“The Picture of God’s Will, the Berean Movement, and Seoul Sungrak Church cannot be divided. We cannot hide their relationship. Also, it is not right to pretend we learned this on our own. Our faith was handed down, it does not come from us. We are already so blessed because of the Berea Movement. Now, we know we must suffer hardships for it. We will work hard as Seoul Sungrak Church’s mouth, hands and arms.” This is part of a letter from Pastor Chang of BokRak Berean Church in China.

In Seoul Sungrak Church’s Berea Mission 2.0, the central idea is Translation Mission. It consists of four stages: Sowing, Threshing, Promoting Growth, and Bearing Fruit. Those who continuously receive the Word in Berea in the first two stages quickly become leaders. Some of them will start nurturing others. As more souls gather around them, they end up becoming pastors. In the third stage, known as ‘Promoting Growth’, the goal is not just for them to learn God’s Word in more depth, but to teach them to be responsible for what they received. They will become those called to the Berea Movement.

To be specific, those who receive the Word in Berea at the ‘Promoting Growth’ stage will not hide the name of Berea. Rather, just as they learned, they will set up churches wherever they go. By supporting Berea Academy in other countries, more faithful workers will be trained. This is necessary because the Word in Berea should not only change more people, but this Word itself must not be distorted. To achieve this, we focus on three things more than anything.

First, we systematically educate souls with the Word, so they become believers with spiritual power. The saints of Seoul Sungrak Chuch know God through the Berea books, Berea Academy and other sermons. But they are also taught and trained to serve the church. Believers in other countries ought to have these same materials to grow and become mature. To achieve this, we place top priority on continuous translation and steady supply of Word-related content, than doing other missionary activities.

Secondly, for those who are growing in their churches, and for those becoming pastors for ministry, we provide proper counseling with necessary knowledge and wisdom. It is difficult to properly help people with tedious knowledge and theory. To handle this ministry, not only do we need God’s Word, but we need understanding of ministerial principles and local affairs. Furthermore, we must serve with complete devotion, with a sincere and unchanging heart, and with long suffering. This is not easy, but when it is done well, we can get the trust of the local people and be regarded as established leaders.

Thirdly, we remind people of the value of the Berea Movement and continuously teach them how precious it is to give your life for it. This is how we train them into respectable people who embrace God’s calling. We help people discover the place Seoul Sungrak Church has in the Berea Movement’s history. For those who wish to heed the Berea Movement’s calling, we help establish them as fellow workers with Seoul Sungrak Church. Some people who do not change one bit, no matter how hard you try. But we want to make sure there is no one who did not change because he did not learn. We want to make sure they faithfully embrace this calling.

Pastor Ki-Taek Lee
The Director of Sungrak Mission Center