BETHANY PRESBY TERIAN CHURCH

Happiness in the New Year

Go and make disciples of all nations /

India’s Billions /

THANK YOU! /

What I’d like to learn and internalize in 2011 is... /

LIM’s Collection

Happiness in the New Year

Every year when the minute hand

strikes the midnight, everyone

around the world shouts “Happy

New Year!” to welcome the New

Year. Are we really happy? Are you

happy now? Are you in the middle

of pursuit of happiness? Sometimes

happiness seems to be far off dream

that is always out of our reach. As

believers we are reminded that

our source of genuine happiness

is found in God. “You will fill me

with joy in your presence, with eter-

nal pleasures at your right hand.”

(Psalm 16:11) God made us in His

own image so that we can enjoy the

fullness of life when we are filled

with God. Someone expressed the

true happiness of Christian in that

while we’re busy chasing after a

mechanical rabbit that is always in

front of us, God is chasing after us.

And the true happiness comes not

when we can catch that rabbit but

rather when God grab us and makes

us His own.

Why is there so much sadness and pain

in the world today? On the surface,

there seems to be no reason for unhap-

piness: we have more conveniences and

wealth than at any other time in his-

tory. Just a few generations ago, most

Americans lived in small houses most

homes had at most one car and just a few

were able to send their children to col-

lege, but they were generally happy be-

cause they were looking towards a better

future. Now, for many families that bet-

ter future has arrived, we live in a larg-

er homes, with more and bigger auto-

mobiles, we are saving up for our kids

college. Because we have so much al-

ready, there is not much we hope for.

There is not much we expect for the New

Year.

For the believer, though, our hope for the future doesn’t fade. Because our hope ultimately doesn’t

mean dreaming of more cars in the ga-

rage. It means moving toward the wonderful future that God has planned for us–a future of being with our God, walking and talking with Him forever is waiting for us. As 2011 dawns, we

rejoice in God’s promise: For I know the plans I have for you… They are plans for good and not for di-saster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

When we take our eyes off of the promise

of our God, we tend to measure ourselves

with others around us and it will inevita-

bly take us to dissatisfaction, discontent

and ultimately despair. The grass always

seem greener on the other side.

Bible tells us a lot about content-ment– about being appreciative of the things we have. Someone

once said, “The key to life isn’t having

what you want, it’s wanting what you

have.” We can be content in

this world, when we are closer

to God and when we desire

nothing but God we can testify

as the psalm writer stated in

Psalm 73:25 “ Whom have I in

heaven but You? And there is

none upon earth that I desire

besides You.”

Looking back to year 2010 and 2009,

it has been tough. It seem like we have

lost opportunity after opportunity. Our

future seems to be very questionable at

best and no one can say with certainty

where we are headed. Christians can

take wondrous comfort in the Word of

God: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. This verse

comforts us because if we love God and

we are following His purpose in our lives

we know that we don’t have to be captive

of uncertain future.

“Happy New Year” does not consist in

more possession, more prosperity, more

. These things can bring discontents

of their own. When we draw closer to

God, who came to us first by allowing

His Son “the Word” to become human

being and dwell among us ( John 1:14),

the love of God through His Son Jesus

will give our lives purpose and we will be

able to experience true happiness.

My wife and I are grateful for the op-

portunity to serve God and to minister

to His people through BPC EM. We are

appreciative for the prayers and support

of our brothers and sisters. May we ex-

perience true happiness in the year 2011.

God bless you and happy new year every-

one!

Dear Friends,

As 2010 draws to an end and the

dawn of a new year is almost upon

us, I can’t help but reflect on God’s

faithfulness, both to my family and

to the extended BPC family which

I have come to know and cherish

the past decade. It was 10 years ago

that my wife and I said good-bye to

our friends and family in New York/

New Jersey to start a new life here in

Maryland. I can recall the day when

Sr. Pastor Kim called to introduce

himself and ask that we meet at Woo

Mi Garden for lunch. I didn’t know

who he was at the time and wondered

what I was getting myself into. De-

spite telling myself that I would re-

main non-committal for the initial

face-to-face meeting, I came to real-

ize firsthand how convincing he and

Samonim could be. Three weeks

later I stepped through the doors of

Bethany and it’s been a fantastic ride

ever since.

