News > Asia

The 2nd CME: History of the Early Church

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Mt 16:18)

There was a CME meeting in the Philippines on October 17-18, 2015. M. Moses Chung, M. Rebekah Chung (Chicago), Paul Ko (UPLB campus in the Philippines), Monica Kim (Baguio in the Philippines) Sarah Jeong, Hannah Jeong, and John Jeong (UP Diliman campus in the Philippines) attended the CME.

M. Moses Chung taught us about the history of the early church. He has a wide and deep knowledge that we must know as missionaries and shepherds. One week was actually too short a time to fully satisfy our spiritual thirst. But even in that short period of time, his lectures and serving mind invigorated our spirits and regenerated our souls. I hope the CME ministry will be continued in the Philippines and the world.

In the first half of the CME, M. Moses Chung taught us what the church is in Jesus’ message from Matthew 16:18. We came to realize that we should not focus on the number of sheep, but on the value of each sheep, and we should focus on spreading God’s word to many students and making disciples. During the early years of our mission work in the Philippines, we tried to gather many students in our church. However, from 2010 we have turned our attention to raising disciples. Sometimes we were discouraged because there has been no student leader. Through the message, we are thankful for the fact that our children and church co-workers have grown spiritually well.

The second topic was about our attitude toward the word of God. We have to take a pious attitude in reading, listening, and meditating on the word of God.

In addition, we learned about the spirituality of the church fathers in the desert in the Middle Ages. The Philippines, whose national religion is Catholicism, is greatly influenced by Catholicism. That is why we have to study and know about Catholicism  and its history. While studying about it, we were touched by the spirituality of the church fathers in the desert in the Middle Ages. Their lives demonstrated that we could be with Jesus by praying and reading the Bible.

There are three Korean families and we each live in our own separate place. Sometimes I felt lonely and spiritually thirsty. We have to read the Bible and pray by our own will and power. And it is not easy. However, by approaching the Bible through different approaches, we could refresh ourselves and regenerate our souls. Through learning also about the history of the Church through CME, we were able to gain necessary information regarding our mission. Also, by memorizing God’s words, we could focus on God more. Through CME, I realized that we can learn more about Jesus through praying, studying history, and reading and memorizing the Bible. We can be with God through reading the Bible and prayer. This second CME left a lasting influence on all of us. Moreover, because M. Paul Ko, Monica Kim, and my family live apart from each other, we could not have fellowship often, but through this CME, we were given  an opportunity to gather all together and have good fellowship. Thank you.

M. John Jeong