Summer is Coming to An End

Summer is coming to an end. Soon children will head back to school and most of us will try to regain the rhythm of life we have lost during the dog days of summer. And it will be a welcome change.
Our church’s summer activities will also conclude soon. This past week, Timothy had another successful annual summer retreat and the KC staff retreat was also held. This week, we will have our annual Oikos leaders’ retreat and that will be the last major event before fall gets here.
Then in two weeks, our 20th anniversary programs will begin. One of the highlights of the 20th anniversary programs is the ‘Homecoming’ of our missionaries. For the first time in 20 years, most of our commissioned missionaries will come back to spend quality time with us. They will come to remind us of our commitment to world missions. They will also participate in our World Mission Conference 2010 by sharing what God is doing in their mission field. They will, at the same time, challenge us to step up and take a more active role in their work. I hope many will respond to their challenges and get excited about what God is doing in the last days.
Traditionally our special offering on our anniversary Sunday has been designated to support future Christian leaders in their seminary education. And this year we will continue that wonderful tradition. However, since this is our 20th anniversary we have set a goal that is much higher than usual. This year our goal is $100,000.  $30,000 will be used for scholarships. Another $20,000 will be used to support the travel expenses of our missionaries and also for the conference we will host for them in Cancun, Mexico. At this summit we expect to come up with future goals and strategies of our world mission endeavor. It will be a working vacation for them before they lead the Mission Conference 2010. Then we will designate $30,000 for the “The Dream is Still Alive” 20th anniversary book that we have published. We intend to give at least 5,000 copies to various Korean churches in the US. From the planning phase we have intended to write a book that will help Korean churches to benefit from our experience. I believe God wants to use us to strengthen other churches by sharing what God has done. I’m confident that many pastors and seminarians will learn by reading this book. The remaining $20,000 will go towards our 20th anniversary celebration (food, rentals, other expenses). 
So, be generous in your giving since it is for a very worthy cause. I know many of you are hurting as a result of the global economic downturn, but God has blessed us so much in the past 20 years we need to respond generously in return. I hope God will reward you for your participation in our outreach.

August 22, 2010
Dr. W. Jamie Kim