Cloud of Witnesses – Celebrating 210^th Anniversary of International Ministries

Rev. Kyung-ho Cha

Pastor of Shinsung Baptist Church and

Director of Missions of the Korean Baptist Churches of the Republic of Korea.

By God’s grace, I founded the Shinsung Baptist Church in South Korea in 1994, and I have been pastoring for over 30 years. Additionally, I serve as the Director of Missions for the Korean Baptist Churches of the Republic of Korea (KBCROK).

Our denomination was able to make a new beginning as KBCROK in 2017, and thanks to the guidance of International Ministries and the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey. They provided a tremendous amount of support and assistance that our denomination needed to start a new chapter.

This was all possible through the love of Christ as Baptist Christians through the help of Rev. Dr. David Hojin Yu (IM Special Assistant for Korea Relation and Associate Regional Pastor for Asian Ministries of the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey), and Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chan (Area Director of East and South Asia). During my visit to the U.S. in 2016, I had the opportunity to visit International Ministries (IM), where I met many pastors, and at the time the donut-shaped building left a great impression on me. Through my visit to IM, I was deeply moved by its rich history. Typically a domestic mission is established first and grows before an overseas mission is created. However, I was surprised to learn that IM was established 2 to 3 years before their domestic mission was created.

As the Director of Missions for KBCROK, I believe that the collaboration with IM helped grow our denomination into a mission-focused body, contributing to foreign missions. South Korea is not only a missionary-sending nation but also a mission field. I believe KBCROK should grow into a faithful biblical Baptist church through the missionary history of American Baptist International Ministries. Therefore, future cooperation is crucial. KBCROK prays that we can cooperate with IM not only in South Korea but also in global missions.

My family has a total of five members. My wife is currently active as a Sunday School director. My daughter, Dream, serves as a guitarist and a member of our church praise team. My two sons serve as the drummer and bass guitarists for the praise team. Two years ago, my wife visited IM and other ABCUSA organizations in the U.S. to understand their ministries. My daughter, Dream visited Baptist Camp Lebanon and IM, learning about the churches in the U.S. She now serves as a youth leader. If I have the opportunity in the future, I would like to give teenagers and young adults the opportunity to visit the United States to nurture them into leaders who will lead the next generation, just like my children.

We give thanks and glory to our Father God for His guidance!

*Ben Chan: Special thanks to Cathy Holmes for proof-reading the article.