- Merchant services are authorized financial services that your church uses to accept payments via credit and debit card or other forms of electronic payment. Merchant services are essential for accepting.
- For Heating and Air Conditioning Repair in Houston, your neighbors trust Church Services with 24/7 service, call 713-396-3760.
- What struck me even more than the specific prayers for the persecuted church was the frequency and ordinariness of prayer among Korean believers. Whenever a group of Koreans is praying, whether as part of a church service or spontaneously in small groups, someone takes the lead, guides the rest of the group in what to pray for, and then says.
- Your website shows who you are as a church: your message, your mission, and your calling. Having your sermons on your website allows visitors to hear the way you teach. Having them on your website also allows new visitors to listen to past sermons and understand the context of the sermon they will encounter on their first physical visit.
Kanye West's religious choir and prayer performance group Sunday Service has been popping up across the United States. Here's your shortcut guide.
As a Korean-American church was about to purchase a new building, its members raised a question about the future of the church. Some members believed that the church, along with other Korean-American churches, would shrink in two or three decades because their children would prefer non-Korean, English-speaking churches.
This incident happened 25 years ago during my first pastoral internship in Connecticut. The projection was right – at least partially. Today, many second-generation and next-generation members have left their parents’ churches. However, instead of declining, many Korean-American churches in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have thrived. Most important of all, they still remain as predominantly Korean-speaking churches.
Early Korean-American church leaders underestimated the unique social and cultural role engraved in their existence. Over the years, they have provided various services that immigrant communities needed. In early days, these services ranged from picking up new immigrants from airports to helping them to get driver’s licenses and social security cards. Church volunteers willingly offered their help. Although a lot of energy and time were invested, the approach was fruitful. After receiving a warm welcome in a place so far from their homeland, many non-believing Korean immigrants decided to attend the church and convert to Christianity. Today there are about 4,000 Korean-American churches in the United States. In the PC(USA), we have over 400 churches with 50,000 members. A few of them have even grown into megachurches, although they are concentrated in major coastal cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Philadelphia and Miami, they are geographically scattered in almost every state.
The outside appearance of Korean-American churches can be deceptive for two reasons. First, many Korean-American churches have the resemblance of their counterpart churches in the community but, in reality, their ministry concerns and priorities are very different from other churches because they continue to minister to immigrants. Today, the need to address the concerns of the immigrant community has become a more urgent and pressing issue of Korean-American churches. Since 2008, the United States allowed Korean nationalities to freely enter the country by issuing a visitor’s visa at the airport. With this change, the number of permanent immigrants has declined. On the other hand, Korean-American churches have experienced a sudden surge of short-term visitors. In 2007, about 20 first-generation PC(USA) teaching elders met in Phoenix to evaluate and prepare for the outcome of the change. This Korean-American Ministry Consultation was initiated and funded by the Korean ministry office in the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Even with such preparation, once the change took place, the adjustment has been difficult.
The increased presence of temporary visitors helps draw existing Korean-American church members closer to their homeland. Visitors introduce the latest perspectives and trends to once-static Korean-American communities. Recently, this effect has been further amplified with the introduction of smartphones that allow church members to access all forms of media outlets in South Korea. Instead of assimilating to the mainstream American culture, Korean-American churches have become more Korean than ever. Some churches even created a Korean-speaking Sunday school in parallel with an English-speaking one. Korean-American churches have become bona fide postmodern glocalized (having both local and global considerations) communities.
Another factor that sets apart Korean-American churches from other denominational churches is the time bubble that exists in the church. At a regional Korean-American leadership conference, a white minister was invited to be a guest speaker. After sitting through an opening worship service, he asked me why Korean-Americans sang hymns from early 1900s. The unified Korean hymn book that all Korean churches use, whether they are here in the U.S. or in South Korea, was complied with the hymns brought by the missionaries from the U.S. in that time period. This makes all Korean churches exist in an anachronistic bubble that was created by the missionaries, exemplified not only by their hymnal, but also in their theological views and orientations. The situation became more complicated as the immigrants founded their churches in the U.S. They created a time bubble of their own. Immigrants often keep the worldview and values of the time they left their homeland. As a result, many Korean-American churches have a contemporary outward appearance, but the members still hold on to the ethical norms and social values of the time they left Korea. This is another deceptive dimension of Korean American churches that is often overlooked by many outsiders.
