News > Asia

by Caleb C.

The 2023 Korea National Lay Shepherd Conference was held from Monday, June 5 to Tuesday, June 6, at Sang-rok Resort in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. Three hundred and forty-one (341) lay shepherds from all chapters across the country attended. On the first evening, from 9:30 pm, the lay shepherds had a Bible study on John 21, the main lecture of the conference, in 48 similar age groups. They shared a warm fellowship late into the night, forming a resounding consensus within the Word. The following day, M. Jacob O. from a different country delivered a lecture titled "Do you love me?" In a country where evangelism was banned, the missionary's life, loving Jesus and taking risks to feed the sheep, was a message that warmed the hearts of everyone who listened to it. (For security reasons, the specific contents of the missionary's message are omitted.)

After the message, Sheps Jun-yeop Lee (Baebong), David Song (Jongro 2), and Daniel Son (Gwangju 1, 6) shared their life testimonies. The participants were very moved by the graces of salvation, the marriage of faith, hardships at work, and how they struggle to serve Bible students, including those from overseas. Bible testimony sharing time was so gracious that most participants felt it was a very short time. After the testimony sharing, there was a special lecture by Yong-geun Ji, director of the Ministry Data Institute. He spoke about the current state of young college students in South Korea and the direction of the ministry.' Based on the latest data, we were able to know the current situation of young college students. The lecture made us realize that our one-on-one and small groups ministry are effective for lonely young college students. Lastly, Sh. Boas L. (Anam 2) delivered a gracious closing message titled, "You will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." Through the message, the attendees were greatly encouraged and returned to their respective mission fields with hope. It was a short retreat of two days and one night, but we thank and give glory to the Lord, who allowed us to overflow with much-needed words and grace.