In the fall of 2001 our church had

roughly 250 souls at best, adults and

children combined. Our combined youth

group numbered 35 and I soon found

myself ministering to both them and the

college/single young adults. Now that I

look back it’s amazing how God could

expect me to reach such a diverse group

of young people, ranging in age from 12

all the way to their late 20s. Those that

were 6th graders back then are now in

their third year of college (WHOA!). In

contrast look at us today. Three separate

buildings, over 1500 members, and the

combined youth ministry at four times

the size. I’ve witnessed a number of

students come and go, and I’m simply

amazed at how the good Lord continues

to work in the lives of those who are now

young professionals and emerging as the

next generation of leaders, both in our

society and within the church. God is

good!

This past spring I went through a period

of deep personal reflection, and for the

first time really came to struggle with

the decision to continue serving or being

led to devote my time to other areas of

my life. Like most folks, I kept waiting

for a sign from above, asking the Lord

to show me what to do and which direc-

tion to go. I wanted to remain obedient

to God’s calling. For the better part of

my life it seemed I was merely following

the colors of a traffic signal, waiting at

some intersecting point in my life for the

red to turn green. It was as if I was asking

permission to move forward. I spent the

month of February taking a short sabbati-

cal, during which time I had a chance to

visit some other churches in MD, VA and

NJ and focus my gaze elsewhere. It was

during this time that I was challenged by

a guy named Erwin McManus, lead pastor

at Mosaic, a culturally diverse congregation

in Los Angeles. His basic premise was that

“much of our religious language has been

focused on the “don’ts” rather than the

“do’s”. In the same way we act as if the pri-

mary word from God is “stop” when it actu-

ally is “go.” Opportunities are lost because

many times we think we are waiting on

God, when in reality He is waiting on us.”

This really struck a nerve in me and got

me thinking about my approach to life, and

he was right. What if I simply trusted God

enough to a move forward with my plans,

dreams and goals to know that He would

make sure I wouldn’t step into something

which He didn’t intend for me to step into?

After all, when God says “NO”, this is not

what I had in mind for you, the message is

loud and clear and there is no denying it.

It was then that I decided to adopt a new

philosophy, to ADVANCE - Go Unless You

Get a No! I was determined to implement

this strategy into every aspect of my life,

personally, professionally, at home, at work,

at church, you name it.

As everyone knows by now, I transitioned

from the Sr. High Ministry over to the

Middle School Ministry this past March.

I am supported by a great network of vol-

unteer leaders and parents that make up

the backbone of IMPACT Ministry. To-

gether we’re working to create an envi-

ronment where our middle schoolers can

encounter God and enjoy their experi-

ence with Him. I owe a debt of gratitude

to Elder Shin, who has since left us, for

helping to lay the foundation and mak-

ing a lot of what we do possible. I thank

Deacon Eric Lee for being such a strong

advocate on our behalf and making sure

our voice is heard, Brian Kim for ensur-

ing we’re well fed, Hee Jung Seung for

ensuring we’re organized, and so many

others that play a vital role in ensuring

the success of our growing ministry. To

each of you I offer my sincere thanks and

appreciation. You are the oil that drives

the engine. Looking ahead to 2011, my

wife and I pledge to love and guide the

precious souls entrusted to us closer to

God. We’ll make every effort to take full

advantage of the resources at our dispos-

al and we’re excited to see what the Lord

will reveal, both through the Word, as

well as new and challenging opportuni-

ties to live out our faith.

Wishing everyone peace on earth and a

warm, safe and joyous holiday season -

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Beloved,

It is through the zeal of our LORD

and strictly by His grace that I am

able to sit here and write this letter

unto you all. I hope this article is

read by you with much thanksgiving,

whether times are good or bad, busi-

ness is picking up or slowing down,

and whether health is strong or weak,

because our God is good and His love

endures forever.

Before I share my thoughts for 2011,

please read this familiar portion of

Scripture and pay close attention to

the italicized and underlined words

of Christ:

Matthew 28: 18-20 (The Great Com-

mission): Then Jesus came to them

and said, “All authority in heaven

and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of

all nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit, and teach-

ing them to obey everything I have

commanded you. And surely I am

with you always, to the very end of

the age.”

