Rev. Kim Yo-sep (54, fifth from left among Wonchon pastors) planted Wonchon Baptist Church and is the current head pastor of “Church 11.” His father, senior Pastor Kim Jang-hwan of Suwon Central Baptist Church, established Central Christian School in Suwon with his own money in 1994. Rev. Kim Yo-sep began holding worship services at the school the next year, when he was sent there as principal. That was the beginning of Suwon Baptist Church.
As the school gained recognition, the church grew alongside it. In 2000, however, when church membership reached 1,000, they felt a spiritual emptiness. Rev. Kim said, “We no longer had the close and powerful spiritual community we used to have when the church members numbered about 100-150. Overloaded by church work, I couldn’t spend enough time with my own family. I was in crisis in many ways.” In 2001 he left for the United States with his wife to restore his spiritual and physical health.
The next year, when Rev. Kim came back to Korea, he was very surprised to find that the church had matured into a healthier congregation, and that the number of members had increased as well. He explained, “While I was absent, the junior pastors were there for the members. I was reassured by their surprising potential, and decided to split the church into smaller ones.”
Rev. Kim proposed a new paradigm. In January 2003, Wonchon Church was split into Churches 1-5, with 200 members and one pastor each so that members and pastor could build spiritual friendship. The church built a new building in 2006, capable of holding the school and all the church activities. Rev. Kim Jang-hwan took charge of Antioch Church for the senior members. As Churches 1-5 grew in size, each of them was divided, creating Churches 6-12 between 2008 and 2013. Church 7 will be split again later this year, and Church 14 will be born.
[The new church building built in 2006]
First-time visitors can browse around all 13 churches and choose which church they will attend. Each church has its special color depending on the particular vision of its pastor and members.
Antioch Church was established for seniors because it was challenging for them to settle in among the mostly young Wonchon church couples. Church 6 is a community for sports mission. It operates Jordan Academy, and church members in sports-related fields volunteer as teachers of baseball, basketball, and soccer to local children.
Church 8 has a sermon group dedicated to children, who love its worship service featuring non-digital contents such as character puppets and illustrated storybooks. Church 11 focuses on home worship services and the roles and relationships of family members. Church 9 and Church 10 have intergenerational worship services, in which all family members participate together.
[The fourth floor of the new building. During the week it is used as a classroom for Central Christian School, and on weekends as the worship hall of one of the small churches.]
Rev. Kim said, “Pastors at Wonchon put aside their ambitions for their own ministry, and cooperate with each other. The pastors’ wives play a crucial role in building good relations among the pastors. Doing ministry together is happier.”
Reporter A-young Kim (cello08@kmib.co.kr), from Suwon, with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photos by senior reporter Kang Min Seok, from Suwon
Click here for the original article in Korean
