After the family retreat, Pastor Caleb came up to me and said, “I think the absence of an English speaking minister turned out to be a blessing for your church”. He was touched to see the Korean congregation wearing translation devices and ‘worshiping in unity with the English congregation’. He was also moved to see the ‘English congregation growing spiritually in faith’. I felt the same way as well. Supposedly our English congregation should not bear much fruit because we don’t have an English speaking minister. However, oddly enough, our English congression is growing and bearing spiritual fruits. The only explanation is that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of this ‘weakness’ where we don’t have an English speaking minister, we have prayed harder and desperately hung onto God.‘ This is the quote from the pastor Caleb’s sermon. “We are a composite of both our strengths and weaknesses. God-given identity is based on our weakness, not strength. Durable identity comes from where God meets our weakness.”
We are realizing that the void created by the absence of an English speaking minister is mysteriously filled with the grace of God.
1) Our children are learning to appreciate each other more; they are creating and strengthening new bonds. Tears falling down their faces while listening to friends’ testimonies is proof of God’s grace. Also by listening to their family retreat stories and looking at the pictures taken there, we can be assured that the time our children spent together was a blessing.
2) Our children were lukewarm, passive to the things of God but now they are eagerly seeking the grace of God. In the past they were self-content and unmotivated, but now they are driven looking for opportunities for experiencing grace such as praise concerts and bible reading meetings. They challenge themselves daily for spiritual growth and work together for it.
3) The Korean congregation is starting to look after the English congregation, loving them more than ever. I am so thankful that the lack of an English speaking minister has become an opportunity to pass on more love to the children
4).The children are no longer sitting around at the corner of the church like visitors, instead now they are taking ownership of the church and offering service at the main sanctuary. Members of the English congregation have started to take spiritual leadership roles as well. The church has been becoming more abundant through such devotion.
5) As the English and Korean congregations offer worship together, our children have started to inherit the faith of the Korean adults. The children tried out ‘Korean style prayers’ and hence received the spiritual gift of tongues. The children now understand the faith that adults have experienced and strived for, and are joining them with the same heart.
6) Our children had experienced an identity crisis because of dual heritage (both Korean and English) passed onto them. However, now they have begun to realize the abundance in living with both legacies simultaneously.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
The English congregation has always weighed heavy in my heart. One of the questions raised from the retreat was, “What is good about this?” Step by step we are finding the answer to this question. I praise the God who uses our weakness and brokenness as a pathway for grace.
Following the shepherd…
Pastor JiWon Choi.