Go and make disciples of all nations

I am not an advocate of making resolutions (prob-

ably because I’ve kept not a one), but one thing I

desire to do this New Year is continue to make

disciples for the LORD in the College members of

our English Ministry. Praise the Holy Spirit that

our church members and clergymen are convert-

ing the unchurched and spiritually dead to Jesus,

but sadly, all too often we make converts but we do

not obey and fulfill the LORD’S commandment

and will to train and equip the new-born Chris-

tians to live out the Gospel, bathe in the Word,

witness unto the lost and mentor other broth-

ers and sisters in the Church. Consequently, the

aforementioned converts eventually grow unin-

terested in the kingdom of God, the advancement

of it and their fellow brothers and sisters. Fur-

thermore, they live just like the world, concerned

with earthly matters by competing for power and

status, while people in their own church hunger

and live in quiet desperation for a spiritual friend

and every day, a stadium-sized number of people

enter into an eternity without Christ. In order to

prevent this type of church-culture I desire to call

the college students into a more serious and dis-

ciplined walk with God through prayer, heartfelt

study of God’s Word, all done through a genuine

spiritual community.

Thankfully, this discipleship process has already

begun and God has risen up and is cultivating a

legion of leaders at Bethany—ones who are will-

ing to deny themselves, pick up the Cross, and

FOLLOW Jesus. Please keep us in prayer. We will

need it.

Respectfully yours,

Byung Ham

ESSAY RELAY

In the next 50 years, India will have

more people than any other country

in the world, even surpassing China.

There are more than one billion people

living in that country and yet less than

2% of the population is Christian. Most

of the people are either Hindu or Mus-

lim. But in spite of the billions who are

lost in India, that country also has the

fewest number of missionaries. That is

why it is my dream to spend the rest of

my life telling people about Jesus in In-

dia. I believe that this is why God has

put me on this earth. This is why I exist.

I did not always have a passion for In-

dia. When I started seminary in Ken-

tucky I only knew that God was calling

me to missions, but I had no idea where

he wanted me to go. I just knew that

I wanted to go where there was most

need, where people had the smallest

chance of hearing the gospel. It was not

until my first semester of seminary that

I started to find clarity about where God

wanted me to go. I ordered a map that

showed the current progress of Christi-

anity around the world. The whole map

was covered in colored dots. Green dots

INDIA'S BILLIONS

were areas that had at least 10% of the pop-

ulation being followers of Jesus. The U.S.,

parts of South America, Africa, China, and

South Korea had many green dots. Yellow

dots showed places that were between 2%

and 10% Christian. These places included

parts of Europe, Africa, and central Asia.

Lastly, red dots showed areas that were

less than 2% Christian. The red dots were

concentrated in parts of the Middle East

and Asia. I hung this map up in my dorm

room wall and every night I would look

at it and ask God where He wanted me to

give my life. (This map can be ordered for

free at www.IMB.org.)

Every night the one area of the map that

stood out was India. Everywhere else on

the map the red dots were scattered, but in

India, the whole country was covered with

red dots. It was like Satan had painted

it himself. I remember thinking “HOW

COULD ONE PLACE HAVE SO MUCH

LOSTNESS?” Not only are there many

non-Christians there but they also have

41% of the poorest people in the world. I

remember saying to God, “God I am not

sure if this is your will, but because there

is such a great need there I am going to

start running as hard as I can towards

India, and if it is not your will then stop

me.” I then started to ask around to learn

more about doing Indian ministry now

while still studying in Kentucky. One of

my friends told me that there was a semi-

nary student who was also a missionary

to Indians living in Kentucky. Her name

is Heather Reynolds. I wanted to get in-

volved with Indians in the city but did

not know how to get started. She recom-

mended that I just start by going to a lo-

cal Indian restaurant and making friends

with the waiters. The next Sunday I went

to a restaurant called Dakshin with some

of my friends. We talked and joked with

the waiters and had a good time. But then

I went back next week, and the week after

that, and the week after that. I went for

four straight weeks to the same restaurant.

By then all the waiters knew my name and

remembered me! At that point, I asked

one of the waiters named VJ if he wanted

to get together on his day off. He was ex-

cited to meet outside of the restaurant so I

visited his apartment later that week. The

very first time that I visited his apartment

he asked me what I was studying. I told

him that I was studying to be a mission-

ary. He said “Missionary? What’s that?”

I told him that a missionary is a person

who goes to different cultures to tell them

about Jesus. Then he got excited and said

“Tell me about Jesus! I want to know

about Jesus!” I found out that five years

ago when he was in India, he met a catho-

lic priest and since then has had a desire

to learn more about Christianity but did

not know any Christians he could ask. VJ

told me that when I came that night it was

like God had finally answered his prayers

by sending me to him that night after five

long years.

