I am currently 70 years old in 2024, and I believe that the mission of bearing witness to the living God must continue even after retirement. While praying about how to fulfill this mission, I was inspired to use the benefits of the AI era to create a multilingual site. Despite numerous mistakes and a significant amount of time invested, I was able to complete it. I plan to continue making improvements, including design modifications. In Christ, if you hold on to a good purpose, your eyes will be opened to see that you can achieve it.
- Rev. Byung-Young Kong, Retired Pastor (Affiliation: New Life Church, Texas, USA)
- Experience:
- District Superintendent
- Chair of the Ministerial Candidate Review Board
- Chair of the Qualification Review Board
- President of the Dallas Church Association
- President of the Dallas Pastors’ Association
- Wesleyan Theology Professor and Director of the Spiritual Training Center at Appenzeller Theological Seminary
- Expertise: As the Director of the Spiritual Training Center at Appenzeller Theological Seminary, I developed the “Spiritual Training for Christian Perfection” course. Faculty and staff participated in a 3-day, 4-night retreat, which was recognized by all participants as an academically accredited program.
- Vision and Mission: My calling from God knows no retirement. Until the Lord’s return, I am committed to spreading the gospel to all people. We are now in the age of AI, and the internet has made the entire world our neighbor. I have become interested in developing content that helps seekers experience God. Observing the extensive range of Bible study materials used across various churches, I questioned whether such a vast amount of study was truly necessary. Consequently, I compiled a Bible study curriculum based on 40 years of pastoral experience that I am confident provides sufficient foundational learning. This content is included in the site’s menu.
- Storytelling: While serving as an ROTC officer, I met an operations officer who shared that he had been a student body president at his church in high school but had stopped attending church altogether during his military service. This encounter led me to discern that there were issues in Christian education and spiritual training. After being discharged from military service, I enrolled at Seoul Methodist Theological Seminary, graduated with a Master of Divinity, and later planted a church, receiving ordination as a pastor. For more specialized ministry in spirituality, I earned a Doctor of Ministry from Claremont School of Theology in the U.S.
- Believing that the church is one in Christ, I served as the President of the Dallas Church Association, striving to be an exemplary servant leader, which gained me recognition from fellow members.
- My Interests:
- My hope is that everyone I meet will not just have theoretical faith but will experience Jesus Christ, walk with Him daily, and live a life of joy.
- I aim to help everyone I meet prepare to put on a resurrected, glorious body and live eternally in heaven when their time comes. Everyone has a day when they will depart this world.
- I have officiated many funerals. One poignant moment was when a daughter, whose father had passed away in a car accident, tearfully asked me, “Did my father go to heaven?” Though he hadn’t attended church, he did take her to church.
- When my mother passed away at dawn when I was 15, she woke the family to hold a family worship service and went to be with the Lord while listening to my father’s hymn.
- My friend, Rev. Seong-Ho Son, endured seven years of battling cancer and never once showed frustration to his family. Instead, he constantly expressed gratitude, saying, “If I fall asleep and don’t wake up, I will open my eyes in God’s kingdom, clothed in a resurrected body, and enter eternal life. Let’s meet again there.”
- Elder Won-Seok Lee, whom I deeply respect, began visiting people he thought might have been hurt by him, reconciling with them during the six months before his passing.
- While I was in military service, the middle school-aged daughter of an elder took her own life. Later, during my pastoral ministry, the suicide of an elementary school student left me deeply shaken. These experiences have driven home the need for a spiritual leader who can instill a clear perspective on life and death for all ages.
- “If you wish to learn more, please contact me!” Contact Information: kongrev54@gmail.com, 1-(214) 288-2001