Reporting: Pastors Zonke, Park and Lee at PyeungTaek Church

By Koot van Wyk

Today, Sabbath 25^th of June 2016, my wife SookYoung Kim and myself went to PyeungTaek Church to preach the sermon for the pulpit hour.

The Sabbath School started already at 9h30 when we entered. It is the 13^th Sabbath and it is a children’s program. They are already standing on the stage. When you enter you realize that it is a two-third “African” and one third Asian church. The best way to describe the experience is that South Korea has an African-Asian church at PyeungTaek. And the church is beautiful, the interaction I mean. Asian parents bring their children for the children program in the church that is run by a deaconess that is a diamond, nay, a jasper, nay, gold, nay, emerald, nay, a pearl for God. You have to see her in action to see what I mean. The kids, and there are many, black, white and Asian all standing in one row and performing on stage giving their best for Jesus. It is a flower-show of beauty.

Toys and children bags

The church is different from other congregations, since very small children bring their toys to church and the elementary and school girls have their pencil cases and beautiful Hello Kitty bags lying everywhere. You just know that children are there.

Visitors for a growing church

We were visitors at the church, fair enough, but this church is growing with leaps and bounds. You have to witness it yourselves. Pastor Zonke introduced the visitors and you can see that the number is accumulating in front of your eyes. People came for the first time but you know that the way they were welcomed, they are there to stay and will come next time again.

Recruiting of new members

They printed a card to distribute at 4pm the same day in order to invite people to come to church. A number of members said they would come at 4 including a USA army worker who said he is originally from Ghana in Africa. He knew pastor Bediako whom I am also familiar with years ago.

Children’s program

The sister prepared the kids at her house to do net-kids which is a skid in which they talk to each other on chairs on stage with computers in different countries. Then there was your memory verse rehearsal by everyone, some in Korean and some in English. There were the role-play skids. One can be called a mimic drama in which a pastor in a video is preaching and singing and the kids with white handgloves mimic his actions: if he says confused they role the head to show confusion. If he says pray, they fold the hands to pray. The deaconess is with the help of God, very creative, very active, very interesting with them. God will bless her over and over again. That is for sure. He promised that. The kids took up the offering and walked with white gloves and baskets to collect. People gave and gave again and grabbed more money in their wallets to give these young ones. One young member gave a synopsis of the Sabbath-School lesson. Very well prepared and very interesting. One member is visiting the church from the USA and she presented the health message power-point for the main feature. Some were singing special items.

Potluck

The potluck at church is filled with a large variety of food and paper-plates are used because no washing of dishes is appropriate on Sabbath as both the Bible and EGW are counseling the church. Our hunch is that they are growing because they follow the Bible principles of Sabbath Sanctity. Mark my words, that church will become the fasted growing church in Korea. The growing takes place in your presence as you watch. That was our experience. The food was very delicious and it proved to us that food can be prepared on Friday and still be delicious on Sabbath.

Pastors Zonke, Park and Lee

There are three pastors in the congregation and the main leader for foregrounding is Pastor Zonke, but his humble and interactive approach makes in no problem to be foregrounding since Pastors Park and Lee who are backgrounding works equally hard to invite and satisfy the Korean attendees. They translate, shake hands with everyone, work the powerpoint system in front, pray, and do a number of things. One of them studied with my wife at Andrews University and the other one was at Songuri Church in Pocheon when we lived there before 2009. There is one Korean elder and the Korean deacon who is very helpful is a previous Sahmyook University computer science professor who is now at another university. He should maybe also be recognized in future as an elder if those who know him feel that is appropriate.

Taking care of our anointed ones

It is here that I wish to encourage our Korean Union and Korean Conference that if they do not have a plan with these three pastors, or to put it again, do have a plan but not strong enough, or to put it again, a plan strong enough but got side-tracked on other things to “forget” them. One of the previous helpers in that church that is now also on a waiting list for a call, is the just married young Korean pastor of BoEun near Youngwha church where we attend. He said about “pastor” Zonke (because we heard that he is not a pastor) that “pastor Zonke is irreplaceable in PyeungTaek church”. Today I saw with my own eyes what he meant. The Union and Conference probably need to take an interest as to what to do about helping these three “pastors” to become secure and stable but remain effective as they definitely are. All over so. Are “Pastor” Lee and “Pastor” Park pastors at all? What about pastor Zonke? Are they on a stipendia or on a full-tithe advantaged salary? The Apostle Paul had counsel about those Shepherds who do lead sheep and do bring souls in from everywhere and Luke recorded all these aspects for us in the book of Acts. The laborers for the Lord are the responsibility of those in the treasury department of our church-administration and this report is really a conviction without any data or knowledge surrounding the contracts with these men and the church-Administration. Remember treasurers, contracts between pastors and the Administration need to be “updated” from time to time and your responsibility is not only to sign the payments that go out but also carefully investigate and survey the effectiveness of your workforce for God. The Bible said that the laborer should be paid and “salary” should not be withheld due to ignorance on the treasurer’s part. The treasurer of the church-administration has the solemn task and responsibility what they do with the “sanctified funds” of the Lord. Ask yourself this question: are you renting an expensive deluxe car and hotel when you have to go for meetings overseas while our local pastors have to survive on stipendia? Is your secretary in your office getting a higher salary than the pastors who are bringing in souls for God and adding to their congregations? The point is, maybe you are looking, maybe you have a plan but that plan should be in place and I am only speaking without these men asking me to do so but a prompting of my heart. Amen Lord for this blessed Sabbath day and Amen for their ministry as anointed ones of You.