Greeting Kukmin Daily on October 12 at Eden Christian Department Store in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Elder Kim Gyeong-hwa (64) of Seohyun Church launched into his usual “calendar admiration” speech, calling them the best evangelizing material. Elder Kim, Eden’s representative, is leading a “movement to send calendars to farming and fishing villages and not-yet-self-reliant churches.” The movement, sending 300 calendars to 10 churches its first year, grew through the participation of churches in various places, to the point that in its fourth year it sends 8,000 calendars to 200 churches.
“In this era when schedules are confirmed on smart phones, some people treat calendars as old-fashioned, but for members of rural village churches, it boosts self-esteem to have a calendar inscribed with the church’s name hanging in one’s living room,” Elder Kim said. “Many churches even now cannot think of having a calendar printed, due to financial difficulties… It’s good to send 100,000 won in mission funds to a church that is not yet self-supporting, but if we send calendars that are hung in families’ homes and used as evangelizing material by communicating their gospel messages to neighbors, that is even better.”
Elder Kim is a veteran “printed materials missionary,” having worked for 21 years with Word of Life Press in publishing and store management, and for 18 years as representative of Eden Christian Department Store. His dream is that the “calendar sending movement,” which started with farming and fishing villages as the target, will be expanded to military bases, foreign mission sites and Christian workplace gatherings.
“We hand out eggs at Easter and distribute rice cakes at Thanksgiving, but those have only short-term effects. Calendars are different. Even if you wonder “How many national holidays are there next year?” there are 12 pages to turn, and if the calendar is hanging on the wall or placed on a desk, it generates effects for one year. Please pray that the ‘gospel calendar’ will spread to many places.”
Reporter Choi Ki-young (ky710@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Photo by senior reporter Kang Min Seok
Original Article in Korean:
[미션&피플] ‘달력 보내기 운동’ 펼치는 김경화 서현교회 장로: “복음 실은 달력은 최고의 전도지… 집안에 걸리면 1년간 효과 봅니다”
“A Gospel calendar is a great evangelizer…Hung in the house, it bears fruit all year”
2018-10-21 12:55
