by Rev. Andy Yong
Covenant BP Mission, Tacoma, WA
the Missions Banner, February-March, 2025
It has been 10 years since I began preaching in Tacoma after passing the licensure exam at the fall presbytery in 2014. Looking back, I have worked somewhere between church planting and mission over the past 10 years. When we first held worship, it was just my family and one woman from the Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church. At that time, there were no Reformed Korean churches in the Tacoma area, nor were there families gathered to establish such a church.
During the first few years, God brought people to me, individuals and families who had been away from the church for a long time and had never been good-standing church members. It wasn’t my intention, but God had used me to do a ministry that wasn’t built on someone else’s foundation. So, it was missionary work in a sense.
“And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation” (Romans 15:20)
It was rewarding but challenging to lead them to church and help them grow as faithful followers of the Lord. However, I believed that only God gives the increase, so whether my task was planting or watering, I shared and taught the gospel whenever I had the opportunity.
Although some people could not settle in the church and left for various reasons, God still produced fruit. Families with no interest in Christian education sent their children to Christian schools. People who had never properly kept the Lord’s Day began to keep the Sabbath. Those who had never practiced daily Bible devotion do it regularly. People who once despised their unbelieving husbands show them compassion.
In recent years, there have been other positive changes. Some serious middle-aged Christian couples visited the church after listening to my Sunday school lessons or sermons posted on the website. However, all of them eventually gave up on joining the church. The primary reason was that there were no similarly-aged couples to be connected because they came at different times. I believe this situation has a few positive points though. First, the Korean church has still remained faithful to the Bible. Second, although it is not as visible as we would like, God is building His kingdom in various ways through the work I am doing now.
Lastly, aside from the visa issues, one of the major challenges I have in church planting is the language barrier. Since the people who gather have varying levels of English and Korean proficiency, it is difficult to strike a balance between the two languages. I have come to feel the importance of what Paul did—not only using his Roman citizenship but also his ability to speak Greek as he planted churches among the Gentiles. I am grateful that I can use both languages and that God gives the believers the same Holy Spirit.
I give glory to God, who has made me a servant of Christ and helped me faithfully proclaim the mystery of God’s gospel. Your prayers and support are a great strength to me and my family.
“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
(1 Corinthians 4:1-2)
