2025 Pastoral Direction
Dear COAH,
As the 4th senior pastor, I am writing my first pastoral column. This page covers various topics related to ministry. It is a space to share my thoughts and feelings about these topics with the congregation. The space for the pastoral column is small. Inevitably, the language and content will be restrained. As I begin writing this column, I have two wishes. One is that love might permeate all my writing. I pray that my love for the church and the congregation will be infused in the words and sentences I use. The other is that my writing will become a channel of grace for the entire church to become one and to discern the Lord’s will. There are bound to be different ways of thinking in the church. When those various ways of thinking are in the Lord’s will, they will bear fruit in the form of creative results. I pray that this pastoral column will be used for that mysterious work.
Today, as the 4th senior pastor of YoungNak Church, I would like to introduce two tasks that I will focus on in 2025: shepherding and prayer. I believe that these are the two most important things a pastor can do. One is proclaiming and teaching the gospel and the word well. The other is shepherding. Here, the essence of shepherding is connected to the first mission. Shepherding means encouraging and helping the congregation live according to the proclaimed gospel and word with love. As I begin my first year as the senior pastor, I will do my best in shepherding. I want to meet you as much as possible and as closely as possible. I want to share life stories with you and spend time with you in words and prayer. Our church has many members. It is not easy to meet all of you. However, I will approach you wisely and do my best with the pastors in charge of each parish.
I hope that this year will be a year in which the entire church will focus on prayer. When we emphasize prayer, people often misunderstand that to mean prayer meetings. However, I believe that we already have enough space and gatherings for prayer. The important thing is that each of us learns to enjoy the experience of prayer. As the senior pastor, I will first pray about your most important prayer topics. If you give me your prayer topics as guided by the church, I will pray earnestly about them. I also hope that you will experience deep prayer throughout the year. I will seek to create an environment in which you can pray. I will lead and pray in the dawn services from Tuesdays to Saturdays with the theme of “A Day Beginning with Psalms.” I plan to meditate on the entire book of Psalms. We have also prepared the second floor of the main sanctuary as a prayer room. Please feel free to come and pray to your heart’s content while the church is open. The Friday Praise and Prayer Meeting also provides a good opportunity. I hope this will be a year in which the entire church experiences the joy of prayer.
As we work hard in shepherding and prayer, we expect that our hearts will be filled with love and grace. I want to experience God more vividly with you. I love you and bless you.
Blessings,
Rev. Joshua Jeon