From Monday afternoon to Thursday this week, the UK Gospel Unification Conference was held at the Emmanuel Centre in downtown London. When Pastor Kiho Song, who has always been a model for evangelism, asked me to speak at the conference, I initially declined as I felt I wasn’t qualified to speak on unification. However, the organizers suggested that a pastor in the UK should speak, and they encouraged me to speak on missionary work, so I accepted.
About 300 believers from Korea and the US paid a significant fee to attend the conference, and about 50 British Christians also attended. I couldn’t attend the entire conference due to work during the week, but I did want to gauge the atmosphere in advance (and my wife wanted to hear Pastor Park Han-soo – known for his straightforward preaching of the Gospel) so I attended Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Pastor Park Han-soo spoke on hell and heaven, salvation, and the Second Coming during these days. It’s notable that many call him an expert on hell, even though he preaches for the salvation of souls. Listening to him led me to seriously reflect on my own style of preaching.
I was scheduled to deliver a sermon from 9:30 to 10:40 AM on Thursday, so I went with my third daughter, Yeo-won, who was supposed to be my interpreter. A member of the British Parliament was giving a testimony. I guided Yeo-won to the interpreter’s seat, and I moved to the front row. As soon as the testimony was over, Pastor Song introduced me to the podium. Since this was a gathering of people who prayed a lot, I spoke with the hope that God would raise up strong intercessors for the missions He had shown me. I shared a brief personal testimony about how I met Jesus and shared my vision for diaspora missions, raising up the diverse immigrants in London, especially the next generation who are familiar with the local language and culture, as mission leaders. I noted how this is happening in cities around the world, and how in Asia, South Korea plays a crucial role. If unification were to occur, we could become a leading missionary nation, and that missions could be completed in our time.
Throughout my sermon, there were resounding “Amens” and applause. The lecture continued for 50 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of prayer. I fervently led the prayer meeting, praying that God would meet everyone who had gathered there. After the lecture, people came to introduce themselves, share the grace they had received, and take commemorative photos. Some Koreans and foreign believers even asked for prayers. Yeo-won was deeply encouraged when a British person thanked her, saying it was the most natural interpretation she had ever done. It was a time of personal gratitude to be able to work with my daughter.
My vision is grand, and I don’t know how it will be realized but I am moving forward, feeling my way, following God’s connections and guidance. Initially, I planned to collaborate with major mission organizations in the UK to accomplish this, but God has told me to value individual souls over grandeur. So, instead of being driven by ambition, I will work obediently, following what He has shown me. This time, I once again felt a fervent desire to see the gospel of Jesus spread to the ends of the earth through me and our church, despite my shortcomings.
