Pastor Chang Soo Ro was selected as the third senior pastor of the Sa-Rang Community Church. It was the answer to fervent and persistent prayer by the members of the SRCC. The Lord was faithful, and helped our church to be unwavering during the past two years without a senior pastor. God has taught us to wait on him and fully support the leaders and the senior pastor search committee. God has prepared us to be a sacred vessel through which a new chapter in our ministry will begin. We have a great expectation and high hopes as we embark on this new journey with Pastor Ro, for we have confidence in Ebenezer (Thus far the LORD has helped us) who has been with Pastor Ro’s ministry until now.

August, 2012 No. 147

Published by Sa-Rang Community Church / Editor: C.Y. Jung / Editor in Chief: Heidi Ahn

Q. Tell us about your life story as a Christian.A: I am a 1.5 generation Korean, and I came to America when I was in 7th grade. I was not born in to a Christian family. I met the Lord during a retreat in junior high school, and became a member of Oriental Mission Church (OMC) in Los Angeles. I dedicated my life to become a minister during my sophomore year in college (UCLA), and transferred to Biola University. Everything worked out smoothly. My wife was introduced to Christianity by her Chinese roommate, and she was baptized at a campus ministry. She started attending a Chinese church. We met while we were serving as leaders in the OMC college ministry. We were married in 1984, and I started serving at Korean Central Presbyterian Church (KCPC) in Washington D.C. as a youth ministry pastor. I served there for 4 years, and my daughter Hannah was born during that time. I came back

to OMC to serve as an associate pastor. After 11 years, I returned to KCPC as the new senior pastor.

Q. What is your ministry philosophy?A: The keyword to describe my ministry through God’s grace is “blessing.” It is my ministry’s core value. God has given me a heart for the church that blesses the world through the Good News and good deeds. There are times to share the Gospel by providing for the needy and serving with good deeds. In today’s world, more people are inspired by deeds rather than words. Nevertheless, we must preach the Gospel in season and out of season, and reach out to the unbelievers through serving. I am not talking about the Social Gospel, but I envision the Gospel carried out on a vessel of good deeds. The Gospel remains the same, but the good deeds can be used to convey the message and the heart for the lost soul. This is

the heart that God has given to me. I hope and pray that the Lord will do this work through Sa-Rang Community Church.

Q. How do you feel now that the invitation and acceptance process have been completed?A: I feel exhausted. After the congregational meeting at KCPC on Sunday, I packed up belongings from my office on Monday and Tuesday. The most difficult thing about my departure is leaving my congregation behind. I am sure the people of SRCC will understand after going through a similar situation. I have a great burden in my heart for them. Lay leaders and the church members have not expressed their feelings in public, but they told me through e-mails that they had to send me even though it’s not easy for them. It is more difficult for me to leave, knowing that they send us with blessing hiding their sad feelings. I thank for their maturity in Christ. I had never

thought of leaving them because the church was a big part of my life, spending my twenties and thirties there while experiencing God’s abundant grace. It was really difficult for me to leave them. I think that I have received more love from them than I have served them. I really thank God that I was able to serve them with joy.

Q. How do you perceive Sa-Rang Community Church?A: The true image of a person or an organization surfaces when it faces a great challenge. This church has remained steadfast through absence of senior leadership twice, and this tells me the Lord has raised up this church, as it is said in Matthew 16:18, “… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” I believe He will continue to guide it and lead the church because it is His. The fact the church had continued to serve the Lord and

With eyes fixed on the Lord

Envisioning a church that blesses the world through the Gospel and good deedsLeadership with humility, obedience and complete dependence on the Lord

Interview with Pastor Chang Soo Ro, the next senior pastor of Sa-Rang Community Church

March 13, 2011 :: No. 141

August 2012 | www.sarang.com2

STEM stands for Sa-Rang Team for Evangelism and Mission. STEM is one of our English college ministries. Most of its activities are focused during the summer starting with leading the vacation Bible school at our church, and then supporting various evangelical mission activities around the globe. There are eighteen young men and women who are currently serving at three locations this year. Here are updates and prayer requests from STEM 2012 teams.

Fresno, CA (Leaders: Chris and Jessica)Here, we’ve been praying over gang houses (just a street down), met an ex-prisoner who asked for our prayers (while we were prayer walking), met kids so young who’ve been through so much (lost a friend through death, had a parent sent to prison, live with their mother struggling with alcoholism, have siblings in gangs, and can’t play in parks because they’re dangerous, etc).� Fresno prayer requests:1. That we wouldn’t be so caught up with external circumstances that we would lose sight of the work God is doing. We want to grasp His heart for Fresno.

2. For our missionaries. Pray that they won’t grow weary but that God would continue to encourage them, give them strength, and bless their ministries / the relationships that they’ve built here.3. For wisdom and discernment.

China Team (Leaders: Jerome and Eunice)Important upcoming schedule:Monday 7/23 - Thursday 7/26: days of VBS campSaturday 7/28 - Wednesday 8/1: College relationship building and outreach.�China Prayer requests:1. Please pray for spiritual protection over our team, health, ministry work, and the missionaries that we work with.2. That we would be an encouragement to the local workers here, especially the missionary hosting us, and uplift them in all that we do.3. That before loving others and our team, that our team would uphold the first and greatest commandment, which is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths.4. That our team would continue to grow deeper in our

relationship with one another, being intentional in our words and actions & seeking greater accountability, vulnerability, and intimacy with one another.5. That Jerome and I would lead the team and each other with utmost love, humility, joy, and wisdom.6. That as we spend the next week in the village, we would be His salt and light and sow seeds for His kingdom.

