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“And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’” (1 Samuel 7:3)

The annual USA/Canada UBF Staff Conference was held February 24-26, 2011 at a hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. In total, 217 persons participated from almost all UBF chapters in North America, and including guests from Germany, Russia and Korea. The highlights of the conference were the messages. P. Mark Vucekovich spoke on 1 Samuel 7:2-17 with the title, “Spiritual Revival at Mizpah.” He followed Dr. John Jun’s message on this passage, which was the main message delivered at UBF Continental Director’s Conferences worldwide this year. We all want spiritual revival in our hearts, in our families, in our chapters, in our communities, in our nations. But how to have spiritual revival is the question. We learned that spiritual revival comes when God’s people rid themselves of foreign gods and commit to the Lord and serve him only. In our times, materialism and sexual immorality are the foreign gods which destroy people and nations. We must turn away from them and turn to God. Then God will revive us and give us victory. Through this powerful, challenging message many were convicted of inner compromise and repented sincerely. Through this message we also learned the importance of one man of God, Samuel, who served the Lord wholeheartedly by teaching the Bible regularly through his circuit ministry, and praying for his people. Many prayed to be little Samuels for North America in our times.

P. Jacob Lee delivered the second main lecture with the title, “Have the Mind of Jesus Christ,” based on Philippians 2:1-11. His message revealed the mind of Jesus to all attendants, especially Jesus’ forgiving grace on the cross. The mind of Jesus is humble, loving, serving, obedient, and forgiving. When we all have the mind of Jesus Christ, we can be one in spirit and purpose. When even one person has the mind of Christ it opens the door to the work of the Spirit to bring reconciliation and unity in any ministry. P. Jacob testified how this has worked in his own life. By centering his relationships in the cross of Jesus he has overcome generational barriers with his children and with young American students. So three generations of his family members share common life in his house, serving God joyfully. P. Jacob has also been able to cowork with many different kinds of people, especially Dr. Joseph Schafer, who is like him in many ways but also different from him in many ways. The spiritual influence of this message brought a sense of unity to the hearts of many.

Dr. Dale Wolyniak presented a special lecture on “The Millennial Generation,” at the recommendation of senior staff who had heard him speak at the Cross Global Link Conference in September, 2010. Dr. Wolyniak served as a pastor for American churches for fifteen years, and was also a missionary for fifteen years to the Marshall Islands, Laos and Afghanistan. His practical experience combined with sound scholarship made his presentation appealing and relevant to UBF staff. Dr. Wolyniak stressed in his lecture that UBF staff should not try to make millennial generation people fit into our own mold for Christian life and development. Rather, we should recognize their unique potential and strong points which are different than previous generations and see them positively and find the way to work together meaningfully.

For this conference, 48 group Bible study leaders were raised representing many of the North American UBF chapters. Most of the group Bible study leaders were younger staff members. It was a challenge for them to lead groups which included many senior members. But they were well prepared through conference call Bible studies with the main speakers in advance of the conference and through prayer.

Six track sessions were offered: 1. Disciple raising (Dr. Abraham Kim, P. Teddy Hembekides, Dr. Henry Park), 2. Counseling (P. David Baik, P. Ron Ward), 3. Networking/Coworking (Dr. Paul Hong, Dr. Jim Rabchuk), 4. Marriage Relationship (P. Isaac Kim, P. Mark Vucekovich), 5. New Generation Education (Dr. Joseph Schafer, Dr. Mark Yoon, P. Jacob Lee), 6. Intercultural Communications (Dr. Mark Yang, P. Kevin Albright, Dr. Jose Ahn). Each track is developing as the stewards are investing their time and prayer to master their material and to develop networks of associates who can work together. For the most part, track session leaders enlisted the help of many other coworkers in the preparation and presentation of their material. Since we have now had these track sessions for three consecutive staff conferences, it is a good time to evaluate their effectiveness.

Dr. Samuel H. Lee, the director of Korea UBF, presented a plan for the upcoming World Mission Report in Seoul on May 29^th and the missionary conference following, from May 30 to June 1. Committee reports were presented as follows: Education (Dr. Mark Yang), Web Site (M. Daniel Lee), Publications (P. Teddy Hembekides), Public Relations (P. Jacob Lee), North America Ministry 2010 (P. Ron Ward).

Dr. John Jun gave closing prayer topics. He announced that his term as General Director of UBF will end on December 31, 2011 and that he will not seek another term. So he thanked all North American staff for their prayers and love and support and also asked prayer that a proper person may be raised as the next General Director, according to God’s will, when the International Advisory Members meet in Seoul in May. Dr. Jun thanked God that during the last five years North American ministry has grown from 1,550 members (average Sunday worship attendants) to 2,116 members, about 38%. He also thanked God for 500 persons who volunteered to go out as missionaries at the Purdue Conference in 2008 and another 250 persons who volunteered at the Midwest Regional Conference in 2010. He prayed that North America UBF may send many missionaries practically as a significant contribution to raising 100,000 missionaries to all nations by 2041. The conference was then closed by the prayer of Mother Sarah Barry.

We earnestly pray that spiritual revival may spread in the United States and Canada to all campuses and throughout both nations until God raises a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Reported by Pastor Ron Ward