SRCC Anniversary Special: Our Home Church
My wife, Loren, and I began attending HolyWave Ministry of Sa-Rang Community Church (SRCC) on January 1, 2012. We were members of Saddleback Church but we wanted to be part of a family of friends around our own age. Since I do not speak Korean, the English ministry of SRCC, HolyWave, was our choice of services. Pastor Stephen Chong was lead pastor for HolyWave and we held service in the main sanctuary at that time. Being a Baptist for almost 60 years, I was not sure what attending a Presbyterian church would be like. To my surprise, it was a wonderful service. The worship was amazing, the preaching solid, and the people were so friendly. I remember as we walked out of the newcomers room on our first Sunday, I told Loren that this church has got it together. I think I had already decided at that moment that this was the church for us.
We began attending midweek Oikos meetings, or small group meetings the very first week we visited HolyWave. Then, came the clencher - Easter Hope Festival! I was blown away by the compassion, energy, sacrifice, and outpouring of love to the community that SRCC exhibited! As soon as membership class was available, we took the class and became members on June 17, 2012.
Loren and I had only been married about five years when we began attending SRCC. Loren was just beginning a renewed walk with Jesus and was unable to grasp the concept of God as a loving Father. I was still recovering from a devastating life experience before Loren and I married. I came to SRCC feeling so unworthy to be used by our Lord for his Kingdom due to sin in my life and failing in a previous marriage. I had failed God, my first wife, my children, and my friends from a previous church. But, most of all I had failed myself and that was most unforgivable. I wanted so much to have that confidence I once had in the Lord. I wanted so much to walk in a partnership with my wife, whom I loved so dearly, in the Lord. I wanted so much to be on fire for God, share his love with others, and be absolutely joyful in my identity in Christ. Would that ever happen again?
What I quickly found was that HolyWave felt very much like home. Our Oikos at HolyWave was an intimate setting and I felt really loved and accepted. Through the teachings of Pastor Stephen Chong, and now for the last eight years by Pastor Jeff Hyun, Pastor Jonas Lee, Pastor Sunny Park, and recently, Pastor David Kim, I began to experience forgiveness from God and I was able to forgive myself. I began to believe that the Lord did have plans for Loren and I.
Later on, Loren and I took Discipleship Training (DT) courses, which changed our lives. Loren completed pre-DT, DT, and then LT (Leadership Training) through the Korean Ministry at SRCC, because HolyWave was not offering DT at that time. Though it was a very rigorous training for Loren, I began to notice her renewed commitment to Christ and she began to understand that God was not a dictator over our lives, but that he genuinely loves us and wants the very best for us. Once Loren finished all her training, HolyWave moved locations to the Kingdom Dream Center campus and Foundations and DT courses were made available after this transition. Once I completed the Foundations courses, I took DT. In DT, I had learned things that I had never learned in all my years as a Baptist. I began to experience the power of walking as an obedient servant of Christ. Before, I had heard about the power of prayer but I had rarely experienced it the way I experienced it at HolyWave. We didn’t just talk about the power of Christ in our lives, we practiced, trained, and lived it. When I finished DT I felt totally alive in Christ again. Not only was the intimacy in my relationship with Jesus renewed, I had increased in my love and fervor for Jesus Christ more than ever before.
Missions had also played a major role in my growth in the Lord. I went on weekend Mexico mission trips with my former church, building homes and conducting Vacation Bible School (VBS), but my eyes were opened to what is possible when we make ourselves available to God on a mission trip to Haiti. Since my first trip to Haiti, I have gone back twice more and recently, Loren and I had an amazing and powerful mission trip experience in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
These DT courses have been instrumental in transforming me in tremendous ways. I have been able to lead others in prayer to receive Christ. Also, for the last three years I have been helping as a DT leader. It has been a major blessing being able to walk with other men and women at HolyWave and watching the transformation in their lives. I stand as a new man, victorious and changed from the time I walked onto the SRCC campus on January 1, 2012.
Today, I can declare with confidence that I am a valued and loved child of God. Thank you to both the Korean Ministry and HolyWave Ministry, for embracing Loren and I with all your love and faithfulness. January 1, 2012 was a life changing day for our lives, our marriage, and our walk with Jesus Christ.
By the way, finding a community around our own age never fully became a realization. I am 70 and Loren is 60 and we are some of the oldest members of HolyWave. But who cares about age when we have such a loving and accepting community as HolyWave that we can call our church home?