow Jesus through both sharing the word and the love of God. Currently, he serves three local high schools where up to 400 students each week get to hear about Jesus and grow in their faith. David is married to Jamie and they have two beautiful daughters, Dominic and Amara.

When David is not serving in ministry he enjoys spending time with family and friends, music, cooking, and watching trains.

Carina was born and raised in Southern California, grew up in a household with four other siblings, and put her faith in Jesus at six years old. Her love and faithfulness for Him would grow from then on. Entering high school, God gave her a heart to reach her campus on a greater level. She began praying for a Christian community to help her do just that, and God answered that prayer with the very same group of people she gets to do ministry with today! Soon after high school, she became a volunteer, intern, and part-time staff with Parable!

“I wouldn’t be here today without God placing His obedient servants in my life and bringing them onto my high school campus. They have been my family. He has brought me up and called me to serve him all the days of my life, and I will do just that. I am beyond blessed and humbled to be a part of His Kingdom and this ministry!”

Spiro became a follower of Christ at the age of 22 after a drug overdose and subsequent suicide attempt. He served on Parkcrest Church’s Celebrate Recovery ministry team for over seven years, during which he led the teen version known as The Landing. It was during that time his heart broke for hurting and lost teenagers, seeing his story in many of theirs. He came into contact with a team of missionaries working with high school students and attended a rally at a local high school. It was that same day he heard the Lord call him to serve with this team. Spiro had been a stay-at-home dad for ten years. Following this calling required sacrifices for his wife Jen, and two children, Joshua and Leah.

Spiro has continued to serve as a missionary with high school students in the LA area since 2017. His own children serve in the ministry in their local high school. He faithfully continues to connect with students at multiple campuses with the help of local churches, and hopes to see the Gospel spread among teens.

Keith and his wife Susan are from the Philippines. They both surrendered their life to Jesus Christ while in high school. After a season in their respective professions (engineering and dentistry), they both answered God’s call to do cross-cultural missions. Keith served in East Asia for 12 years as a church planter and as Cru’s LeaderImpact City Director, reaching out to influential leaders, businessmen, professionals, and youth.

Keith and Susan have been married for 19 years and have one teenage son, Chesed. In 2022, God called both Keith and Susan to reach out and start a church youth ministry in Southern California. They later joined Cru High School LA Metro Team, seeing the great need to evangelize and disciple the next generation for Christ and help fulfill the Great Commission. Keith works with Cru’s Church Mobilization team in partnership with Parable.

Jeanette is excited to serve alongside the Parable team as their Virtual Executive Administrator. She joined the staff in March of 2020 under Cru, and immediately knew the new opportunity to grow God’s Kingdom with Parable would continue to be a blessing that only God would orchestrate “for such a time as this”.
Born and raised in the Central Valley of California, Jeanette, and her husband Scott, moved to Nashville, Tennessee in February of 2020. Without the promise of a plan in their move, they packed up and followed God’s plan to move to Tennessee.

Nothing could have prepared them for what followed in the world around them after their move. The blessing that did transpire was an ever increasing trust in the Lord to supply all that they needed, and little of what they wanted. “You may never know that JESUS is all you need, until JESUS is all you have”. – Corrie ten Boom
As Jeanette virtually serves to be the “hands and feet” of God, to help the Parable ministry of Los Angeles, she fully trusts that the Lord has placed her just where she needs to be, for her good and for His glory. Join her in praying for Parable, that the Lord will continue to supply the workers for a harvest that gives glory to His Kingdom!

A first-generation Cambodian-American, Josiah was born and raised in a God-fearing home in Long Beach by two ex-missionary pastors. In 2018, during his freshman year, he walked into a Cru club hoping to find Christian peers. He found friends, but also encountered genuine curiosity and godly love from the Cru staff. He learned that he didn’t need to put up a church façade or perform, but could simply be himself as a son of God.

After graduating in 2021, Josiah took a step of faith by volunteering with Cru, moved by how Jesus showed His love through them. He poured into students as he had been poured into. He volunteered for three years with Cru before joining Parable as an intern. God has given Josiah a big heart to love the students of LA as they are, just as Jesus does, and to show them His redemptive power.