Ecumenical Relations Office

1. How long have you been in Thailand?

12 years

2. What did you do before coming to Thailand to work with the CCT?

I was a pastor in Seoul and in rural areas in Korea for a number of years.  I also worked with a child and youth evangelism organisation.  Before coming to Thailand my family and I spent some time in the UK studying English and doing courses in missions in London and Edinburgh.

3. What roles have you played in the CCT for these last 12 years?

After language study I first worked in Nakorn Sri Tammarat with Pakh 9 of the CCT.  My role there was helping the churches with pastoral care—preaching and presiding at communion.  Whilst I was there in the South I began to feel called to help the churches further south in Pattani and Yala. Between 2001 and 2003 I worked with Yala Baptist Church (part of District 12 of the CCT) and also taught Korean language and culture at Prince of Songkla University.  During that time I made some very significant relationships with University students and other young people.  Many of them have since gone on to be leaders in their communities.  The work in the South was very challenging, but very fulfilling and my wife and I thought that we would be there for the rest of our career.  God obviously had other plans and for the last year I have been working to help establish the ministry of CGNTV (Christian Global Network Television) as part of the CCT’s outreach.  I am also presently team leader for the KGAM missionaries in Thailand.

4. What about your family?  How many children do you have?  And what role does your wife ( Mii Sook Shin) play in ministry here?

We have two children.  Our eldest, Han Gil, is 21.  He studied for a year at Biola University last year before deciding to return to Korea where he is working to support himself.  Our youngest, Na Rae, is 16. She is studying at Chiang Mai International School and staying in a dormitory there.  Mii Sook plays a very important role in taking care of our mission team here in Thailand.  We make a good partnership.  I am very good at the vision side of things and she is good at details and making sure that things actually get done.  We have seventeen families in the KGAM mission now so when we get together there are over 60 people all told.  It is a lot of work and Mii Sook does a great job at making sure everyone’s needs are being met.

5. What vision do you have for the future of the relationship between KGAM and CCT?

I believe that KGAM can work together with the CCT in two areas.  One is evangelism and the other is cross-cultural mission.
Throughout my time here I have heard people say that this method or that method of evangelism just won’t work in Thailand.  I don’t think the problem here is with method but with motivation and confidence.  We need to train people to get out there and share the gospel—making it a natural part of their daily lives.
I have also heard people say that the Thai church is not ready to send missionaries cross-culturally.    I find that really hard to believe.  Look at the early church.  They were sending missionaries from almost day one.  Our experience in Korea is that of the first seven pastors in the church that sprang up from Western missionaries four went to be missionaries in China and Japan.  That early church sacrificed more than half of its leadership because it believed that good news was for sharing across cultures.