Reverend Dong Sun Lim, a long-time pastor in the Korean immigrant community in the U.S., passed away at the age of 93 on September 24 at 9:06 PM.
Lim, who had been serving as pastor emeritus at Oriental Mission Church (OMC), showed signs of pneumonia after returning from a 10-day mission trip to four countries in South America with OMC's senior pastor Jim-Bob Park. Lim passed away while he was hospitalized after his return.
As he was known to have said often, Lim said prior to leaving on this last mission trip that he “is striving to visit 100 countries for missions,” and that he would participate in missions “until the day the Lord calls [him].” Just like he had said, he poured his energy into mission work until the day he departed from this earth.
Lim, who was born in 1923 in Gyeonggi-Do, studied at Seoul Theological University, Soongsil University, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, San Antonio U.S. Air Force Chaplaincy School, and Fuller Theological Seminary, among others. In 1970, Lim founded Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles, leading it to become one of the most representative Korean immigrant churches in the region. He also served as president of the Council of Korean Churches in Southern California and as the president of World Mission University.
Plans for his funeral service have not yet been announced.
This article has been translated by Rachael Lee. For the original in Korean, visit kr.christianitydaily.com.
