Pastor Henry Lee is the lead pastor of the English ministry (EM) at Los Angeles Full Gospel Church (LAFGC), located at the edge of Hollywood. Lee has been serving at LAFGC for about five years, and has served in numerous Korean immigrant churches as an EM pastor prior to serving at LAFGC. He shared his thoughts and insight regarding pastoring an EM congregation in general, and his experiences as an EM pastor at LAFGC specifically.
Q: Could you briefly introduce the EM at LAFGC?
A: The EM at LAFGC is called Crossroads Church, or CRC, and we are about 70 to 80 people. Most of us are Korean Americans and about 5 percent of us are non-Koreans, including Chinese, Filipinos"”most of us are Asian. We are semi-independent, meaning we're financially independent from the KM, but not structurally or organizationally.
Q: What are some unique qualities of Crossroads Church?
A: The focus of our EM is to reach out to the community around our church. One of the biggest things we do with the community is our annual community café night around Christmas time. Our front lawn is really pretty with the lights set up, so we would set up tables and have our café night there. This year, a couple hundred people came out, including the immediate neighbors in the area right around our church, and some people from the KM joined us, too. We had a full orchestra that performed outside, and we catered Ricky's Fish Tacos, and it was just a lot of fun.
Another thing we do is we go and reach out to people in the community and ask them if there is anything that we can pray about for them. There's a lot of homeless people right on the corner of Hollywood and Vermont, and there's a lot of drug addicts around here, too. There's just a lot of brokenness. Some people would also come by and visit our church on their own.
One particular guy"”he was Korean, and he looked like he was a little over four feet tall but he was a fully grown man. He told me he actually grew up in Korea as an orphan, and while he was in the orphanage, there was such malnutrition and physical abuse"”probably from the other kids in the orphanage"”that it stunted his growth. He was staying in a shelter at the time, and he stopped by our church to see if there's anything he could eat or any help he could receive. He didn't come out to our church after that, but I'm glad I was able to share about the love of God to him at least for that moment. He's just one example of the people we run into around our church.
Q: Are there any activities that EM and KM do together at LAFGC?
A: There's plenty of activities that we do together, but a few worth mentioning include our annual New Year's Eve worship service. That's a full production because the KM choir performs and we have musicians we invite for an orchestra, and we have a full-on concert for about an hour to an hour and a half. Then after the concert, which we call the cantata, our senior pastor would come and preach, and we do the countdown all together.
The KM also goes to our church's retreat center in Romoland after Sunday worship once every month, so they would invite EM to come and join them and worship together at the retreat center during one of those months.
During our church's Friday night services, we also have a dedication service for each department, so every once in a while, it would be time for the dedication service for EM. So we would prepare a body worship, or a skit, or some kind of a performance to introduce CRC to the rest of the church, but also use that time to dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
Q: Many say that one of the key aspects that affect an EM pastor's experience in ministry is the relationship he has with the senior pastor. What's your take on that?
A: Personally, our senior pastor, Reverend Yu Chul Chin, has been really good at showing me and all of the staff, and even the congregation that he thinks about us and cares about us, even though we all don't get to meet with him that often. With the staff, he maximizes the time that we have together. For example, when we have our meetings, it's not just about administrative or logistical things, but he takes his time with the staff to give us a lot of leadership lessons. And he's a very spiritual and charismatic man - even with minimal contact, the congregation is able to feel his shepherding heart.
So while I do agree that the relationship between the senior pastor and the EM pastor should be a good one, I think it's a little unfair to expect mentorship from the senior pastor, unless it's in the job description. A senior pastor who doesn't know the American culture is not going to mentor you in the way that you want. It's unrealistic to expect that because they, as first generation, don't understand what we are going through as second generation pastors. It's a completely different cultural ministry experience. I think the relationship that's expected should be on an administrative level.
English ministry at a Korean immigrant church is a calling in and of itself. Younger pastors who are considering pastoring in EM really have to sit down and think, "Is this what I want for my pastoral ministry? Do I want to pastor in this specific context?' EM is a specific calling, with specific difficulties, just like being a missionary. Once the EM pastor sees this ministry as a calling, they'll be able to say, "Ok, I am going to persevere through this,' even when it gets difficult.
This is one in a series of interviews with southern California pastors who either serve in English ministry (EM) or have a heart for the intergenerational relationship within the Korean church. As the generation of the Korean church leadership is shifting from the first to the second generation, what are the obstacles that are hindering the English ministry from flourishing? How can EM and KM pastors work together to build up the second-generation church? These are among the many questions that these pastors grapple with, and that Christianity Daily is hoping to wrestle together with through these interviews.
