Churches and Ministries in South Korea Visited by First Nations Delegation from Canada April 18-25, 2013

On Wednesday, April 17, 2013, a strong core Korean Church Leaders royally welcomed the First Nations delegates from North America to Korea in order visit churches and to meet believers in their nation, as well as  to participate in the Korean North American Aboriginal Mission Conference (KNAAM) in Jeon Ju from April 23-25, 2013.  In this segment of the report, we will focus on the contacts made by the First Nations delegates (primarily from Canada) to connect with South Korean churches and ministries in order to learn how that they have risen above the spirit of victimhood, adversity and injustice from their past to become a transformative element in the Korean nation.  There were important keys that have lifted that nation out of poverty to become among the stronger economies on the earth.

So in this section of the report, we will see how that there is a combination of 1) prayer and 2) a strong work ethic in South Korea that has enabled many pastor/leaders to start new businesses, and to encourage entrepreneurship and volunteerism.  It is in giving of ourselves, not in grasping from others, that enables a nation to rise above poverty so that the nation can be a blessing, and reach out to the poor, the fatherless, the orphans and the widows beginning in their own community. 

The church in Korea has been a big factor in addressing many of the social issues such as poverty and lack, so that the more needs that the church  can meet through volunteerism and freewill giving, the less the government has to try to solve these social problems through impersonal government bureaucracy and forced taxation.

On Thursday morning of April 18, 2013, the Korean/Canadian First Nations Delegation of about 60 people started to travel by two buses southward from Seoul, Korea.  They went for about an hour to the Jeam-ri church, which is in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi-do, near the city of Osan on the map above.

Then they kept travelling further southward until they reached the southernmost part of  Korea, and that is the city of Sunch'on, some 40 minutes north of the port city of Yosu.  You can see both Sunch'on and Yosu in the southernmost part of the map of South Korea above.

South Korea has many bridges, tunnels and high tech architecture on its roadways which is a testimony to the high degree of industrialization that has taken place in this nation over the past 40 years.  From Sunch'on one can take a bridge to an island where there are citrus trees.  This is what God has entrusted to the people of that island.  What are the people of this island doing with what has been entrusted to them?

This is the Wulpo Church on this island, a church in the country that has learned how to be supported by themselves by investing what they have, rather than to beg for money from others.

The pastor of this congregation (standing on the right) shared his story about how God has blessed this congregation.  He made clear that they do not ask anybody for money, but God showed him a creative idea to do with the citrus fruit that grows on this island, and how that this can be used to manufacture cosmetic products, lotions and shampoos, etc. 

Even though their web-site is all in Korean, you can see pictures of the type of products that they manufacture here .  So the secret of their ministry is to invest in creative ideas such as these products, and to give the overflow money to the poor, the widow and the orphan.  They were very generous in giving a shopping bag with several of these products to the First Nations delegates who came to visit.  These included products like Citron Hair Shampoo, and Citron Nutri Cream, etc. 

These products have become very popular, and this pastor has become a rich man, so he does not need money for himself, but all the money that comes into the church goes out to meet the needs of the widows and the orphans, and those cut off from family networks on this island.

This pastor's story was very inspirational as it became clear that even if one lives on a remote island, that the secret to building an effective church is not to rely on help from the outside so much as it is to take whatever God has invested right in your own community, and to invest it, and let God increase it and to multiply it so that the church can become a dynamic force to move outward in meeting the needs of others.  This is an answer to any church plant that relys on outside forces, and does not recognize that everything that they need in order to grow a strong congregation is already in their community in seed form.  If one will plant their seed, and let God grow it, it is amazing what God can do with a church that becomes self-supporting, because it can then also be self-propagating, and self-reproducing. 

In the picture above, Sungill Tim Choi, director of the Edmonton Urban Native Ministry, and Raymond McLean, pastor of the First Nations Family Worship Centre in Winnipeg, are praying with this pastor, and thanking God for the impartation that he gave both in word and by his example on how to become a self-supporting church where the focus is not on meeting one's own needs first, but the focus is on meeting the needs of others.  This seed faith principle gives God something to work with in bringing increase and multiplication, and it extends God's heart to those who lack, especially the orphans and widows, so that there is more of an equality, just as there was in the New Testament church.

I believe that this bridge connected the group back to the mainland where they went for supper and overnight at the Pension at Geogeum Do not far away.

