Friday, October 3, 2008

Korea Mission

In September 2007, God began an incredible new journey and path in my life. Being a senior at Belhaven college during that time, though I felt a call from the Lord to full-time ministry I did not specifically know what that calling was. Rather than continue in my education without knowing what I wanted to specifically do, I now felt compelled to engage in active, short-term ministry that would help to show me particular areas where I could be called. Desiring to pursue this call, I came across the path of Jae Yoo, a South Korean minister, during a Health Fair at Redeemer church in Jackson, MS. Jae had come to MS to work toward an M. Div and Doctorate at Reformed Theological Seminary, so that he could return to South Korea in order to plant a Biblically sound, gospel-centered church. Upon speaking to Jae about my desire to pursue active, short-term ministry he invited me to eat breakfast with him every other week to pray and seek counsel concerning whether God's calling upon my life was with he and his family to South Korea. After meeting several times, God joined our paths, leading me on this incredible journey that is before me to Seoul, South Korea to help assist the Yoo family plant a church.

I cannot wait to share with you through this blog how God plants, grows, and builds this work that Jae Yoo and I are privileged to be a part of with the help of the Redeemer New York Church Planting Center. My scheduled departure date is December 30th and my arrival time in Seoul, December 31st just after 8p.m. Please join this mission through praying for Jae Yoo and I, as we both prepare to share and show the gospel in and through this potential church. Pray that God would especially provide for Jae Yoo and this church plant, as he has a great deal of money to raise yet, and also for me, as I continue to raise financial support. Pray, most of all, that God would go before us, making us completely dependent on Him for all the setbacks, challenges, joys, trials, successes, failures, that we would know and believe that His gospel is always bigger and greater and will never fail to change and save lives wherever it is proclaimed and lived out.

As the header verses show in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, this ministry--and all ministry--is from God and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the only reason there is hope and assurance in any avenue of ministry or calling we pursue in our lives, because God is right in the midst of it with His reconciling grace to great sinners, like you and me. Outside of the gospel, there is no salvation, no hope, no ministry. Yet, because of Christ, though we are great sinners we have a greater Savior, and can live in full assurance that we are the Lord's because of the grace of Christ in becoming sin for us, not living in fear, but living boldly to usher in and exhort all peoples from all nations to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This is the basis and ground of this Korea Mission and church plant, and only by standing firmly and solely in that vision will our ministry have any fruit or growth. Pray that God would hold this vision in our hearts and never allow Jae or I to veer away from being completely centered in the gospel for every need and challenge that arises.