I AM NOT ASHAMED OF GOSPEL

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”(Romans 1:16)

During a heavy snowfall in Germany, the 2010 German Leaders’ Conference was held from February 11th through 13th in a city called Wandlitz near Berlin. The title of the conference was “I am not ashamed of the gospel” based on Romans 1:16. Through this conference, all the 62 attendants were encouraged to live as debtors of the grace of Jesus and to witness this grace to the students. We were encouraged to boldly proclaim the gospel as the power of God, which also has the strength to change Germany and Europe into a shepherd nation and a missionary sending continent.

This conference was especially historical, because it took place in Berlin in the year of the 20th anniversary of German Reunification, which is also the 20th anniversary of campus pioneering ministry in Berlin. Through this conference, we were able to support the house church of Msn. Dr. Jeremia and Msn. Petra Kim, who succeeded the Berlin ministry 4 years ago after Msn. Dr. Peter Jeong and Msn. Dr. Moses Lee. God blessed their faith in challenging the pioneering ministry in Berlin and mercifully helped them to overcome various hardships, and now allowed them to apply for their German citizenship and to lay a foundation for the ministry in Berlin.

Msn. Dr. Jeremia Kim from Berlin gave the opening message on Ezra 7:10 and encouraged us with Ezra’s decision to go back to the Bible. In the history, there were many great servants of God in Germany, who studied the Bible deeply and obeyed God’s word. He reminded us of one of the first missionaries to Korea, who was from Berlin and whose report aroused the interest for Korean mission. Today, Berlin is often called the capital of atheism. However, Msn. Jeremia wants to study the word of God deeply like Ezra and be used for the spiritual revival in Berlin. He prays to be like a sharpened sword of God’s word according to Isaiah 49:2 and lead the young people in Berlin back to the bible.

Msn. Dr. Jeremia and Msn. Petra are serving the pioneering ministry in Berlin together with Msn. Hanna Ryu. His house church experienced God’s great mercy in their self-supporting life. Thus, they could even apply for the German citizenship. They pray to raise disciples in five universities of Berlin (Freie University, Humboldt University, Technical University, Charité and University of Arts) and further in all 26 colleges of Berlin as well as in all colleges of East Germany.

After the opening message we had Bible study in 4 groups on Romans 1: “I am not ashamed of the gospel.“ Shp. Stefan Elsholz from Bonn gave the message. We learned about Apostle Paul’s sense of obligation to the gospel and about the faith, which believes in the superiority of the gospel. Just as Paul challenged the extravagant and pleasure-seeking Romans with the gospel, the gospel has the power to give salvation to all the people today. We were encouraged that the gospel can change young people and restore them spiritually. Through this passage all leaders were encouraged to serve campus students not like a hired hand but with the burning sense of obligation to the gospel. We gained confidence in the power of the gospel for our pioneering ministries and for pioneering all 360 colleges in Germany. We prayed to serve the work of God victoriously with the sense of obligation to the gospel and by faith in the superiority of the gospel.

The annual reports from 16 chapters (Berlin, Darmstadt, Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf I+II, Freiburg, Hamburg/Kiel, Heidelberg, Cologne I+II, Mainz, Stuttgart, and Bonn I-III) revealed that God is at work in all chapters. Through the European Summer Bible Conference, all leaders received God’s hope for the disciple making ministry in Germany through one-to-one Bible Study. We could especially see the spirit of the missionaries in the small chapters, who serve the work of God faithfully and challenge the disciple making ministry regardless of the visible results. Msn. Noah Yoo encourage us by attending the conference with the first priority, even by postponing his hospital appointments and travelling the farthest way to the conference. Last year, Msn. Peter Oh began the pioneering ministry in Hamburg. In Hamburg, God has raised several faithful Bible students as disciple candidates. All chapters are praying by faith and with the hope of God for doubling the ministry through one-to-one Bible study and for raising one Abraham and one Sarah of faith. In the larger chapters – Bonn, Cologne I, and Heidelberg – God is using native shepherds as messengers and helping them to grow in the sense of responsibility for the work of God. The first house church among the new generation, Shp. Titus and Shp. Maria Keller, are pioneering Duesseldorf II. They are praying to share the hope of God, which they have received through the ESBC, through the one-to-one Bible study with their bible students. Furthermore, they pray to share the word of God with all New Generation members in Germany and Europe through their ‘Hope Explorer Bible Study.’ Through the reports we saw the hope of God to change Germany through the power of the gospel and to raise it once more as a shepherd nation.

On the evening, Msn. Peter Kwak from Munich delivered the message based on Ezekiel 37. From the message we learned that we should not depend on the situation of our Bible students, but trust in the almighty God, who can bring back even the dry bones to life. On the 2nd evening, the message was given by Msn. Peter Oh from Hamburg based on Romans 16:3-16. Through his message we learned to have the spirit of the first Christians: the hidden heroes Priscilla and Aquila who supported Paul unconditionally, the zeal of Paul for world mission, and the good influence of Rufus’ family who carried the cross of Jesus. We were encouraged to serve the house church ministry with such a spirit.

After the message we had a presentation about Wolfgang Simson’s book “Houses that change the world.” Through the presentation on the book, we learned the importance of house churches and their great potential to change a nation and to be used for world mission. Afterwards, there was a panel discussion led by Msn. Daniel Park, Msn. Moses Lee, Shp. Jochen Schweitzer, Msn. Markus Kum and Msn. Stephanus Park. Through this we could learn several aspects of the house church ministry. We learned how God works mightily through sacrifice, shepherd’s heart and co-working of house churches. We were also able to think about several ways and possibilities, how we, as house churches, can have edifying fellowship at Sunday Worship Service with sheep. We received much encouragement through Msn. David Cho’s morning devotion message about fruit bearing life by remaining in Jesus (Joh 15:5). We were also encouraged by Shp. Andreas Krahwinkel’s morning devotion message on the second morning about the power of the Lord, which let us fly like eagles (Jes 40:31). We could see the faithful struggle of faith of Shp. Andreas, who overcame his sense of failure and challenged pioneering ministry by looking up to the almighty God.

The 2nd main message was given by Shp. Michael Pohl on Galatians 5:16-26 with the title “The Life in Spirit.” We could clearly see the difference between a life in spirit and a life living according to the sinful nature. We also learned about the spiritual struggle, since the problems do not lie on outer conditions but in our heart. We were encouraged by the example of Pastor Homer, who received many disadvantages under the East German Regime. He did not seek revenge on Erich Honecker, but accepted him after German reunification to his house, granting him his protection. We were encouraged to fight a spiritual struggle of faith, beginning from daily bread, so that we can bear much spiritual fruit. The doubling of the ministry is natural consequence, when we live a life in spirit.

The closing message was given by Msn. Noah You on Matthew 28:18-20, through which we could receive the clear direction to actively go out and make disciples of all nations.

We thank God that he built a new vessel of love and co-working for world mission in Germany UBF under the direction of Msn. Dr. Peter Chang. God has restored the gospel faith and the spirit of the leaders and pioneer missionaries in Germany. We believe that God has already begun to restore Germany spiritually to use it as a shepherd nation for world mission. By the gospel faith we will challenge the work of doubling our ministries, beginning with daily bread and one-to-one bible study.

Prayer topics of Germany UBF:

1. Go back to the Bible (Ezra 7:10) and the gospel faith
2. Double the ministry through one-to-one Bible tudy and early morning prayer
3. Pioneering 360 universities in Germany; Germany to be a shepherd nation
4. The leadership of Msn. Dr. Peter Chang