On Nov. 9th, New Life Mission Church was blessed with the ordination of five new deacons: Mr. Kyung Hyun Yu, Mr. Richard Lee, Mr. Steven Yu, Mr. Gony Kim, and Mr. Chinho Yi. These faithful men have been elected by the Body of Christ, but more than that, called by our God to love and serve the Church which Christ purchased with his own blood. Pastor Joshua Park (NLMC - Northern California) and Pastor Samuel Park (NLMC - Fullerton) came to bless, charge, and exhort the men as well as our congregation. Through this event, we were reminded of God's faithfulness to our church, blessed by the testimonies and willingness of these godly men, and challenged to serve our God more faithfully. We truly thank God for the gift we have in these five new deacons.
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TESTIMONIES
KYUNG HYUN YU
There are many things I don’t do well. Among these, speaking in public or large crowds is one of them. I thank God and feel grateful to the congregation members for electing such an unworthy person as I am. In the Bible, when the early church elected Deacons they selected candidates with wisdom and filled with Spirit. In my honest opinion, I fall short of the standards. I’ve learned a lot from leadership training here at NLMC and spiritually grew in my faith and belief. For this, I thank the Church and Pastor Sam. Furthermore, I am truly thankful for entrusting me with the deacon position. As in the Talent parables in Matthew 25, I desire not to be the servant who received 1 talent but will strive to be the like servants who received 2 and 5 talents. I will keep in mind that everything is possible through the faith in Christ. Please pray for me so that I can be a sacrificial servant for this body of Christ. I thank God and glory to the Lord.
RICHARD LEE
It is an honor and a privilege to be elected as a deacon for this body of Christ. How wonderful and exciting it is to be able to serve. Our gracious heavenly Father not only saved us from eternal damnation but also gave us the opportunity to glorify Him and be sanctified in doing so. For this, I am truly thankful. When I was first saved, the feelings that I had were indescribable. After accepting the Christ through Pastor Sam, as I was driving back home, I had to pull over next to a park and sort my thoughts and let the feelings soak in. The first person I called was Simon. I remember telling him in detail what has just happened. It was one of the most memorable days in my life. The first couple of years since then were as exciting. I was hungry for the knowledge and wanted to learn as much as I could. I am grateful for all the various LT classes, Sunday morning ELTS, Friday Cell meetings, and all the people who were there for me when I had questions – even the stupid questions. What a wonderful family of Christ we have. Then came the dry season where I seemed to force the issues and try to do things on my own instead of completely relying on God for everything and anything. My actions were speaking louder than my faith. Sometimes I wondered whether I was truly saved. How can a saved person with Holy Spirit inside still can act and think of such things? The old Richard was very much alive within me – I was struggling. Throughout this period, our gracious Father never left my side. He was constantly reminding me of His love and what He has done for me – the Cross. How easy it is to forget the Gospel. The very identity of our Christianity lost in the middle of our hectic daily life including so called church work. Nothing can be more important than the constant reminder of the Gospel in our lives. When the Gospel permeates from everything we do and say, our spiritual walk with God including worship, prayer, Bible study and all the “church” work can truly be meaningful and can glorify God. Otherwise, it is just a human effort. By no means, I am perfect. I still struggle everyday and still sin every day. The difference is; I know what is important. The sovereign Lord our God, the creator of universe, is with me and I with Him. I desire to be closer to Him and be sanctified by Him. I hereby commit myself to serve this Body of Christ and pray that He would use me in whatever means as a vessel to further His Glory and Kingdom. Amen.
STEVEN YU
These are trying times. I can't tell you how many of my patients have come into my practice who have been laid off or afraid they will be from work. Then there is liberalism not just knocking, but making in-roads with the blessings from our appointed government leaders and judges. These are truly trying times. During times like these, I take comfort in God's sovereignty knowing God is in control. I come to a greater appreciation for the church and what it stands for. Only through God's word can we truly know right from wrong. For this the church must stand steadfast. Especially during times like these, I realized that none of us can afford to just take a backseat. I came to the realization that all of us must take an active role in strengthening God's church. I would like to thank my parents for raising me to be the person you see today. My wife and kids for supporting me through all the tough times. Pastor Sam, thank you for helping me grow spiritually by taking me under your wings through discipleship. Thank you deacons and elders for faithfully serving all these years. I am honored to be called to take on a greater responsibility at New Life Mission Church. I have faith that God will use me in some way to build our church. Lastly, I thank all of you, my fellow brother and sisters, for being there for my family; in encouraging us, being there for us when Denise broke her leg as well as being a blessing to our business. In this new capacity I hope I can be a blessing to you. Thank You.
GONY KIM
It's hard to believe that 12 years have passed since I came down from college and I became a member if this church. I have spent a third of my life with you, and though it's been difficult at times, it's honestly been an honor and a privilege. As I stand before you for the office of deacon I ask for your patience and prayers as my faults and shortcomings are many. I humbly offer myself to you, His church, His body, in renewed service; in the confidence that our Lord loves His church, and that He will be strong through my weaknesses. Thank you.
CHINHO YI
Hi, my name is Chin ho. I have been a Christian for about 8 ½ years. I came to New Life on Super Bowl Sunday about 9 years ago. One evening, I had dinner with elder John and deacon Joon. And afterwards, they shared the gospel message with me. It was very casual, I had no idea that they were sharing the gospel through EE. I thought we were just discussing religion. I had many questions at the time, I had viewed Christianity negatively my whole, but the fact was that I had never really spoken to a Christian about their faith. I remember them asking me if what they shared made sense and if I wanted to receive Christ’s forgiveness and lordship. Prior to that night, I had never heard the gospel, even though I had visited churches a few times growing up. I think what stuck the most with me was that “all have sinned.” I had always thought of Christians as a group that thought they were morally good people, better than others. After hearing that because they are sinners, that’s why they needed Christ, it made me see Christianity in a new perspective. I remember at the time, I couldn’t think of a reason to say “No”, there was no part of me that could turn down the offer. So I accepted and prayed to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior. I remember leaving and feeling a little awkward, and thinking “OK, what now?.” Fast-forward nine years to today. I stand before you today, because of God’s faithfulness in my life. He has poured His grace upon me day after day. When they say that you are born again, I really experienced being born again. I relearned words that I had used my whole life. Like “LOVE”, I new the worlds love, but now I can say I know Christ’s unconditional boundless love. Holiness, Grace, Forgiveness, Hope and Peace were all very foreign to me, they were words that I didn’t use often. Not only did I learn about Christ, but I also discovered the depths of my depravity, my sinful nature. It was hard to accept at times and its not something you really want to deal with. Without God’s grace and without the God’s word as my foundation. I know that going through this sanctification process, I would have easily gone astray. Also, in the past nine years, the Lord has blessed me with great men of faith to be examples to me, to encourage me and to keep pointing me to Christ. Many of those men are deacons in this church. Through their lives I have witnessed their love and obedience to Christ through their service to others, especially to me. I too have been blessed by Christ, and that’s why I am making a commitment to you all today to serve Christ in the position of deacon. Please pray for me and my family. I pray that as I serve that it will not be in my own strength, and not in my own love, but that I will be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that all my actions would glorify God in a way that would cause others to desire to know Him. Thank you.