I attended the Arise with our church’s youth group. Arise is a Christian gathering for Korean-American youth in New England. It was a heart pounding and emotional experience for me to see our children praying and praising the Lord with all of their heart until after midnight. They embraced each other and prayed for one another with tears. They poured out their heart before God, and experienced God’s healing hands. Their praise filled up the sanctuary, and the tears ran down from their eyes as they stood up and raised their hands praising God. They rejoiced and dreamed with the God. I could not even imagine how joyful God must have been watching this. His heart must have been pounding as well.
I was even more grateful to God because it was our children who led this gathering. Their gifts and passion were fully exposed because they were not oppressed by adults. Nobody was left behind because they take care each other with prayer. Younger children looked so happy following the older brothers and sisters who became their friends. Watching our children, who have grown up so much, leading an impactful gathering like this reaffirms my belief that they are the future of our church.
As the light shines on the sanctuary, I saw the silhouette of our children lifting up their hands and praising God; it has carved an image in my heart. I would like to build up a church for them. Someday I like to relinquish our main sanctuary for their service. I have a dream of a church that is built, organized, and led by our children. The English ministry work is the core of this vision. I pray that our children become the main actors building up the English ministry at Hanmaum Church.
I pray the Korean congregation becomes the spiritual and physical foundation for the English ministry which will be led by our children.
Our children are the sons and daughter of God who are entrusted to us. They are the precious gifts of God and the object of our mission. We should keep reminding ourselves that God has a vision and hearts for our children. We still have long way to go but I am taking a step at a time because this is our mission that we cannot forgo. Please pray for this mission all together with me.
From Pastor Choi-JiWon