When we came to this congregation in the countryside, we came with two handicap situations: I cannot speak the local language and my wife is a female and females are not to be in the headship positions of churches. So they threw us together and we became mission pastor and his wife, both missionaries. Our salary became a small token of appreciation, which is more than we have asked for or expected.
Since the church does not have a pastor here, the Holy Spirit soon stepped in and took over. The church started to grow, not because we did anything, but because we did nothing and the Spirit was and is Pastor.
The elders were happy as well as all the deacons since they were not marginalized by strong pastoral authority.
They could sense and see their own roles continued without interference, which would not have been the case with a regular fulltime pastor, I presume.
It all started with the neighbor who had cancer and my wife and her parents who were asked by an elder to go with him there to encourage him to go to our santorium in Yeosu for a New Start program. One day a pastor's wife from Seoul, the owner of our house here in this town, came down with her friends and tried to convince the neighbor that he should go, he packed and we left immediately.
We could witness his baptism there after a few weeks.
His wife began to come to church. The conference sent us some money for an evangelistic campaign and we asked pastor Cho to come. My wife's mother helped and also a camera video maker. Some people expressed interest. A couple whom we have given pamphlets but who did not attend, we called on Thursday and was able to taxi ride the wife to the meeting. The next day she was there again for church with her husband. Then we started to taxi ride them and some members in the church started to help.
Currently we find ourselves to be taxi riders for the Holy Spirit. Friends that visit this couple felt the urge to come to church and when we dropped some corns at their house on Friday, the neighbor was there saying she wants to come to church as well. We picked both of them up last night and today they were in the church as well. Her husband had another friend that also wanted to come and he started to come as well. He enjoyed it so much that he became a regular attendee. Only today he was not there.
We have a special Bible Study class for them and the new interest groups are meeting faithfully there.
Two couples, plus the wife of our neighbor, plus the male friend of the one couple plus another female neighbor of the couple.
Then someone sent this week a lot of money to our church for an evangelistic meeting that she wants us to allow in our church in November. Plus someone sent two boxes of books that will be gifts to the new converts. They all will come as a team to evangelize in our congregation.
Pastor Holy Spirit is working fine here in our congregation and me and my wife are more than happy that He is the minister of the congregation. "And the Spirit added daily to the congregation ..."
Dear God
Thank you for your ministry in our congregation. We admit not doing anything, but You are accomplishing so much so that we can only allocate the events to Your Spirit. Spirit Divine, keep shining out of the hearts of the members of our congregation. We gladly be taxi drivers for you. In Jesus name, Amen
koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)
Sangju Campus,
Conjoint lecturer
4 August 2009
Thanks for the message.