The value of one precious soul.
That’s at the heart of LA Seoul Grace Church, according to Pastor Keesong Lee. He’s currently in charge of the English ministry there.
LA Seoul Grace Church is actually a “house church,” a church which had been started with a few families. These core members then committed to bring nonbelievers from their families and friends – they’re called VIPs.
“We would go to any length to bring these VIPs to church,” he said.
Every Friday night, LA Seoul Grace Church has flock group meetings in which flock leaders meet with their flock group members, and together they share, get to know each other more deeply, and have fellowship together. This is the context in which these church members try to show their VIPs – nonbeliever family members and friends – the love of Christ in action.
“Giving rides is just the start,” Pastor Lee explained. “We cook food for them and bring the snacks that they like. One particular member really likes Homerun Balls [a Korean chocolate filled snack], so we would try to bring that every Friday. But one time, the market didn’t have any Homerun Balls left, so we just bought something else. But the VIP member said, ‘Where’s my Homerun Balls? You said you’d bring Homerun Balls.’ In a worldly perspective, someone might think, ‘Why go through that humiliation and receive that kind of treatment?’ But those complaints don’t phase us. We would do anything we can to bring more nonbelievers to our meetings in hopes that they would know Jesus.”
Every Friday, in order to make sure that everyone could make it to the flock group meeting, Pastor Lee would start out at his home in Monterey Park; then to Pasadena; then to Glendale; and finally to the flock group meeting location in La Crescenta. After the meeting is over, Pastor Lee would go back the same route – but after he drops off his family at Monterey Park, he makes one more stop to Long Beach to take a flock group member home, and then heads back home himself. By the time he arrives, it would be 1 AM.
This is the story that depicts not only Pastor Lee, but all of those who serve as leaders of these flock groups.
He described one particular leader who cries every Sunday at worship, praying for the nonbelievers in her family and friends and sowing in tears. It’s because of a heart like this, a heart of hunger and desperation for the lost, that even in the midst of difficulties, this house church has lasted for 7 years now. They won’t give up because they won’t give up on these souls.
“What about the EM?” I asked. It seemed like Pastor Lee was describing mostly the KM members. Out of 50 young adult and college members, only 8 of those are regular members of the EM.
Pastor Lee shared honestly that that heart of desperation is not so apparent in the EM.
“There’s a lot of reasons why though, and I can’t blame them for it. For one thing, our facilities aren’t that great right now; for example, we don’t have a basketball court, and the kids just hang out in the parking lot. So a lot of our EM members are hesitant to invite their friends to our church because they feel that there wouldn’t be much to do,” he explained.
“But on the other hand, I also think that perhaps some of our EM and 2nd generation members are ‘spoiled'. They’ve grown up in so much abundance. Abundance of spiritual investment and prayer. Abundance in material wealth and comfort. And because of it, no one can blame them when they are not hungry for the Lord or hungry for the lost.”
He went on. “Isn’t that the heart of a Christian? The heart of the Church? To hunger for the Lord. To bring one more lost soul back to Him. It’s when we realize this, when we’re poor in spirit and we cry out for His people that revival will come.”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
This is one in a series of interviews with southern California pastors who either serve in English ministry (EM) or have a heart for the intergenerational relationship between Korean ministry (KM) and EM. As the generation of the Korean church is shifting from the first to the second generation, what are the obstacles that are hindering the English ministry from flourishing? How can EM and KM pastors work together to build up the second-generation church? These are among the many questions that these pastors grapple with, and that Christianity Daily is hoping to wrestle together with through these interviews.
