“The boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and favor with the Lord and with men.” (1 Samuel 2:26)

This year Christmas was meaningful for me because it was my first Christmas with my wife as the co-pastors at USCP. I will never forget my first Christmas services at USCP. I am so glad to be here and to meet you.

As you know, I started my Christian journey in South Korea with my grandmother when I was young. However, I didn’t have the experience of decorating a Christmas tree even though I have been a Christian for a long time. When I shared this information with people, almost all of them questioned why I didn’t like to do Christmas decorations at home. There are several reasons, but the main reason is the difference in cultural background between Korea and the U.S.

Christianity has affected every part of the U.S. For this reason, Christmas in the U.S. is not only a meaningful religious day, but also a cultural holiday regardless of religions. However, there was almost no Christianity 150 years ago in Korea.

Christianity spread in earnest to Korea through missionaries after 1884. Many missionaries came from the U.S. They did not build just the church buildings, but also the schools, hospitals, and orphanages in Korea. God has worked and showed God’s blessings through the missionaries and prepared Korean Christian leaders. As the result, Korean Christianity has developed rapidly.

Korean Christian members were only around 100 (estimate) at 1884. However, the numbers are now 13,750,000 according to the 2015 Korean Census. It is almost 30% of the population in South Korea.

However, there are also 22% Buddhists and 45% Atheists, which are based on Confucianism. My grandmother was the only Christian among my family members. My Grandfather strongly followed old Korean tradition based on Confucianism, so I couldn’t have much of a Christmas mood at home. I could feel the mood of Christmas only at the church. For my family, Christmas was one of the holidays when people didn’t work or go the school. For this reason, the Christmas decorations still don’t work for me at home. But Pastor Ran was born and raised in a faithful Christian family, so Christmas decorations are a natural thing for her. It was an interesting thing that we were born and raised in the same city (Seoul) and we are the same ethnic as Korean, yet we have totally different family backgrounds and cultures.

This year, we decorated a small Christmas tree at home. (My friend gifted a small tree for us and we bought some decorations from the “Old Fashioned Christmas Coffee, Crafts and Bake Sale” at Atlas UMC). It was the first time I decorated my Christmas tree at home, and it was a small challenge for me. It was a small change in my life, but I hope to make my new Christian life, tradition, and future with Pastor Ran and you in God continually at USCP.

I hope and pray that our Christian journey in 2017 will grow continually in the Lord and will be in favor with people beyond our limitations and backgrounds like the boy, Samuel, did in 1 Samuel chapter 2.

Happy New Year in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Kookho Kim

Posted in From The Pastors