From April 7-9, Rev. Dr. Hana Kim of Myungsung Church in South Korea paid a visit to to its partner, the Great Church in Debrecen, as well as to church officials of the national church of the RCH. The visit provided space for discussions to expand the partnership on a national church level.
Rev. Dr. Hana Kim, senior pastor of Myungsung Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea, and a small delegation, made a partnership visit to Hungary. The aim of the visit was to learn about the history of the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) and of the common mission of Myungsung Church and the RCH, reaching out to their communities in diaspora. This recent visit provided an opportunity to discuss expanding the partnership to the national Church, as well as possible cooperation in support of churches in Syria.
Founded in 1980, Myungsung Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea is the largest Presbyterian congregation in the world with over 100,000 members. Myungsung Church fully supports the work of 104 commissioned mission co-workers in 31 different countries, as well as associate mission co-workers, apprenticeship missionary programs, and local church pastors. In addition to domestic missions, Myungsung Church performs outreach to specific missions in Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Pakistan.
The Great Church of Debrecen and Myungsung Church have been supporting each other’s ministries and have made mutual visits in the past. In addition, Myungsung Church is supporting the Debrecen Reformed Theological University.
In the Great Church of Debrecen on Sunday, Rev. Kim preached of the ongoing work of mission and the church, and until Jesus Christ returns to the earth, we must work together to share the news of the kingdom of God in our world today. He met with Rev. Zsigmond Vad, senior pastor of the Great Church and dean of Debrecen Reformed Presbytery, Rev. István Oláh, head of the board of trustees of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA), and Chief Elder Sándor Ember. Rev. Kim also visited the Reformed College and met with Dr. Zoltán Kustár, rector of Debrecen Reformed Theological University and gave a lecture on the importance of early morning prayers. Rev. Kim also met with Rev. Dr. Károly Fekete, bishop of the Transcibiscan Reformed Church District.
The Early Morning Prayer ministry of Myungsung Presbyterian Church was started by Rev. Sam-Whan Kim and has been an important part of the church since its founding and has gathered congregation members every morning for 35 years. Myungsung Church holds four early morning services starting at 5:00AM.
On April 9th in Budapest, Rev. Kim met with Rev. Dr. István Szabó, presiding bishop of the RCH, to discuss the possibility of expanding the already existing partnership between Myungsung Church and the national Church. Bishop Szabó shared of his recent visit to Syria which started a conversation mapping out possible cooperation in the Middle East, with special attention to the churches in Syria. Rev. Kim said that he is thankful that the RCH has opened their eyes to the suffering of Christians in the Middle East.
Later, Rev. Kim met with Dr. Péter Balla, rector of Károli Gáspár University of the RCH as Myungsung Church is also supporting the rebuilding of the dormitory of the university after the devastating fire that took place in January.
He concluded his visit at the Synod Hall of the Reformed Church in Hungary, meeting with Rev. Balázs Ódor, ecumenical officer of the RCH, and Diána Erdélyi, ecumenical secretary of the RCH. Together, they discussed further ways to put into practice the plans for common service for global Christianity. Rev. Ódor thanked the opportunity for continuing the conversation on the common journey of the two churches that began last autumn when he visited Myungsung Church and the Myungsung congregation for their support of the service of mission co-worker, Rev. Chaehwa Jung, who was the local host for the delegation.
Rev. Dr. Hana Kim was accompanied by leaders of Myungsung Presbyterian Church, Rev. Shi Young Lee, director of missions, and Kyung Min Shin, director of education, during his visit in Hungary.
Written by Priscilla Yang
Sources: HKBP Lubuk Baja