I continued to meet with VJ. I did not

know exactly what to say so I just started

telling him stories from the Bible starting

with Genesis. He ate up all the stories and

wanted to know more. I wanted to meet

with him more but his only day off was

on Monday. But then I was inspired by

the example of Jesus in John 1:14 “And the

Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Jesus did not preach to the Jews from far

away. He did not just send them money.

He came to the earth and lived with the

Jews, ate with them, spoke their language,

he became one of the Jews. I wanted to do

that too. I wanted to move closer into VJ’s

world. So I asked if I could move into his

apartment with him. His apartment was

paid for by the owner of the restaurant so

he had to ask his boss first. Once his boss

said yes, I moved out of the comfortable

seminary dorm to a one bedroom apart-

ment with no furniture, where everyone

sleeps on the floor. In that apartment there

lived two Indian waiters, two Mexican dish-

washers and now one Korean seminary

student.

VJ still has not become a Christian yet, he

keeps telling me that he wants to set up his

business first and then seek after Jesus. I

told him that is not how it works. To be a follower of Jesus you must put every-thing else second. His story reminds me of the seed that fell among the thorns. The seed grew but then the worries of the world also grew and

choked out the seed. I am continuing to pray for him.

After a while VJ told me that I had to move

out because the boss was moving all the

workers to live next to the restaurant. But

during my last week there, a new worker

moved into our apartment, his name was

Gary. I still remember the first day that I

met him he asked me what I was studying.

I told him I was studying the Bible. He then

said to me “So what is the Bible all about,

I want to know about the Bible.” I was not

expecting this and as best as I could I told

him some of the main Bible stories. Again,

like VJ, Gary was also interested in Chris-

tianity from the time he was in India. His

whole family was Hindu but he said Hin-

duism never made sense to him. He told

me that the Hindu gods were always doing

wrong things. One god named Shiva, cut

off the head of his own son and then re-

placed it with an elephant head. Gary said

to me “Am I supposed to live like Shiva and

cut off my son’s head?” But he said with Je-

sus he saw a God that he could follow, a God

that he wanted to live like. I invited Gary

to an Indian Bible study that Heather Reyn-

olds started and for the first time he started

to learn the stories of the Bible. Then af-

ter some time Gary said to me “Hey Dan, I

have a friend who is more interested in reli-

gious things then I am, do you want to meet

him?” I was so excited and told him “Yeah

of course I want to meet him!”

The name of Gary’s friend was Sunny. Sunny

worked at a different restaurant and he was

also from a Hindu family in India. We went

over there to meet him one night and talked

for more than two hours about Christianity.

Sunny believed in Hinduism. He told me his

mom was very religious and sometimes the

goddess named Durga would come inside her.

Sunny had so many questions about Christi-

anity. As we talked he would write down my

answers on a napkin and then write down

other questions

he wanted to ask.

I invited him to

the Indian Bible

study also. Over

the next few

months, Gary

and Sunny kept

coming to the In-

dian Bible study.

We cooked Indi-

an food for them, we sang Christian songs in

their language (Hindi), and then we heard Bi-

ble stories on a CD that was also in their lan-

guage. After a few months, they both want-

ed to be baptized. So both of them and another girl who was Buddhist named Swati who was friends with Heather, all were baptized this past February. None of them have had any experi-ence with Christianity before, they did not even know what the numbers in the corner of the Bible meant! But now they are our brothers and sister in

Christ. It has been a huge honor to teach them what it means to follow Christ.

All this has happened during the past two

years. These past two years have been com-

pletely life-changing for me. When I first

started going to that Indian restaurant I

knew nothing about Indian people or how to

evangelize them. But now I want to spend

the rest of my life there. When I first started

I did not know where God was calling me,

but during these past two years God has

made it so clear to me that India is where

He wants me. When I started two years ago

I was trying to grab unto India, but now I

have found that India has taken control of

me! It is my ambition to share the good

news of what Jesus has done for the world.

Though my light is small, I pray that God

will use it to His glory in that far away land

where billions are sitting in the darkness.

In December, I will be going to India to

visit the families of my Indian friends that

I have made in Kentucky. I will be visiting

the families of Gary, Sunny and Swati. Gary

and Sunny’s families are Hindu and Swati’s

family is Buddhist. All of them desperately

want their families to also become Chris-

tian. Please pray for me as I go meet their

families that I can have courage to share the

gospel and to speak in a way that they can

understand. Thank you.

This year seems to have gone by quicker than I imagined in

the beginning. Though 2010 has been filled with unthink-

able, sad stories around the world, I know that God has been

still watching over us and that He has plans for everyone.