A wonderful meal was served in the Korean Traditional way.  We were treated like this at pretty much every church that we visited.  The Koreans raised the money themselves to host the First Nations delegates to the tune of some $250,000.00--to feed us, to transport us around, to put us in hotels each evening.  They spared no effort in treating us well, and in doing everything with excellence.

The next morning, just a short distance away, we were taken to the Magog Church, another country church which has grown financially by themselves without outside help.  It is also called the Soybean Paste Church, because it grows soybeans, and makes its profit by farming.  It also has a house for widows right next door.

This pastor of the Magog Church reiterated, like we had heard at the Wulpo Church the previous evening, that they never ask for money.  They generate finances from within by their own farm operation.  If the pastor of the Wulpo Church was a businessman, the pastor of the Magog Church is a farmer.  They both take responsibility to raise funds, and God entrusts them with large amounts of money for which they take a high degree of responsibility to be sure that they do not become corrupted by the wealth, but are accountable, and that the money goes to help the poor, the needy, the homeless, the orphans and the widows in their community.  This man certainly did not look like a professional pastor, but more like a hard working farmer who is diligent in his work, and does what he does for the benefit of others.

It so happens that when a church like this reaches out to the poor, that many of those who are helped see the love of Christ in action, and begin to be attracted to a faith which gives so generously, and which helps those who are in need.  It is not that those who are in need become dependent on handouts, but are given responsibility to also give whatever is in their hand and within their power to give.  Those who are helped, then become the instrument of helping others.

One other strategic way that the Magog Church helps the poor is to reach out to those outside of the church whenever they have the death of a loved one, and need to arrange for a funeral.  It becomes very expensive for one to do a funeral in Korea if you do not belong to a church, and the state requires certain pre-requisites to be met.  What the Magog Church does is to offer its facility to these people, whether they be Buddhists or non-believers with no particular belief.  This is a huge help to them, not only in removing the cost of the building rental, but also the costs for the food preparation, etc.

This congregation accepts these people just as they are, even though they may engage in things like gambling during the course of the funeral.  By doing this simply as an act of love in Christ's Name, the non-believing community sees a faith that is without strings attached, and a love that is real, and through this kind of pure expression, there are continually new believers being added to the church, and as they come into the faith, that faith begins to manifest with a change of behaviour as well.

On Sunday, April 21, 2013, the whole delegation broke up into groups of 6 to 10 people to minister in various churches in the Seoul area.  Here are Raymond and Jean McLean, along with their son Robert, and Derek George, their youth pastor, along with Roger and Marge Armbruster (not pictured), to minister in the Joyful Church in Seoul.  That is the actual name, and it is a joyful church indeed, and the word that was delivered that morning by Raymond McLean was well received.  They fed us with a good breakfast with lots of bread, fruit and milk, and after the service, as pictured above, they fed us with a bountiful Korean lunch.  They also gave gifts of Ginseng and candy to each one of us from Canada.  It was truly a joyful time of celebration.

On that afternoon, the people in our delegation were all transported to the Kangnam Fasting Prayer Mountain which is in the northern part of South Korea at KapyungKun in the province of KyunggDo.  Here Roger and Marge Armbruster are standing on the stairway leading up to the dormitory where the guests from all over who come to this special place stay.

This is the main entry way into the dormitory, and the church building where 24/7 prayer is taking place is right adjacent to this building.  It was a great blessing to join in at the 5:00 a.m. prayer time. Some had been in the prayer room all night.  There are specific times throughout the day when teaching takes place, and during the prayer times, special worship music is playing, and people pray as they are seated on the floor, each one releasing their spirit to the Lord in a very deep way.

It was made clear that the secret to everything else that is happening in Korea begins right here, in the place of prayer.  Prayer is the secret and the key to a move of God's Spirit.  Whatever is of God must be birthed in intercession and prayer.  We were told that this is actually only one such prayer mountain in South Korea.  There are actually some 500 Houses of Prayer throughout South Korea where 24/7 prayer is being made continually.  This is the secret behind the scenes to what is happening in South Korea today by way of God's blessing.

Here we are at the dining room at the Kangnam Prayer Mountain.  You can see that one kind of sits on the floor around the table.  Roger Armbruster, director of Canada Awakening Ministries, and Sungill Tim Choi, director of Edmonton Urban Native Ministry, really bonded and connected at a heart level, and so they wanted their picture taken to be a continual reminder to us that our ministries need to intertwine and interweave more in the future.



