About Korean Emerging Ministries
The mission of Korean Emerging Ministries is to inspire, equip, and connect Korean congregations in the PCUSA. Today there are 400 Korean congregations with 50,000 Active Members. Korean congregations are geographically spread over 15 synods and 120 presbyteries.
Korean Emerging Ministries covers three main objectives to fulfill the mission. They are leadership development, congregational support, and English Ministry.
First, the leadership development.
Korean Emerging Ministries sponsors and supports National Korean Pastors’ Conference. It is a biennial program designed to provide up-to-date ministry tools for Korean pastors. The program creates a professional support network among Korean pastors. Korean Emerging Ministries organizes Campus Town Ministry Network that provides knowledge and skills to lead congregations located in Campus Town. Polity training courses to acquaint teaching elders and ruling elders with Form of Government and regional continuing education programs for teaching elders are another important leadership development programs initiated and supported by the Korean Emerging Ministries to enhance grass root network of Korean churches. The overall strategy for leadership development has been focused with equipping church leaders to adapt to rapidly changing social and cultural landscape and to be committed to transformational leadership.
The second focus of Korean Emerging Ministries is congregational support and New Worshiping Communities.
Korean Emerging Ministries Office sponsors annual conference of the National Council of Korean Presbyterian Churches (NCKPC). This gathering functions as the main engine of Korean congregations by addressing the most pressing issues of the Korean congregations and developing a national strategy.
Korean Emerging Ministries Office also coordinates four Non-geographic Korean language presbyteries by the Coordinating Committee for Korean American Presbyteries (CCKAP). By gathering leaders from four Korean presbyteries, it creates a powerful network to align Korean presbyteries with the mission direction of the denomination.
Korean Emerging Ministries Office supports new church development and PMA’s 1001 Worshiping Communities. Over the last four years, 24 New Worshiping Communities have been started and twelve Korean NWC Coaches are in active Service.
The overall strategy for congregational support is to stabilize existing churches and encourage churches and presbyteries to charter new churches and worshiping communities.
The third focus is English Ministry.
English Ministry(EM) in the context of Korean speaking 1st generation congregations is crucial and challenging task to continue and inherit Korean American identity and faith without losing roots and flying beyond Koreanness. Korean Emerging Ministry works in collaboration with English Ministry Network led by 2nd generation Korean pastors and seminarians in transformational leadership training and mentoring programs. The office also supports regional youth conferences and college student leadership training and mentoring programs. The office also supports regional youth conferences and college student leadership training programs as young adult mission direction. The overall mission strategy for English Ministry is to empower the second generation Korean American Presbyterians.
Korean churches face two emerging challenges: First is the congregational aging with some of the 1st generation congregations. And second is the decrease of the immigration directly from Korea, but the increase of the permanent Korean American residents. Our short term solutions are leadership recruitment, congregational renewal, mission coordination and outreach promotion. The long term goals consist of two areas: First, helping Korean churches to be connected with the rich legacy of the Presbyterian Church (USA) mission endeavor in Korea from the previous century. Second is to develop a national strategic plan to ensure the continuation of the vitality of emerging congregations.
