Short Term Mission Best for Second Generation Faith Growth

By   Joy Yoon
ChristianityDaily Reporter

▲Missionary Jun Yung Kil together with son Arnold

“There are many distinguished second generations in main stream running. In order to raise more qualified second generation there must be more missionaries coming to America from Korea.”

Missionary Yung Kil Jun has a unique personal history who has been commissioned as a missionary in 2005 who has lived in the U.S. for about 30 years. He has no experience of doing mission activity in the back land and is a missionary in America which has many Christian believers. He is catching Korean American second generations through ‘short term mission.’

It is not a mere accident that missionary Yung Kil Jun came to use short term mission as a tool for mission. It is from the result of experience directly raising children. Truthfully he also was troubled with raising his children just like any other parent. There was no problem in communication. But there was conflict between the Korean traditional sentiment and American sentiment.

“Coming to U.S. during my college years I learned a lot about America while home staying at a Jewish family. I thought that I understood the culture and sentiment however in reality of raising children I was teaching them in Korean-style. Forcing them to ‘do it’ without any explanation didn’t work.”

Raising children with stubbornness made the children become more perverse. Even vowing ‘not to use this method’ didn’t change anything easily. It was the same for knowledge and faith training. Even saying read the bible, you should pray, write a spiritual journal didn’t work. However speaking together while reading the bible, and showing the image of praying while kneeling down began to change the children.

“In the beginning since the children didn’t listen to what we asked them to do we even spanked and scolded them. Then one day my son said ‘why is dad always angry.’ Those made me return to life. That is when I first began to change. Even though the children don’t say anything they know how their parents are doing. Even though they might practice it immediately when they see the parent praying and reading the bible it becomes the seed.”

Even when his oldest son entered university missionary Jun weekly ran 140 miles running between his son school and home. It was due to consideration that the spiritual relationship between parent and children will not be cut off, for children to have continuous fellowship with believers, and to grow mature in faith. And educated from an young age to personally go on a short term mission.

“We began for the children faith to mature. We set a rule for the short term mission to be self reliant. As we hold yard sale, and car wash to raise the funds for mission we became even closer. Through whatever means we allowed them to take the mission trip every year.”

There are several reasons for him to count short term mission as a good education tool. First point is the fact that their faith will receive a strong spiritual challenge. Children who are raised in affluent lifestyle of America rarely feel any lack. In general the short term mission goes to place that are relatively poorer than America. However as they see the image of people who rely more on God and pray passionately at those places they receive a spiritual challenge. It is in addition that after short term mission their lifestyles become simple and closer with the people they went together. Also seeing the Korean missionaries at the places that they go they take pride in being Korean.

“Wherever they go they look for a native Korean missionary. They take pride looking at the Korean missionaries that preach the gospel in back land and spiritually leading the natives. Therefore during the short term mission trip their Korean identity is also naturally nurtured.”

Missionary Jun now every year takes Korean American second generations with him to short term mission. And pass through Korea to stay there for a few days.

He says for the Korean American second generation there must be more missionaries that are from Korea. Because it must be Korean’s who teach the second generations about Korea and function as their spiritual root.

“We must not only do mission in 10/40 window, back land but also to the second generations. The young missionary, English speaking first generation must teach and grasp the root and spiritual foundation to second generations.”