Korean mission growing in Madison

Although  the membership at First Korean Baptist Church numbers only 23, attendance has quadrupled since Kim Jang Young first began preaching last November. The church meets in a converted Sunday School room behind First Baptist Church of Madison, its sponsor.
   
Young, who has been a pastor in Korea since 1983, came to America in 2000 to preach at the International Baptist Church of Madison. One year after his arrival, Don Lee, the catalytic missionary at the Madison Baptist Association, asked Young to begin a Southern Baptist Korean-speaking church in Madison.
   
“Some Korean people who lived in the area asked the association for a Korean pastor,” Young said. “Many cannot fully understand English, so their hearts don’t get into the service.”
   
“There is something about hearing God’s Word in your own language that really gets to your heart,” said Sheila Yu who attended First Baptist, Madison, until Young began the Korean church. “I was really hoping for this because my mother speaks very little English.”
   
“There was not a Southern Baptist Korean work outside of Huntsville, and we have a rather large Korean population in Madison,” said David Tew, senior pastor of First Baptist, Madison.
   
“We were eager to accept the opportunity,” he noted
   
At first, Young’s church consisted only of himself, his wife, Kim Jung Soon, their two children and a handful of members. Now about eight families attend on a regular basis thanks to Kim’s persistence.
   
“Each time a Korean moves to the community I call and invite them to my home or out to lunch,” he said. “Then I tell them about Jesus and ask them to come to my church. Eventually most say yes.”
   
Most of the people who attend Korean Baptist have never attended a Southern Baptist church before and are new believers, which presents several challenges, Young said.
   
“They are just new beginners right now so I have to take care of them like I would new Christians,” Young said. “If I had to do it myself I would get very tired, but the Lord is doing everything. I am just the watcher.”
   
One of the ways Young hopes to encourage growth is through Bible study. He began a new believer’s Bible study May 3 to prepare his members for baptism.
   
In addition to the study, Kim Jung Soon holds youth group services each Saturday.
   
After each service everyone shares a fellowship meal featuring Korean dishes in one of the church’s dining halls. Young hopes this will strengthen the bonds between the members. “Right now there is very little communication between them because they are new Christians. They are in the process of knowing and loving each other,” he said.
   
Jane Bae, an American-born Korean, came to Madison from Dallas last September to open a new business with her husband, Mike. She hated everything about the area. “I had no friends, I missed my church. I just wanted to sell my business and go home,” Bae said.
   
Her desire to pack up and move mounted until she heard about the new Korean church in her area and met Pastor Kim. “He told me that God had a purpose for bringing me here. He talked with me and prayed with me and invited me to church. If it weren’t for him I probably wouldn’t be here anymore.”
   
On the wall in Young’s mini-sanctuary hangs a poster printed in Korean, “The Church of Hope and Dreams.” Young has high hopes for his fledgling church. “My vision is to disciple them so they can minister to the lost souls in the community and that they will become strong leaders,” he said.