This is the entry-way into the parking lot immediately adjacent to the dormitory and the church building of the Kangnam Fasting Prayer Mountain.  This is a blessed plot where there are open heavens, and it is a great place to come apart and to be renewed and refreshed, and then to go home with one's spiritual senses alerted and enlivened.

This is some of the countryside around the Kangnam Fasting Prayer Mountain.

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills--from where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1, 2).

On Tuesday, April 23, the entire delegation travelled from the Kangnam Fasting Prayer Mountain to the Canaan Farmers' School which is located at Hanam-City in the province of Kyeongki-Do.  The Canaan family is highly concerned with the future.  The Bong-Ahn Ideal Village around this place was founded in 1935, and was an establishment that was built in a time when the future of Korea was unclear and in dismay.  In 1935, the Japanese were still occupying Korea, and with World War II looming, the future was very uncertain.  It takes a prophetic people, however, to see beyond the immediate crisis, and to move a nation forward into its destiny.

This is Pyung-Il Kim, the director of the Canaan Farmers' Institution, a school which was founded by his father Yong-Ki Kim.  Mr. Kim has always had one dream in his life, and that is to make Korea into a nation of freedom and prosperity.  He worked non-stop with a Bible in one hand and his farming tools in the other.  He dedicated his life for the rehabilitation of the Korean people from Japanese imperialism, enlightening the minds of Korean farmers to create new hopes for freedom and civilization with the nation, promoting a national spirit and identity.

Hence, by 1962, the Canaan Farmers' School was developed around the foundation of Mr. Yong-Ki Kim's patriotic and faith-based philosophy.  The school addresses values for the well-being of individuals within the Korean society, and is constantly promoting a future of peace and justice throughout the nation.  As the students of this school embrace the future, they will continue to wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to serving the Korean people, and work towards building a prosperous future for the nation of Korea.

A large stone prominently displayed in the yard of the Canaan Farmers' School states the core element of the school's philosophy.  "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."  This admonition is taken from the Bible, and is found in II Thessalonians 3:10.  Students at the school work for four hours for each meal, and the philosophy is also that if one does not have the ability to earn money, let us not have the ability to spend money.  This was a courageous declaration in action for the freedom from Japanese occupation.

A high priority is placed on a life of learning biblical principles, working, living a life of simplicity, not wasting, and using just enough each day for your daily life.  These are the principles that produce a wealthy nation, and they are the reasons why South Korea has been transformed from being the second poorest country on the earth 40 years ago, to today being the 10th in economic status, 10th in sports, and has the 7th largest army in the world.

Here Pyung-Il Kim is promoting the two books which state something of the history and the philosophy of the Canaan Farmers' School.  The first is written by Pyung-Il's father Yong-Ki KIM, the founder of the school, and is appropriately titled, "If Anyone Will Not Work, Neither Let Him Eat."  The Canaan Farmer's School was the first farmer's academy for driving social reforms with the cultivation of leaders who influence over 600,000 people, including politicians, soldiers, teachers, business men, students and farmers.  The school made them all vanguards in periods of South Korean modernization.

The second book is written by Pyung-Il KIM himself.  It is the story of filial piety.  This book is a guide to restore the relationships between parents and children which has broken down in these modern days.  This book will provide a guideline for Koreans so that they may find hope for the future, and help other Koreans scattered around the world to join together in the spirit of filial piety, standing as a meaningful and valuable nation in the global community.

The focus of this school is on seniors, or on elders educating the young people.  It is the belief of this school that if we can somehow educate the young people in North Korea, that these young people will bring peace to their nation.  So the elders are important in this process.

There are 5.9 million elders in South Korea, and some 62,000 senior centres.  The elders of South Korea worked hard at a time when the future of Korea was unclear and in dismay.  The elders need to serve people.  When the elders are happy, the nation is happy.

Theory needs to be applied to our daily walk.  Here are the five priciples that Pyung-Il KIM taught the Korean/First Nations delegation that sat under him for a two-hour lecture on Tuesday, April 23. 

