C&MA held a conference for their Theological Education by Extension (TEE) program at Herald Way New Church in Washington.
The Korean District of Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) held a conference for their Theological Education by Extension (TEE) program, which started on September 22 at Herald Way New Church in Washington.
Those who attended the opening service of the conference included 100 Korean pastors in the U.S., and these pastors once again decided to go forward with strength in the pastoral calling that they have received from God.
"Pastoring is not a path we walk down because we want glory for ourselves," said Pastor Hyun-Bae Cho, who led the opening service that night. "It is a path of lessening ourselves, of dying to ourselves." He added that one cannot go down the path of pastoring without tears, suffering, difficulties, and persecution.
"As we pastor, there will be times that are so difficult that we feel like everything ahead of us is so dark," he continued. "But God has an amazing plan for us. It's not a path of glory or success, but it is a path of worship that God has laid out for us. Let us be pastors in C&MA who walk down that path with joy."
The conference will be held until Thursday, September 25, for three nights and four days. During the course of the program, organizers have been planning to discuss and teach how to effectively train disciples and preach to congregations in a time when culture and societal standards are rapidly shifting.
C&MA has been started in obedience to Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19, to make disciples of all nations, and now has ministries in 81 different countries. Within the United States, C&MA has over 2,000 churches with 400,000 members in their congregations. It has 20,000 churches in overseas mission fields at which 4.5 million people gather and worship. C&MA says that it is a denomination that is gospel-centered and focused on the vision of world missions. Currently, in the U.S. alone, there are over 900 missionaries that have been sent through C&MA to overseas mission fields.
Benjamin Simpson, the founder of C&MA, worked together with Dwight Moody, who had been leading a revival movement in the later half of the 19th century. His passion for missions and worldwide evangelism began when he ministered to immigrants in New York City, which led him to think about the lost souls all over the world.
The Korean District of the C&MA has 180 educators, and has 85 churches in seven different regions in the U.S. It has 90 churches in total including the five located in South Korea, and has set a goal to establish 150 churches by 2015.
