Introduction to the Missionary

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am writing to you with a heart full of gratitude and humility, sharing the journey that God has led me on and the calling He has placed before me. I am sending this letter to several beloved congregations and fellow believers who have been part of my journey, including dear family and friends who have walked alongside me in faith.

INTRODUCTION TO MYSELF

I dedicated my life to God in early 2006 after He delivered me from a health condition caused by my former sinful lifestyle. I came to the United States in late 2006 to study theology, believing that becoming a mega-church preacher would prove me to be a truly great servant of God. I was misled to believe that large numbers meant God’s blessing.

God, however, guided me to the Martin Church of Christ in Tennessee. There, I studied the Word, became a Christian, and changed my dream to be a gospel preacher and minister who values one soul more than the whole world. The past 19 years have been God’s training ground to bring that dream to fulfillment.

After nearly ten years of Bible study, I was honored to work as a full-time Korean minister at Chestnut Drive Church of Christ, an English-speaking church in Atlanta, Georgia. The Korean ministry was pioneering a new path, breaking new ground, and facing challenges at every step. But I worked faithfully, bearing the yoke of the Lord with the brethren.

One year later, my wife, Yun-Sook, was diagnosed with cancer, and circumstances in the congregation changed. Yet even in that season, my family continued to glorify God without giving up. By His grace, the home of the Korean ministry moved to the Buford Church of Christ. The congregation became a happy home for the ministry, and the elders were biblical leaders on whom I could completely rely. My service in the Korean ministry in North Georgia continued for eight years, during which I was well trained.

A few months before my service ended in January 2024, I was diagnosed with cancer. In those days, I felt as though I had been thrown into a pit, disappointed in myself, wrongly thinking the ministry had failed because of me. It was not that the ministry failed, but that I was viewing the circumstances through my “bad eyes” (Matthew 6:23)—with a distorted perspective instead of spiritual sight. Yet even that pit was in God’s hands, working as a kiln to refine me. I needed that season in the kiln to purify my heart and gain “healthy eyes” (Matthew 6:22). That refining solidified my faith, polished my character, and God regenerated a new man within me.

It was in that pit that God worked out my spiritual issues. He cleansed my heart of the subtle, lingering desire for worldly approval and the hidden pride that had been quietly deceiving me. He refined me—once a double-minded man—into a one-minded man who has laid up all his treasures in heaven.

Through this refining, my eyes became healthy. In the new eyes of a one-minded man, my former Korean ministry was not a failure, but God’s victory—He had laid the foundation for the work by preparing both the church leaders and me as the minister. His grace in the pit delivered me from disappointment, reestablished my trust in Him, and rekindled a burning passion anew for souls and the soul-saving work. I feel my dream has come true at last.

The regeneration led me to rededicate my life to His calling. My dedication, in turn, guided me to the mission in my hometown of Jeonju, Korea, where there is no Lord’s church to preach the pure gospel and teach the Word of God. I feel God is commanding me to march into Canaan—that is, to begin this mission in Korea. I believe He has trained me in the wilderness and approved my preparation for the work He planned for me when I first dedicated my life to Him 19 years ago. I am grateful that the past 19 years of my life in the Lord’s Church in the United States were an essential part of this preparation. God called me, equipped me, and is now leading me into the mission.

A fire burns in my heart for the mission. However, how can I serve without the Lord’s churches to send me and support me (Romans 10:15a)? Therefore, I am seeking Churches of Christ who will send me to Korea, and I am raising support from churches and Christians who will partner with me in this mission. I seek this support so that I may pour out every moment of my life fully into the Lord’s work. For this reason, I humbly and earnestly implore you to send me to Korea solely for the work God has planned for me, the least of His servants.

Your prayers, fellowship, and encouragement are always a blessing to me, and I thank God for you. Thank you for kindly considering the Lord’s work in Korea.

In Christ,

Minku Chang.