From the Pastor’s Desk (295) The two weeks of my ministry in Maui are now coming to an end. I will leave Maui very late Tuesday night and arrive in Houston early Wednesday afternoon. The ministry I have been doing here over the past 11 days has been very similar to what I did last year. Last year, I led and preached a 20–25 minute message during the early morning prayer service at 6 AM from Tuesday to Saturday. I also led and preached during their Wednesday evening services at 7 PM. On Sundays, I preached three messages—once in English and twice in Korean. In ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk (294) After the House Church Conference for Pastors ended last Thursday, the pastor couples who are serving as the regional shepherds finished their meeting and went out for dinner. My wife and I were seated with Pastor Inki Kim and his wife, and Pastor Daeho Yu and his wife. Pastor Inki Kim serves as the executive director of the North American House Church Ministry, and Pastor Daeho Yu is the senior pastor of God’s Family Church in Southern California. Both of them have a great sense of humor, and every time the conference is held, they ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk (293) I immigrated to New York City in February 1978. I had just completed seventh grade. That February, a massive snowstorm hit New York, shutting down schools across the city. During my teenage years, I lived in Flushing, located in the borough of Queens. New York City is made up of five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Brooklyn lies south of Manhattan, and the Bronx to the north. As you know, traffic in New York is notoriously bad—especially in Manhattan. Because of this, people who live in Brooklyn ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk (292) The following is the letter I received from Pastor Jaewon Kang of Portland Onnuri Evangelical Church. Thank you, New Life, for your obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, which led to abundant generosity and deep sacrifice. May the Lord continue to bless and use you greatly for His eternal kingdom purposes. Your pastor, Eric Dear New Life, Seven shepherds and shepherds’ wives from our church who attended the recent Shepherds’ Conference came back and shared that during the conference, Pastor Eric led a intercessory ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk (291) July 11, 2025 To Pastor Jaewon Kang and the Building Committee of Portland Onnuri Evangelical Holiness Church, Grace and peace of God be abundantly upon your beloved church. We give thanks to God that the building project of Onnuri Church is now entering its final stages. We are also deeply grateful for the many church members who have faithfully and sacrificially participated in this process thus far. We understand that throughout the course of the construction, there have been various difficulties—such as delays caused by ...

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From the Pastor’s Desk (290) I get the sense that some shepherds believe they are doing a good job as long as their members consistently attend house church meetings on Friday evenings and form a closely knit community. Because of this, they don't seem overly concerned when their members neglect Sunday corporate worship or weekday Bible studies. However, the truth is this: unless all three axes—weekly house church, weekday Bible studies, and Sunday corporate worship—are fully embraced and practiced, people will not grow in a holistic way: emotionally, intell...

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From the Pastor’s Desk (289) Lynette and I visited Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from Tuesday, May 13 to Thursday, May 29—a total of 17 days. This was the longest time I’ve been away from church, except for two occasions: when my family and I took a vision trip to Southeast Asia, and when I took my first sabbatical in 2019. We spent five days in Japan with my son Enoch, seven days in Korea—three of those in Seoul and four on Soan Island—and four days in Taiwan. Every portion of the trip was different but special. In Japan, we were able to spend some quality ...

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