Reverend John I. Moon, who is currently in his early 50s, immigrated to the U.S. with his parents in the sixth grade and was educated in America, but currently, he is in a peculiar position as the head pastor of a Korean immigrant church. Prior to reaching his current position, he has had various experiences in churches both big and small. He is also well-versed in ministry with both first and second generation Korean Americans. Currently, some 100 people (including English ministry, college students, youth, and children) find their home in Hanwoory Presbyterian Church (19000 Sativoy St., Reseda, CA), where Moon has been serving as the senior pastor for the 13th year.
"There are unexpected turns here and there, but pastoring has been as joyful as ever," Moon said.
The following is an interview with Moon, in which he shares his vision and thoughts regarding the ministry at Hanwoory, and pastoring in general.
Q: First, could you introduce some of your personal faith and ministry experiences?
A: I started attending Long Beach Korean Community Church in 1976, and then spent 10 years at Dong Shin Presbyterian Church, which is where I would call my home church. Then I served as an education department pastor at Hanbit Presbyterian Church and was ordained as a pastor there in 1993. After that, I served at Young Nak Presbyterian Church for 11 years under the leadership of Rev. Hee Min Park, and learned many things about pastoral ministry. I served in youth ministry, college ministry, as the education department head, and in various other ministries, and got to lead both first and second generation members. You can say that this was a pretty unique experience for me as a member of the "1.5 generation.' Then I served at Glendale Korean Presbyterian Church for a little bit, and soon received an invitation from Hanwoory Presbyterian Church. I majored in engineering at UC Irvine and got my M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary, where I also studied for a doctoral degree.
Q: It seems like you were able to meet many people throughout your career.
A: It's true. Over the 40 years that I've been in the immigrant church context, I've been able to meet many brilliant pastors, and I'm always grateful to God for that. I particularly learned what pastoring really is through Rev. Ki Duk Lee of Dong Shin Church who recently passed away, and Rev. Hee Min Park who retired from his pastoral career at YNPC.
Q: What is your vision for pastoral ministry?
A: In regards to the congregants, one of the most important factors to consider is spirituality. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that spirituality is everything. The reason congregants cannot live as Christians is because they do not have a thriving spirituality. But this kind of spirituality can only come from worship, the Word, and prayer. Therefore, pastors must correctly preach the Word of truth every worship service. Pastors must also ensure that corporate prayer, personal prayer, and intercessory prayer are a foundation in the lives of the church members.
Q: What are your thoughts in the gap between the first and second generations in the immigrant church?
A: It's so unfortunate that the first and second generations have a hard time uniting together. A member should be able to go through Sunday School, then youth group, and grow up into the adult services, and fellowship and serve together with everyone else, but the reality is that the first and second generations are unable to have the same worship services and can only serve together in a limited capacity due to language and cultural barriers. To overcome those barriers, unity between the two generations is essential. I grew up helping my parents, who worked all night making donuts to earn one to two dollars. And because of that, I'm able to understand some of their pain. At the same time, I grew up with fellow Korean Americans and with an education here in America, and because of those experiences, I'm able to understand their pain as well. My hope is that the first and second generations in Hanwoory Presbyterian Church could grow powerfully as a body that is bound together and brings about a powerful synergy effect through their unity.
Q: What do you think is an important aspect of the immigrant church?
A: A pastor who I respect once taught me, "Ministering in an immigrant church must be a ministry of healing!" First generation Koreans living as immigrants here are unable to clearly speak up for themselves, whether in the workplace or in society as a whole, and as a result their daily lives are often frustrating and lonely. To them, the community called church is a spiritual, emotional, and mental refuge where they can speak for themselves and share their hearts. In contrast, churches can encounter conflicts for those same reasons. And that's because without an experience of God's grace, what we say always has potential to make things actually difficult for the church. There have been many cases of healthy growth, but also many stories of brokenness and splits in the history of Korean immigrant churches. I've had painful experiences of churches become split into two during a period of growth. This is the reason that the immigrant church must be a community that brings healing, and sermons preached by pastors of immigrant churches must focus much on healing. A member who experiences healing through the Word grows to become a healthy part of the church.
Q: What do you think of the fact that one of the main reasons for a church's existence is missions?
A: The Creator whom we believe and worship is "the God of missions.' The event of incarnation, in which Jesus put on flesh just like his creation and came to this earth, is in and of itself a missional action that shows he loves and considers precious each and every soul. And because of that, the church, which is Christ's body, must become a missional community. When I was younger, I was able to go on short-term mission trips and humanitarian trips to various countries abroad. With those experiences as a foundation, I was able to lead mission teams consisting of members of both the first and second generations into regions like Mongolia, East Asia, Mexico, Colombia, Vietnam, Thailand, El Salvador, and American Indian Reservations to share the gospel. And those whose eyes have been opened through these experiences can no longer live the same way again. It's my sincere desire to see each and every church member either personally go abroad to share the gospel, or support missionaries from the home ground.
Q: Would you say there's one most important thing to consider when pastoring a smaller-sized church? If so, what would that be?
A: There are many benefits to having a smaller church, including the fact that members are able to have more intimate relationships with each other, and also receive more personal guidance and relationship with the lead pastor. But anyone who has been in ministry for a long period experiences ups and downs. I think it's important to not lose sight of the unique advantages of smaller churches when doing ministry. And in order for that to happen, the pastor must put his own health and restoration as a priority. If the pastor doesn't come out from doing ministry in a habitual way and doesn't experience personal restoration, the members of the church will never change. And in the Valley region "” where many say is a difficult region to minister in "” it's even more true.
This article has been translated by Rachael Lee. For the original in Korean, visit kr.christianitydaily.com.