Japan TeamOur first official ministry was going to ECC (English Conversation Class). We passed out invitations to Shuza Church’s “Welcome Party for STEM” luncheon, which would continue on to VBS. As for other updates, we’ve been having good times of early morning

worship services and sharing life together as a team. Shuza Church has been challenging us daily, as early morning worship services show us the passion and faith of its congregation. We can only pray that we continue to be an encouragement to this church and to the people we encounter, and that we always remember God is the center of all things during this mission trip. � Japan prayer requests:1. Unity and love to bind our team together2. To be an encouragement to the local churches through that love3. Spiritual protection4. To always remember it’s all about God, and not about us5. More updates and prayer requests are available on http://stemjapan2012.tumblr.com

STEM

From Glory to GlorySTEM stands for Sa-Rang Team for Evangelism and Mission. There are eighteen young men and women who are currently sup-porting mission activities at three locations around the globe this year. Here are brief highlights and prayer requests.

moved forward without a visible turmoil showed me the Lord’s presence and the spiritual power of the church.

Q. What type of pastors do you think God delights in?A: I am not sure. I am still in progress. However, I believe that a pastor that completely depends on the Lord and confesses that God is everything in his life is the one that pleases the Lord. The only answer that I found to the question “What would

the congregation expect from a pastor” is to be a clergy that follows a path according to God’s calling. When I was invited to become a senior pastor at KCPC, the only thing in my prayer was “where will my faith grow the most, where can I experience complete dependence on Him?” I also prayed the same thing when I was making my decision to come to SRCC. The reason that God is sending me to SRCC is so I would lay aside my own ideas and experience, and get back to the basic by relying on Him. The

Lord had taught me to trust him completely when I was at my former church. It was in my heart to embrace the first love with the Lord and leave my ministry behind after ten years of service. I have no strength to lead this church by myself. But I believe God led me here to teach me to trust in Him. It was a difficult decision, but I wanted to seek His will, and obey His calling.

Q. Is there anything you want to share with the congregation?

A: Greater expectation could lead to greater disappointment. It will be difficult with so much expectation. I know it has been difficult for the people of SRCC for the past two years without a senior pastor. The Lord knows your heart. I wanted to encourage you with the words from Psalm 126:5 “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” I am lacking much. I ask you to continue to pray for me with fervency and power, as you have been praying for the church.

Interview Continued

August 2012 | www.sarang.com 3

If you were at the Easter Hope Festival (EHF) last April, you probably witnessed how a local church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, can effectively reach out to the community, and be a source of blessing and hope. As a result of this year’s successful EHF, we were able to launch a new ministry called the Food Bank ministry. We interviewed Peter Park who is current the director of the Boaz Food Bank ministry to learn more about it.

Q: What is the Food Bank Ministry?A: Food bank ministry provides food for people who are going through difficulties in this tough economy. We are going to private and city sponsored food banks to purchase food in bulk and bring to our church so we can distribute to the community. Currently we have about 15 staff members, and we are conducting two events every month, on the first Saturday and the third Thursday. So far we were able to help over 200 families totaling about 900 people.

Q: Why is this ministry important to Sa-Rang Community Church and to our community?A: Just as Jesus came to this world to seek the lost, the poor and the needy, we are just doing what Jesus would do, since He is the head of the church. Sa-Rang Community Church is a channel of blessing to the community and to the world. To serve in such a capacity, we need to convert what we learn through the discipleship and leadership training into action.

Q: How and when was this ministry launched?

A: This ministry started about 3 years ago in a very small scale. However, by the grace of God, this year after the Easter Hope Festival, KM and HW both realized how powerful the synergy is and what we can accomplish for God if we work together. I would say that in the first three years, God prepared the soil and planted the seed for this ministry to flourish and grow this year. This ministry is supported financially by Boaz, individual donors, non-profit organizations, community businesses and of course by many members of our church.

Q: What items are being supplied to the needy community members?A: Currently we have access to food ranging anywhere from simple water bottles to frozen meat. Our community is not in need for just any food, but good healthy food, which is a challenge for us to provide consistently. However, by the grace of God, we are able to bring fresh vegetables, rice, beans, can goods and other dry foods.

Q: How can we access help from the ministry?A: We are currently distributing on a regular basis, twice a month. This time would be best time to get the necessary food items since we prepare a lot of food for this distribution event. However, if anyone is in dire and desperate need, they can come to room 127 or call our department at 714-844-3604 to get immediate assistance.

Q: How can we help with this ministry?A: We are in great need of volunteers and donation for this ministry. People can continuously donate to Boaz offering or they can directly donate to this ministry. Please email inquiries to sarangfoodbank@gmail.com.

Q: What are the future plans for the ministry?A: Great question! The most honest answer that I can give is “We don’t have any future plans”. God showed us that there are many people in need of food and we are to share our blessings and burdens with them. We don’t know where God will lead us, but we are confident that HE is faithful and He cares for his people. If God permits, we may expand the items to other commodities as clothes, medicine, schools supplies in the near future. We are just blessed and privileged that He called us for his work. This is His ministry and we are here just to obey his plans.

By Justin Choi (jkchoi77@gmail.com)

Food Bank Ministry

Let Your Blessings FlowBoaz Food Bank Ministry

registration for the Food Bank event partcipants

young volunteers

preparing to serve