Through His goodness and blessings, I will always cher-

ish the memories I’ve made in events such as Good Works

Day, Holy Day, and etc. there are a few of the activities we

have done. Thank you to everyone who have supported Tim-

mothy Ministry. This ministry has tremendously grown

over the past few years and we couldn’t have done it without

all your support and prayers. I’m very lucky to be a part of

this ministry and I look forward to continously serving Him

and this ministry for the years to come. Please continue to

pray for us!

THANK YOU!

I recall a story reported in the Washing-

ton post last December. The details now

escape me but the general outline is as

follows. Some twenty years ago two young

high school students, a boy and a girl, were

walking together to school one morning

when they heard an eerily familiar sound

coming from the side of the street. On

investigating they discovered an infant

wrapped in warm clothing, abandoned,

next to a trash bin. I imagine cell phones

were not available at that time so they

picked up the child and ran for help. Their

good deed done the young couple went on

with their lives marrying different people

and raising children of their own.

The man and his family moved to a dif-

ferent state, but as he recalls, they called

each other every year on the anniversary

of their discovery. They never knew what

became of the baby girl. At each conver-

sation the woman recalls she cried. And

then last year she received a surprise call

from a young woman, now a college stu-

dent, thanking her and the man for giv-

ing her a second chance in life many years

before.

What I’d like to learn and internalize in 2011 is...

I was reminded of this recently

while reflecting on life. December,

I felt, had been unkind to me. The

causes were mostly mundane: fam-

ily, friends, work, money. Most of you

know what I’m talking about. The

usual culprits. But there was also that

unnamed emptiness lurking within,

the source of which cannot be pin-

pointed, that unknown dull pain that

Soren Kierkegaard, the Christian

philosopher, called ‘subjective pain.

‘Subjective’ because it announces

itself but doesn’t identify itself. It is

there but we can’t analyze it away be-

cause we are not sure where or even

what it is.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m normally an

upbeat, optimistic, happy person. But

December seemed to bring with it a

challenging number of road-blocks.

That when I reminded myself of the

abandoned little girl and the miracle

of her life. Don’t all of us have a re-

markable story to tell. Maybe not as

dramatic as others but look within.

Find a friend you can confide in and your mundane boring exis-tence will gush forth in a series of compelling events enough to fill a best seller. Isn’t this what we are about? Good times and bad times but blending in this miraculous mix we call living.

The pastor preached a sermon a couple

of months ago in which a problem was

analyzed as having three stages: before,

during and after. I’m in the ‘during’

stage but ‘after’ will be here shortly and

I’ll be a stronger person for it. For one of the miracles of life is that we are given not one, or two chances but an infinite number to learn and grow from.

Way back in the 70’s my first job was as

a gas station attendant at the M street

Exxon, next to that long stairway where

they filmed the horror movie ‘The Ex-

orcist.’ The boss, my first, was a Korean

immigrant I knew as Mr. Kim. Barely

in his thirties he spoke little English

and worked all day in the bays fixing

cars. He was the first Korean I’d met

but over the months a bond developed

between us. I admired his capacity for

work and the strength of his charac-

ter. In turn he started treating me as a

younger brother, trusting me with his

money and the running of the station

when he went home for the day. He reg-

ularly brought me Korean food his wife

had cooked. Her Kalbi was outstand-

ing. When I had to leave the Washing-

ton area for school, he doubled my last

paycheck. Please come back and see me

was the last thing he said. I never did.

And then five or six years ago I read an

obituary in the Washington Post that

chronicled his life. He was obviously

well known in the community for the

post to cover his death. My first emotion

was that there would now be no sec-

ond chance to thank him for treating

me with such kindness when I was

young. But it wasn’t a second chance

that I had missed. On returning to the

washington area after my studies I

had passed the M street Exxon a hun-

dred times. Each time I’d tell myself

that I was in a hurry and would stop

on the next trip to see Mr. Kim. After

he was gone I left a note at the station

for his family. But it wasn’t the same

as saying thank you in person.

As we approach a new year here’s what

I’d like to learn and internalize. That life is decent enough to give us a multitude of chances. That as many times as we fall we can pick ourselves up. That even the best human existence is a series of highs and lows. That in spite of

the nastiness in this world most peo-

ple really strive to be good. That even

though we are never satisfied with

what we have its a lot more than what

most of the world has. That as often as

we mess up we are still beloved chil-

dren in the eyes of God.

When I think about it perhaps life

isn’t so bad after all. Happy and pros-

perous 2011!

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