The time bubble explains why many second- and next-generation Korean-Americans left the churches of our denomination. The so-called “silent exodus” of the second generation is, in our case, about the outflux of many second-generation Korean-Americans to more conservative churches. When the second-generation members leave their home church for college or work, many choose more conservative churches of other denominations. Interestingly, many Korean-American Christians, regardless of their language preference, still gather together across denominations. However, second-generation members who decide to stay in the PC(USA) often seem overly critical with the Korean-American churches in which they grew up and accuse them of not embracing current ethical and theological stands of the denomination. In time, Korean-American churches will change and perhaps even embrace some of the denominational issues, but now they have to be understood and embraced with their unique historical and cultural background as immigrant churches.
The most pressing issue of Korean-American churches is the training of the next generation of leaders who will understand and continue to address the unique needs of Korean-American immigrants. As our immigration policy changes, they have to find a way to adapt. For instance, with recent changes in national policy, many Korean-American churches in larger cities are mobilized to provide sanctuary for Korean immigrants who they perceive are unreasonably targeted for deportations. Often, these churches feel presbyteries overlook this concern.
Facing these challenges, Korean churches in our denomination find their own way to connect and develop both ordained and lay leadership. They organized the National Council of Korean Presbyterian Church (NCKPC) in 1972. Once a year, NCKPC organizes a national conference to address the concerns of Korean American churches within the denomination. This year, the meeting took place in Seoul, South Korea, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The annual conference is supplemented by smaller specialized gatherings for campus ministry, multiethnic family ministry, female pastors, lay leadership, retired pastors and young pastors. These gatherings have been vital to ensure the future of Korean-American churches within our denomination. Moreover, there are many regional continuing education programs that function as grassroots gatherings for NCKPC. Although the majority of these programs are internally funded, more strategic and long-term funding from the denomination will bring more fruitful outcomes and changes.
National Council of Korean Presbyterian Church 2017 annual conference in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo courtesy of Kidok News)
Seeing Korean-American churches as a simple racial-ethnic church will continue to promote misunderstanding. The recent decision by the 222nd General Assembly to not form a Korean language presbytery clearly shows how our national church fails to understand real issues of Korean American churches. Facing ever more complicated situations and problems of the Korean-American immigrant community, not only do Korean-American churches (whether Korean or English speaking) need informal gatherings for mutual support and training, but also official communication channels to the denomination to resolve their issues and bring their concerns to the whole church. Recent statistics show more next-generation Korean-Americans are returning to their Korean constituency. Unless we address their spiritual needs, we may not be able to embrace their return. They may choose Korean-American churches in other denominations.
Korean-American churches may function more like their African-American counterparts by continually addressing their specific racial-ethnic issues within in a larger social and political landscape. However, unlike other racial-ethnic congregations, Korean-American churches have increasing ties to their homeland that make them somewhat unique. Korean-American churches may continue to use the Korean language as their primary language. Generational differences also exist. For example, the session may gradually adopt English to include the next-generation leadership, while current church members may continue to insist on speaking Korean. Nevertheless, in a world where globalization has become a new norm, Korean-American churches may remain as another unique addition to the diversity and inclusiveness that our denomination values, continuing their unique contribution to the mission of the church as a whole.
Sanghyun James Lee is pastor of Duraleigh Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Should Your Church Move to Virtual-Only Services?
I have been a pastor since 1984. In all these years, I have never seen anything like the disruption the coronavirus pandemic has brought to the church.
Some churches have closed in-person services, while others have resisted governmental efforts to close theirs. Some have met in person with strict safety protocols while offering their services online as well. And restrictions on indoor religious services continue to be litigated.
Now we are seeing the worst surge since the pandemic began as officials predict that the “darkest days of the pandemic” are ahead. One article warns, “It is hard to overstate the severity of the national trajectory.” Dr. Anthony Fauci urged Americans yesterday to stay home and forego travel during the Christmas holidays during “this unprecedented challenging time.”
