By Bishop Talmadge J. Gardner
It was my privilege to serve as the presiding officer for the Korean-American Conference on June 10, 2015. The Conference was hosted on the campus of Bishop John Kim’s World Agape Mission Church in Los Angeles, California.
Bishop Kim is an apostolic leader in the biblical sense of the definition. World Agape Mission Church has sent pastors and leaders out world-wide to plant churches. One of the highlights of this annual conference session is hearing the reports of these ‘missionary’ pastors as they share their stories and ministry experiences on the field.
I was privileged to minister for the entire Wednesday morning session and then preach the Ordination Service in the evening. While I enjoyed preaching and teaching immensely, I especially enjoyed the ministry time as we concluded the morning session around 1:00PM. These pastors and leaders are so eager to receive from the Lord. The Ordination Service was hosted in the new church sanctuary which our General Superintendent, Presiding Bishop Beacham had the privilege of dedicating on Sunday, June 14th. It is a beautiful building and a fitting tribute to Bishop Kim’s ministry legacy in Los Angeles.
Worshipping with our Korean family members is a unique and humbling experience. They have a deep sense of reverence for the word of God, prayer, worship, the power of the Holy Spirit, our mandate to take the gospel message to the ends of the earth, and the man of God. I have never heard people pray with the intensity that our Korean family members do. When Pastor Kim declares with a loud voice, “Jesus-Jesus-Jesus,” which is the signal to start praying corporately, you feel a surge of power run through the place as well as up and down your spine! The only other time I have sensed this intensity was when I was privileged to attend Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho’s church in Seoul, Korea, which was the largest church in the world at that time.
Bishop Kim is presently mentoring many powerful young leaders, one of which is Rev. Timothy Yoo, Discipleship Ministries Director and pastor of English and Young Adult Ministry, World Agape Mission Church, Los Angeles, California campus. Pastor Yoo and his wife Esther were gracious hosts. Rev. Yoo is also an anointed translator.
Clergy Credentials were issued as follows:
Certificate of Ordination (1) –
- Byunhun So
Minister’s License (1) –
- Yong Joo Lee
Bishop Kim is a dynamic man of God! I trust that on some occasion you will have the privilege of gleaning from this powerful spiritual leader. May every gift and benefit that comes from God our Father continue to grace the life and ministry of Bishop Kim and the world-wide influence of the World Agape Mission Church!