Rumors have been going around regarding a daytime house church for the elders, so I feel the need to clarify. There are roughly 3 groups of elders in our church. The first group consists of elderly people who have moved to the U.S. at an older age with their children. Most of them don’t drive and live in elderly housing, and there are 3 house churches serving them. Except for shepherd Heui-Gu Kang’s house church, those house church members attend 1st service and hold house church meetings during 2nd service at church. Then they have lunch together after 2nd service and leave for home. The second group consists of people who have lived in the ...

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Today is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I would like to share a story among the writings of Reverend Kim Jin-Hong about a moving story of Thanksgiving. Back in 1970s, he was working among the poor in the slums of Chung-Kae Chun, when the slum became demolished and all residents were moved to Nam-Yang Man, which was a new settlement on some reclaimed land. This was a very moving Thanksgiving story among great struggles against poverty. This is a long story so I shortened it some but I tried to include most parts. After we successfully moved into the reclaimed land, we prepared to plant the rice seedlings in the salty land. But we received a ...

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I cannot stress enough on being considerate toward VIPs in House church. Each House Church is doing its best to do so, and below are the most important points to remember. First, show interest but do not ask about personal stuffs too much. When VIPs come to House Church for the first time, the most important thing is to care and welcome them. They are halfhearted about House church and if people are indifferent toward them, they will regret coming from the moment they arrive. It is important for every members to greet them with broad smiles and a sense of welcome. However don’t overdo it. People try to engage in small talk to show interest and ask ...

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I had a good trip to Nicaragua. Missionary SangKun Lee set up a mission center in front of three newly developed villages and was planning out how to help develop the area centered on the new villages. I felt very comfortable because he was not rushing into things but taking time to setup everything. Because he had served in the region for a while, he has the inner knowledge to establish a great direction. I really hope that this work of developing the region that fits the local needs goes well, and can become a sample for other villages. But I felt a need for a fellow missionary to help him in spiritual matters. It is difficult to teach House ...

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I’ve had full schedules for outside visits since September to the end of October. This week, I attend the 2013 SBTC Annual Meeting and go to Nicaragua, one of our missionary fields. These are the minimum schedules from those I have postponed since last year, but many events happen mostly in September and October. At least, I am grateful I am in Houston on Sundays. I decided to go for a mission trip every year. I believe that I need to be there to have a dream God will put in my heart. I chose Nicaragua, where our missionary Sanggeun Lee serves, for this year, and planned to join our Nicaragua mission team. I thought I could spend some days there ...

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Last time I visited China, I took some time out of my schedule to stop by Shanghai to visit the historical site of the Korean provisional government during the Japanese occupation of Korea and the memorial hall of Patriot Ahn in Harbin, Jung-Gun. Just being able to visit the office of the Korean provisional government itself was quite a moving experience. Reading about patriots who were martyred while trying to keep the official name of the country alive, awake their people, and prepare for the country’s future through foreign diplomacy while Korea lost its sovereignty was sobering. I was especially touched when I visited the memorial hall of the ...

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We have many members who attend our church only for a period time like 1-2 years. Therefore, we have sometimes 2 to 3 members that leave here back to Korea or to other states in a week. Some among them come to receive prayers before they leave during the worship service so their names are posted on the church bulletin. But in most case, they leave without letting me know. When I only come to know that someone has left us through ministry diary of the Shepard, I become somewhat disappointed in my heart. Even if they may have been with us short time, how can they not even say ‘good-bye’ to their pastor? They could have come forward during the ...

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