On Sabbath, March 23, through Sunday, March 24, 2013 the WCKC Shepherdess leaders met to continue their work of organization for mission. This was an historical gathering because prior to 2013, the pastoral spouses’ leadership had always been a male conference pastor.
Under the leadership of Yu EunJu, WCKC Shepherdess International Coordinator, the team developed anexcellent governance document. Vice president, Lee KiWha led out as they gathered information from the General Conference leader, Janet Page, and NSD coordinator, Pastor Lynn Ripley. Their goal was to form a network of small group prayer and fellowship meetings for the pastors’ spouses. They will also publish a newsletter and hold annual retreats for three age groups focused on spiritual and physical renewal. Secretary-Treasurer, Park JongSil, has facilitated the development of a blog site. There is a licensed counselor who responds to questions as well as sharing about birthdays, births, and other helpful information.
The event took place at Hankook Middle School on the campus of Sahmyook University. Pastor Lynn Ripley led the group through discipleship principles: spiritual practices – knowing Jesus better every day; and mentoring new disciples. There was also a working session on establishing the governance structure components. Testimonies were shared about how small group meetings of pastors’ spouses had blessed the attendees and lead to an actual physical healing.
Another highlight of the weekend was the Sunday morning prayer meeting on the prayer mountain. It began with a devotional message on our call to salvation and witness. Pastor Lynn encouraged us to understand that every voice of witness is important: the young, young adults, older ones, women and men. Then the group divided up for prayer in each of the small buildings that represented the seven churches of Revelation.
Another important event will be the KUC Shepherdess Organizing Meeting, June 16-17, 2013. Please join us in praying for these initiatives as our Korean church leadership seeks to care for pastors’ spouses and their families.
Article by Pastor Lynn Ripley