Praise the Lord! OurEnglish Ministry is soexcited about our first,ever retreat! We will beusing our retreat to praythrough our vision andto build ourcommunity. Our visionis to reach out to the foreigners and English speakers allacross Daechi-dong and the greater city of Seoul. Ourhope is that they will grow into leaders who will one day goback to their home countries as powerful Christian witnessesand missionaries for the spreading of God’s kingdom allover the world to the glory of God.
In order to accomplish that vision, we believe that ourministry needs to be more than a welcoming and friendlyenvironment, but a spiritual shelter where foreigners andEnglish speakers will experience the gospel at work. To become that shelter, our ministry will focus on becoming acommunity of joy, humility, and peace. For this retreat, we will focus on the theme“, Community of Peace.”In order to become a“ Community of Peace, ”we want to learn and apply the principles found in the book, The Peacemaker, by KenSande. Peace is not justhaving tranquility orquiet, but having shalom.
This is the peace thatoriginates in God’sperfect fellowship withinthe Trinity, and extendsto all creation. God is thefirst peacemaker in the world, in that He sent His only Son to die on the cross, so that those who were once His enemies might become His friends and His people.
Now that God has made peace with us, we are called to make peace with others. This involves learning how to approach conflict, not as peace-fakers or peace-breakers, but as peace-makers. We must identify the log in our own eye, and repent for our own contributions to conflicts. This also involves the hard, patient work of restoring others who have sinned, and reconciling with them. In learning how to resolve conflict, we can not only resolve our own conflicts,but also become peacemakers to others who are having conflict. May God establish our ministry as a community of peace, so that we might become a shelter for foreigners and English speakers all throughout Seoul!