All this as COVID-19 vaccines start to become available. This juxtaposition between virus and vaccine is causing many pastors and churches to wonder whether to offer in-person worship or virtual-only services until trends improve and/or vaccines are available to everyone. This is a question I have been asked repeatedly as well.
Let’s explore this issue in light of recent events and biblical wisdom. We have discussed some of what follows over the months of the pandemic, but I hope today’s article will help your church as you make decisions in these challenging days.
Three biblical factors to consider
Paul prayed for Christians in Thessalonica, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
This is not Greek tripart anthropology in which spirit, soul, and body are separate entities. In biblical anthropology, it is not that we have a spirit, soul, and body, but that we are spirit, soul, and body as different dimensions of our holistic person. As famed New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce notes, “This is another way of expressing the desire for their complete sanctification.”
However, just as “father,” “son,” and “husband” describe different aspects of my experience, Paul’s terms signify different aspects of our lives. Let’s apply them to the question before us today.
First, spirit (“pneuma” in the Greek) points to our spiritual lives and God’s call to worship him.
The psalmist declared, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” (Psalm 95:6). We are exhorted, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT). There was a physical and corporate dimension to such worship in the New Testament era, so that Paul could encourage his readers to “greet one another with a holy kiss” (2 Corinthians 13:12).
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On the other hand, churches did not own buildings for several centuries. We know that “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands” (Acts 7:48; cf. 2 Chronicles 2:6). And corporate worship is impossible or severely persecuted today in parts of the Muslim world and in countries such as North Korea.
Second, soul (“psyche” in the Greek) points to our relational lives.
Here we find another balance. On one hand, God made us as relational beings. He said of Adam and of us, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Doctors note that “touch starvation” during the pandemic “increases stress, depression, and anxiety, triggering a cascade of negative physiological effects.”
On the other hand, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). I recently quoted three evangelical ethicists who wrote, “It is not possible to properly love a person and to act unnecessarily to jeopardize their health.” Worship services can be especially hazardous to the elderly and other at-risk persons. We also know that singing and preaching spread the virus much more than most other activities.
Third, body (“soma” in the Greek) points to our physical lives.
Several well-known physical factors are relevant as we determine whether to offer in-person worship services during this surge in the pandemic:
- Will attenders wear masks into, during, and after services?
- Can/will they maintain proper social distancing while on the church campus and in services?
- Will they practice proper hand hygiene?
- Is the worship facility ventilated safely?
- Will activities that especially “shed” the virus (such as public singing) be practiced?
- Will at-risk individuals be present?
- Can/will the facilities be properly cleaned before and after services?
Our bodies are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). We are to steward them and all other resources well to the glory of God.
'These promises include your name'
As you and your church family face the worst part of the worst pandemic in living memory, know this: your Savior is with you and for you.
In Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley, Lutheran minister Harold L. Senkbeil writes: “When calamity strikes, you can count on God—not because you feel close to him, but because he remains close to you.” He encourages us, “In life’s tight spots, focus not on your faith, but on God’s faithfulness. Look not at your promises to him, but his loving promises to you in his Son. Rest assured, those promises include your name.”
In fact, he invites us to see our afflictions as our “personal link to Jesus.” Since our Savior is holding us in his hand (John 10:28) and interceding for us right now (Romans 8:34), he feels the pain we feel. Our challenges link us to him in an intimate and transforming way.
Thomas Ken (1637–1711) wrote the “Doxology,” perhaps the world’s best-known hymn.
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Senkbeil quotes these lines, also written by the famous bishop:
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Teach me to live that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, so that I may
Rise glorious at the judgment day.
Will you make his liberating prayer yours today?
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NOTE: I wrote a blog yesterday for A Pastor’s View offering encouragement to pastors in these discouraging times. I also recorded two videos with Pastor Mark Turman focusing on practical aspects of the pandemic for churches. I invite you to read or view them today.
Publication date: December 18, 2020
Photo courtesy: ©SparrowStock
For more from the Denison Forum, please visit www.denisonforum.org.
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