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Korea UBF held it's sixth national laymen seminar at Dr. Samuel Lee Hall in Seoul Korea on March 1, 2012. We thank God that the hall was completely filled with 270 attendees from Korea nationwide.  All were greatly encouraged by the seminar.

Sh. David Kim (Korea UBF director) gave a message entitled "Jesus who appointed twelve" based on Mark 3:13-16. Jesus our Lord devoted himself  for three and half years to raising spiritual leaders for the generation which was a perverse, hopeless, and darkened.  It seemed to be too small of a number for the world but they were appointed to be apostles by Jesus and later became the main actors of God's world redemptive work changing human history.  

Likewise, in God's salvation work a spiritual leader's effect is greater than a great number of people.  When we serve campus ministry devoting ourselves to raise disciples it is easy to get discouraged because the fruit is too small compared to our efforts.   But through the message we learned that we must fix our eyes on Jesus who devoted himself to raise disciples during his lifetime and who has a great vision for worldwide salvation. All the attendees were greatly encouraged by the message and made a clear decision to raise a small number of disciples among campus students sent by God with great vision, hope, and perseverance. 

After the message Sh. Abraham Choi (Kyoungheemoon UBF) shared his testimony entitled "The faith that overcomes the world".  When he got a job after graduation he could have had a high paying salary job from a famous accounting firm in Korea but in order to serve campus ministry he chose a government job which was a third of the salary.  When he put Jesus' love into practice in his workplace in the course of time God exalted him to a high office as director of accounting . He testified that the source of victory was doing daily bread without missing 365 days a year.  He was full of the Spirit of God being faithful to God and to his work with many prayers. God was with him as God was with Joseph in Genesis. In 2011 he was about to be laid off from his work due to a corruption case among the workers but God protected him from all harm and he was the only survivor among his fellow directors--all of his colleagues were  laid off or relegated from their job. It greatly encouraged all the attendees to have the same desire to live a pure and holy life for the glory of God. 

At the end Dr. Youngkyu Park (U of Chongsin) gave a special lecture entitled: "The evaluation of the growth and decline of the Korean church in Korean church history”.

We could learn about the core of growth of the Korean early church during the time of colonialism under Japan and after World War II. God prepared such an environment of amazing spiritual revivalism for the Korean people. We could learn about God's amazing love, hope, and providence for Korean people that God humbled the Korean people and gave them hunger for the gospel through the domination of Japan and World War II.  All the missionaries who came to Korea were elites and well prepared servants of God spiritually and physically.  Most of all they were those who experienced spiritual revival. That's why they could trigger the movement of great revival in Pyoungyang which spurred the Korean church growth.  Once, the Korean church stopped growing when preaching the gospelwas neglected and they rather focused on the social movements. Finally Dr. Park gave a clear direction to the Korean church who lost it's effects and stopped growing. 

Though it was quite short, about a four hour program, it was a deep and meaningful seminar.  All the laymen concentrated on the messages from beginning to the end and were strengthened with the full of grace of God and a challenging spirit.  We thank God for blessing this seminar full of grace; it was the best laymen seminar we ever had.

In Christ, Seungwoon Lee