Being the Church

Pastor Joshua Jung reaches out to the Korean-American community of Orlando, Fla., using soccer games, hot dogs, fishing, service, and many other activities.

Many in the Korean-American community have heard of Christ but have never gone to church. Jung hopes to change that.

“People ask me, ‘You’re a young man! Why are you helping us? No one else does!” Jung said. “These acts of service are the starting point for invitations to church.”

A Korean immigrant himself, Jung knows the stresses of trying to fit into a new culture. Observing the lack of Korean Reformed churches in Orlando led him to found Grace Church..

Since its start in 2014 with four members, membership has grown to 50 so far, including 30 new members just this year.

“For a church, doing is important, but the most important thing is being. Being who God created us to be. We need a church that understands who we are and what our culture is. That’s why I founded this church,” Jung commented.

Grace Church, supported relationally, spiritually, and financially by Christian Reformed Home Missions, does not just serve the Korean population. Other immigrants, such as people from Cuba, and American-born citizens attend as well.

Grace Church echoes a belief permeating Home Missions’ ministry—that we all, no matter where we are born, walk this earth as immigrants.

“For the immigrant, this country is not their country. There is always something missing,” said Jung. “But for all of us, there is something missing—always. It is as the Heidelberg Catechism states: ‘What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.’”