We just completed the second House Church Conference for Shepherds, held at the Swanbo Hotel in Chung-Chung Province. It was decided to have the same speakers for this conference as in the first conference held in Houston. Since all the speakers came from Seoul Baptist, many of our church members flew to Korea for the conference.
Shepherdess Myung-Hee Lee spoke at a plenary session on “Common Misunderstandings About House Church Ministries.” In her talk, she shared how she had considered herself better than others simply because she had been a Christian for a long time and completed many Bible courses. Her illusion was shattered when she started attending house church meetings.
She described common situations that might occur in house church ministries and offered Bible-based solutions. For example, what should a newly appointed shepherd do when house church members don’t let go of their former shepherd and fail to treat him as their shepherd? What do you do with people who have been church members for a long time but are still selfish, always wanting to be served, never wanting to serve? How do you deal when you see other house churches growing and multiplying while your own stagnates?
Other members spoke at subgroup meetings on various subjects. Each was an hour and a half. Every speaker gave the same presentation three times so that participants could hear attend three different sessions. I could not attend any since I also lead a session myself, but I read their lecture notes. They were well prepared and insightful. I was very proud.
To share my pride with you let me briefly list some subjects they talked about.
Shepherd Dong-Sup Kim, whose house church multiplied 7 times and produced second and third generation shepherds, talked about house church multiplication. Shepherdess Hee-Sook Yim (who is nicknamed “Iron Grip” because, when she meets an unbeliever, she never gives up until they join her house church) talked about effectively reaching non-believers. Shepherdess Sun-Hee Cho, who is kind and warm-hearted, shared about her experience as a shepherdess.
Shepherd Seung-Hyun Sung, who serves as Executive Director for House Church Ministries International, discussed general principles of house church ministries.
The Conference for Shepherds is the brainchild of Brother Sung. When he first discussed his idea with me, I was slightly skeptical. But I allowed him to do whatever he felt was necessary because it is my principle that when someone has a strong desire for a ministry, I should be supportive. The results were beyond my expectations. Shepherds and Shepherdesses who came from across the states were recharged, motivated, and formed helpful networks. It’s amazing to see what one person’s vision and persistence can produce.
I want to express gratitude from the bottom of my heart to Brother Sung and the group of people who met almost every week for a year for bringing about such success.
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