1.  Love your country.  Serve your nation.  Never bring shame to your nation.  Conduct yourself in a godly way.

2.  Love your children.  You have stewardship of children who belong to God.  Love what belongs to Him.

3.  Love nature.  Remember that we are a part of nature, but we do not worship the environment.

4.  Love family.  When we are happy, it makes our family happy.

5.  Love people.  The suicide rate has been reversed.  Live your life.  Our lives belong to God!

So it is a combination of the prayer movement and the work ethic that took Korea from being a place of extreme poverty, as evidenced by this city slum back in the 1960s to one of the top 10 economies on the earth today, some 40 years later.

This school trains and shapes tomorrow's leaders who are dedicated to saving the people and society from mental and financial poverty.  The school works around the clock to increase national potentiality, and helps to overcome any feelings of insecurity.  The goal is the establishment of a national identity, a practical application of ethical norms, producing leaders of accountability, practical applications based on the spirit of the pioneer, and promoting economic and prudent life styles.

From the Canaan Farmers' School, our delegation drove in two buses on to Jeon Ju City, the site where the Korean North American Aboriginal Mission (KNAAM) Conference would take place from April 23-25, beginning with a Reception Dinner that evening hosted by Hajin Song, the mayor of this city.  The report on the KNAAM Conference is given on the post just immediately following this one, but near the end of that Conference, on Thursday, April 25, our delegation also visited one more church, and that was the Antioch Church in Jeon Ju.  Since this post is focussed on reporting on our contacts and connections with churches and ministries in South Korea, I will close out this segment by reporting on what we learned at the Antioch Church that morning.

We were warmly greeted and welcomed by Pastor Daniel Park from the Antioch Church in Jeon Ju.  He introduced to us the Bauri Mission, which is very much a faith mission within this congregation.  He explained how that they have become a missionary-sending church, just like the church of Antioch in Acts 13:1-4. 

This church is so motivated to support missionaries, and there is such a spirit of entrepreneurship and volunteerism in the church that they raise huge amounts of money, and more than 60% and close to 70% of the money raised goes into missions.  People within the congregation take responsibility for their own needs.  For example, those who sing in the choir purchase their own choir gowns, and those who play the drums, purchase their own drum set.

They do not put a burden on the church to the extent that the Antioch Church has been able to send out some 410 missionaries into various parts of the earth.  These missionaries themselves are sold out to the gospel, and make sacrifices, and step out in faith without manmade guarantees.  They step out into the sphere of their calling by faith and sacrifice, and the church supports them to the very best of their ability.  Each one does their part.

Here is another one of the staff members from the Antioch Church explaining the vision of this congregation.  They have been "rebuilding the wall," even as Nehemiah did in his day.  Just as Jerusalem needed to rebuild the wall to keep the enemy out and the presence of God within so that they could become a sending community to bring blessings to the ends of the earth, even so the Antioch Church has been rebuilding the wall to become a sending congregation to the nations.

The high degree of volunteerism to raise funds was evident as adjacent to the church building, they had set up a canopy on the property where clothes and food was being sold in order to raise support.  In a recent bazaar (a marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold), the congregation had raised over $100,000.00 in just three days!  This is what a spirit of entrepreneurship and volunteerism can do.  It takes us way beyond what impersonal government bureaucracies, or even church bureaucracies can do.

Each one of these volunteers is highly motivated, knowing that they are a part of a vision that is bigger than they are, and that together, they are making a difference on this earth.  Each volunteer is doing their part, not grudgingly, but willingly, freely, and from the heart.  There is such joy and liberty in serving in this way.  God meets the needs of each one in the congregation, so they freely give of the overflow of their lives to others.

Some members of the Body of Christ cannot stand behind a pulpit, nor do they have a public teaching or preaching ministry, but they can cook, and prepare meals.  In the biblical world, this kind of service is even more honorable than that of standing behind a pulpit, because those who are in the public eye can be tempted to pride, but those working behind the scenes are offering a pure service as unto the Lord.  These people are preparing one of the entres on the menu that will be served for lunch that day to people in the community.  It is a lunch for which people can purchase tickets, and partake of some excellent Korean food prepared in the Korean traditional way right in Korea's most traditional city--Jeon Ju!

Our delegation was very blessed to be given free tickets to partake of lunch that day.  Outreaches like this do more than to raise money, but they bring people together for social interaction, communication and togetherness.  It also builds bridges into the community where others can come and interact and relate, and share in their common humanity which includes their common need for food.  So the reaching out begins right at home base, right in their own community, and it extends itself to the missionaries that are going forth from here to the ends of the earth!  Amen!