Steve Dang ’05, MDiv, is lucky to be alive. The Chief Ministry Officer and Senior Vice President at Valley Christian School and an Azusa Pacific University Board of Trustees member, Dang was diagnosed with an extremely rare illness, hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC), in 2013 at just 29-years-old.
Dang’s father, sister, grandmother, and aunt passed away from the same stomach cancer. Knowing his family’s history, Dang took many peremptory actions, including getting annual PET scans and going in for experimental treatments to detect and prevent the cancer. But in summer 2013, after returning from leading a mission trip with his church in Guatemala, he began feeling severe stomach pains. “I went to the ER, and although the doctors thought it might be a virus I had picked up in Guatemala, they quickly turned to thinking it was the cancer that ran in my family,” he said. HDGC only affects 1 out of 500,000 people and is basically undetectable. PET scans and blood work don’t pick it up until it has metastasized. “Once they find it, you only have about a year to live,” Dang said. “And the only way to stop it is to remove your stomach.”
Doctors told Dang that three of the last five patients who had this cancer and chose not to remove their stomachs died within a year, with the other two dying within three years. “I realized there was no choice,” he said. “So my wife and I embarked on this grand culinary tour before I had the surgery. I started a blog documenting our journey and continued it after the surgery, trying to encourage others that it’s possible to live a good life without a stomach.” Dang’s blog picked up thousands of views from across the world, as his story inspired others going through similar cancer treatments. On March 6, 2014 , he went in for surgery to have his stomach removed.
After the procedure, Dang was determined to return to his active lifestyle of running triathlons and ministry, but he quickly found that even basic movements were extremely painful and taxing. “I remember feeling exhausted the first time I had to walk 100 feet, but I persevered and eventually was able to run a few miles after a couple months,” he said. “But then one day preparing for a speaking engagement, I got hit with gnarly pain and had to go in for a second surgery.” Dang suffered multiple bouts of bowel obstructions and was in and out of the hospital for about a month. “I dropped to under 140 lbs and was really sick. I thought this was it, I was going to die. But thanks to the grace of God, I began to recover.” Dang regained his strength and in 2017 was able to complete a half Ironman Triathlon without a stomach. His accomplishment got picked up by multiple news outlets as others from around the world were encouraged by his story. He also went to Washington D.C. to petition in front of Congress’ Appropriations Committee to increase funding for cancer research.
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Originally from the Bay Area, Dang grew up in a Vietnamese immigrant family. His father passed away when he was eight and his sister passed soon after when he was only 12-years-old, leading Dang to go through an emotionally turbulent period. He walked away from God. Seeing his struggles, his family decided to enroll him at Valley Christian High School, even though the family was Buddhist, because they believed it would be a better environment for him to navigate his challenges than the local public school. “I didn’t want anything to do with God when I started at Valley,” he said. “But I had joined the football team and I had three amazing teammates who really invested in me. One of them prayed for me every single day that I would become a Christian.”
During Dang’s junior year, he was in the school’s chapel service, and was moved by the sermon. “I heard a voice simply say, ‘it’s time.’ In that moment, I let go of all the anger and pain,’” Dang said. “So I walked to the center of our basketball court and began to pray, saying, ‘God,I have no idea what I’m doing, but whatever it is, I want it to be for real.’” This moment changed the trajectory of Dang’s life, as he became a follower of Jesus and began discovering how he would dedicate his life to serving the Lord.
Dang grew in his faith during the rest of his time at Valley, and hearing from a football coach and a few teachers who had gone to APU, decided to take a tour of the university. After the tour, he knew APU was the place for him. He entered the university as a biochem major on a pre-medicine track, but while praying in the Hartwig Prayer Chapel, he felt called to something different. “I had been volunteering at a local church, and in that moment, I felt God was calling me to do something more in ministry,” he said. Dang switched majors to biblical studies and Christian ministries, which was a hard decision for his family to comprehend. “I come from an immigrant family and they had these dreams and expectations for me to become a doctor, and definitely not a pastor. Switching majors and career trajectories caused a lot of strife in my family for a long time.” Dang remained steadfast in his decision and continued growing in his faith and his understanding of the Bible. He appreciated being challenged theologically by his professors and encouraged by APU’s campus pastor. “Looking back on it now, it’s amazing to see how God brought me out of all the angst and anxieties that I experienced and was faithful through it all.”
During his time at APU, Dang served as a resident advisor in Smith Hall. His experience as an RA taught him a lot about ministry. “It was special for me to be a part of people’s lives, praying for them and encouraging them,” he said. This experience would prove vital years later when Dang moved back to the Bay Area and went into full-time ministry. After two years serving as director of youth ministries at a presbyterian church and Young Life in the East Bay, Dang began working at Calvary Church of Los Gatos. Over the next 14 years, he served as a high school pastor, student pastor, family pastor, and finally teaching pastor at Calvary. While he loved his time at Calvary, Dang jumped at the opportunity to return to Valley Christian Schools in 2021. He began serving in Valley’s alumni office before becoming chief ministry officer in 2022 and senior vice president in 2024. In his role, Dang oversees alumni ministries, marketing, communications, community development, advancement, and the spiritual formation team. While his day-to-day schedule keeps him busy, he makes it a priority to carve out time for relationships with students and families, including going to student performances and athletic games at least once a week.
Every ministry I’ve been a part of has centered on building relationships, cultivating trust, and pouring into culture,” he said. “Regardless of my role, relationships are always the key to success, as well as having a servant attitude. I never want to be too important to stack chairs or do anything required of people in all levels of my organization.
In 2023, Dang connected with APU president Adam J. Morris, PhD, who soon asked him if he would be interested in serving on APU’s Board of Trustees. Dang joined the board in June 2024. “It’s a huge honor,” Dang said. “I’m so passionate about Christian education, especially given the role it played in my life. God has given me a vision for K-16 education, for how we cultivate leaders for the Kingdom all the way through college.” Dang has noticed a shrinking number of students who choose to go into ministry, especially in the Bay Area. He encourages Valley’s students to continue their education at APU to become the next generation of ministry leaders. “I want these incredible students to grow in their faith the way that I did at APU, to get ministry experience and training, to find belonging in a community that’s going to foster their spiritual growth and missional hearts,” he said. “More than that, as a trustee, I want to pour back into the community where I was so deeply formed. Leaders at APU invested in me, and I’m praying that as a trustee, I can invest in students and impact them in the same way, so that they feel encouraged and inspired to live their lives to advance God’s Kingdom.”
When he’s not working, Dang loves spending time with his wife, Kate ’06, who he dated throughout his time at APU, and his two daughters, Evangeline and Felicity. In the coming years, Dang hopes to continue serving God’s kingdom alongside his family.