About 600 individuals committed to missions at the annual "GKYM Conference' which took place this year at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center from December 27 to 30. GKYM Conferences have taken place in different cities each year, and the conference last took place in Rochester three years ago in 2013.
Some 2,000 young adults and youth attended the conference, and during the third night (December 29) of the conference, these young people prayed together and signed commitment cards detailing how they will commit themselves to mission work. About 600 committed themselves to short or long-term missions.
Conference speakers included Michael Oh, the executive director of the Lausanne Movement; Jim-Bob Park, the senior pastor of Oriental Mission Church; Min Chung, the senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church; Sung No, the senior pastor of Toronto Milal Church; Jason Noh, the senior pastor of Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto; and Hae Taik Kim, the co-founder of GKYM International and senior pastor of Choongsyn Reformed Church in New York; among others.
"Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples to share the gospel to the ends of the earth," said Hae Taik Kim during the last night of the conference. "If we believe in Jesus, before we "become' missionaries, we already are missionaries."
As around 2,000 to 3,000 young people gather for GKYM Conference each year, some years see as many as 1,000 committing themselves to mission work. The conference has also seen more involvement from second generation Korean Americans over the years in leading the organization of the event. The staff and speakers during this year's conference saw more 1.5 or second generation leaders than previous years, and most of the conference sessions were in English.
This article has been translated. For the original in Korean, visit kr.christianitydaily.com.
