Those Who Are Awarded the First Prize - I Unexpectedly Won the First Prize
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November 08, 2009 |
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Testimonies of people who won the first prizes in evangelism, Bible verse memory contest, and Senior Pastor's books reading contest
 Senior Deaconess Younghwa Park, King of Evangelism with Manmin Newspaper "I am overjoyed when another soul is saved."
Cheongju Manmin Church is burning with the passion of evangelism. All the members, including Pastor Suk-kyu Moon, are eagerly spreading the gospel. And Mamnin News, a weekly newsletter containing features, local and overseas testimonies, and Dr. Jaerock Lee's sermons, is a necessity for evangelizing. And there is a member who has handed out as many as 130,000 copies over the last seven months. She is senior deaconess Younghwa Park.
"I used to share the gospel passionately with love for other souls. But I stopped when I grew busy with other God-given duties. The church had a "Handing out Manmin News Movement" to urge members to spread the gospel. Looking back on my heart that had become lukewarm, I made up my mind to have an earnest heart and love for our Father God, Lord Jesus Christ, our shepherd, and the souls even more through this opportunity.
 From the first day I was handing out Manmin News, God gave me joy. And even though I didn't get enough sleep while folding and handing out the papers, because of the earnestness of my heart's desire, I couldn't stop. And I felt indescribable joy seeing souls returning to the Lord. And I unexpectedly won the first place in the competition by handing out the greatest number of copies. I became filled with the love of God and my body became very strong and healthy."
Senior deaconess Park confesses that she was thankful that she could end this year with an earnest love toward the church and souls through this movement, which lasts until December 31, 2009. She appeared to be overflowing with joy.
Right behind her in the third place was Deaconess Jung-ae Ahn, who even with hemiplegia–a paralysis of the right side of the body–was able to fold each copy with the help of others and hand out about ten thousand copies each week, riding on her motorcycle, specially designed for the handicapped. She is an inspiration to other members.
 Deacon Andy Youngsun Kim, King in Reading Senior Pastor's Books "I Felt I Was Actually Talking with the Fathers of Faith in the Book"
In our church, each mission often hosts a "book-reading movement." And so there are members who read all 57 books authored by Dr. Jaerock Lee. Through his books, they gain spiritual knowledge which improves the degree and clarity of their understanding of the Bible.
From July through September, the 2nd United Canaan Mission also had a "book-reading movement." Through the reading of the books, many participants were given the precious opportunity to understand the value of the words in the Bible and reevaluate their faith. Above all, the testimony of Andy Youngsun Kim, who read as many as 39 books over 3 months, is impressive.
Working diligently in the Interpretation Department of Manmin Central Church, he is helping our church's overseas mission. Even though he had an overseas business trip during the movement period, he read on the buses, and made the best use of his free time. The more he read the books that clearly explained the spiritual meaning of God's word, the more he was pulled into the message.
"When I read the books with a touched heart, the letters seemed to come alive and move; and I felt like I was actually talking with the characters within the book. When I read about the Lord and the fathers of faith, I was asking questions to them. For example, I was asking the apostle Paul whether he didn't feel cold when he spent a night and a day on the open sea, and the prophet Caleb how he could ask Joshua to give him the unconquered land despite his old age. And I was asking the Lord how He could show love to the woman who committed adultery and save her life. The answer was always the same. It was only by the grace and love of God or the Lord. I felt as though I had traveled back into the past and was walking, talking, and experiencing the life of the fathers of faith with them. "
Deacon Kim also made up his mind to love God and carry out his God-given duties with faith and love. But above all, he was thankful for being able to know the will of God by understanding the spiritual meaning of His word.
 Pastor Doochun Shin, King of Verse Memorizing "Reciting Bible Verses Is a Shortcut to Answer and Blessing"
In our church's weekly bulletin you see weekly Bible verses. This section is there to encourage the members to memorize verses each day and bring them closer to the word of God. And every year, the church hosts a "Bible Verse Memorizing Contest". This year, at the 9th "Bible Verse Memorizing Contest," Pastor Doochun Shin won the grand prize.
Pastor Shin joined our church in March 1998. Before that, he worked as an assistant pastor in a different church and was led to Manmin. He could quench his spiritual thirst through Dr. Jaerock Lee's messages. He enjoys reading the Bible and takes notes when he finds good verses. And as this is just another part of his daily life, the "Bible Verse Memorizing Contest" was good news to him. Preparing for the contest each year, he was happy to just feed himself with spiritual bread rather than thinking about winning the prize. He was reminded of verses he memorized when he was praying or giving counseling to members. And as he read the Bible and memorized the verses, the word of God seemed to grow sweeter and helped him throw away untruths and worldly things. We asked him how he felt about winning the grand prize after trying for 8 years.
"I won this prize after many attempts and failures. But rather than winning the prize itself, what makes me happy is that I was qualified to win this prize. All those who qualified for the final leg of the tournament could memorize all the verses perfectly. So at that point it wasn't really a matter of knowing the answer, but how much God was there to help us write the correct answers. Each year after the contest, I had the precious chance of self-reflection. I tried hard to become a servant who pleases God. I am just happy that God gave me this prize as the fruit of my efforts. But I won't stop at that. I will continue to try even harder."
When he was in his junior year in theological seminary, he realized the importance of saving souls from the depth of his heart. So after graduation, he went onto theological graduate school and became the Lord's servant. In response to his prayer for mission in China, which has the greatest number of people in the world, God placed him as the head of our church's Chinese parish.
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