wfn.org | United Methodists commission Korean-American 'mission pastors'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

April 28, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York       {261}

STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - The first group of Korean-American "mission
pastors" has been commissioned by the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries.

The mission pastors are part of a plan being developed by the board and
the United Methodist National Committee on Korean-American Ministries to
better minister to that population.

Introduced during the April 20-23 board meeting here, the plan will help
developing congregations become chartered as official Korean United
Methodist churches.

"Korean-Americans (in the church) see this as a major step forward," the
Rev. John McCullough, associate general secretary for mission personnel,
told directors.

The plan also offers a way for the board to work with the denomination's
jurisdictions, annual conferences and local churches, he said.

The number of Korean-American United Methodist congregations has jumped
from less than a dozen to nearly 300 in recent years, according to
McCullough. Since 1981, more than half of the new United Methodist
churches formed have been Korean-American.

To serve unchartered congregations, the new category of  "mission
pastors" has been created. Eligible candidates either are capable of
meeting the requirements of elder's orders within three years or are
already clergy but have expressed a calling to this specific ministry.

During their three-year term, the mission pastors will receive some
salary support, along with pension and health benefits, from the Board
of Global Ministries. The jurisdictions pay the rest of the salaries.

The plan calls for 40 pastors and five superintendents in the first
mission pastors group. Thirty-four pastors and one superintendent were
commissioned during the board meeting.
Commissioned were the Rev. Dae Hyon Cho of Charlotte, N.C.; the Rev.
Myung Hwan Cho, Receda, Calif.; the Rev. Byung Chul Choi, Queens, N.Y.;
the Rev. Hye Jah Choi, Commack, N.Y.; the Rev. Yongho Chun, Newburgh,
N.Y.; the Rev. Do Shig Chung, Wailuku, Hawaii; and the Rev. Kwang Youn
Han, Raleigh, N.C. 

Also, the Rev. Jong Soon Hong, Kearny, N.J.; the Rev. Chee Chul Jang,
Enid, Okla.; the Rev. Jae-Sik Jang, Trumbell, Conn.; the Rev. Chul Jung,
Gardena, Calif.; the Rev. Raymond Kahng, Cambridge, Mass.; the Rev.
Chong Kil Kim, Macon, Ga.; the Rev. Heung-Gyu Kim, Dallas; the Rev.
Gwi-Deog Kim, Essex Junction, Vt.; and the Rev. Ji Tai Kim, Riverside,
Calif.

Also, the Rev. Jinwoo Kim, Jacksonville, Ark.; the Rev. Nam Gon Kim,
Queens, N.Y.; the Rev. Sung Nam Kim, Louisville, Ky.; the Rev. Jin Mo
Koo, Garden Grove, Calif.; the Rev. Do Ung Lee, Austin, Texas; the Rev.
Joseph Won-Moon Lee, Burbank, Calif.; and the Rev. Ki Yong Lee, Tucson,
Ariz.

Also, the Rev. Seon Young Lee, Aurora, Colo.; Pastor Sinhoon James Lee,
Jonesboro, Ga.; the Rev. Bong Won Park, Duluth, Ga.; the Rev. Misook
Park, Des Plaines, Ill.; the Rev. Peter Chang-Hyung Park, Los Angeles;
and the Rev. Yong Sam Park, Vista, Calif.

Also, the Rev. Pan Joo Song, Little Ferry, N.J.; the Rev. Paul Suk-Yong
Yang, Los Angeles; the Rev. Yeo-Am Yoon, Hialeah, Fla.; the Rev. Bohyun
Yu, Madison, N.J.; and Pastor Kook Jim Yun, Savoy, Ill.

For more information on the mission pastors program, contact the Board
of Global Ministries, (212) 870-3660. 

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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