A Heart for the Nations: One Student’s Experience of the 4th Lausanne Congress
Published by ljol236
Calvin Seminary student Jin Soo Park (MDiv, 2026) had the unique opportunity to attend the 4th Lausanne Congress, hosted in Incheon, South Korea in September 2024. I recently sat down with him to hear more about his mission experience, time at the Lausanne Congress, and how it fueled his future goals and passion for missions.
CTS: Tell me a bit about yourself – what was life like for you before coming to Calvin Seminary?
Jin Soo: I was born in Korea, and was raised on the mission field in Kenya. Growing up, I wasn’t interested in pursuing mission work as a full-time career, but God had other plans for my life.
As a sophomore at Calvin College (now University), I attended the 2015 Urbana Conference, which is all about global missions and God’s work in the world. This was a transformational time in my life, and I felt God calling me to be a missionary in the Middle East. God’s call continued to take shape over my time at Calvin, particularly during my senior year. There was a job fair with several international schools, and one from North Africa particularly resonated with me. As an education major, I was seeking opportunities to use my education degree in a missions context, and this school in North Africa needed a history teacher who had lived experience as a third culture / missionary kid. It was a perfect opportunity.
Now nearing graduation, I knew God was calling me to North Africa, but I needed the financial support to go. I got connected to Resonate Global Mission, who acted as my sending organization. A significant part of raising support came through a television show based in Korea, which featured stories of Christians in every area of life. My desire to go into North Africa as a missionary was shared on that Christian tv show, and people from around the world donated – including one elderly woman who took a train to Seoul, went to the tv station, and handed them a donation for my mission work. Within a month, I had raised all of the money I needed (and more) for my first year in North Africa. God clearly demonstrated His provision for me as I followed his call.
CTS: Tell me more about your time in North Africa. What were some highlights of your time there, and what needs did you notice that drove you to Seminary?
Jin Soo: I initially gave a two year commitment to the school, but ended up staying for four years total because not only did I love it, but God kept providing for me financially.
Teaching and living in North Africa posed some unique challenges to me as a Christian. It’s an area of the world where openly proclaiming the Gospel can be punished by time in prison. Because of this, it’s an area where the Gospel has to be proclaimed in the way you live, carry yourself, and treat others. This was very significant and challenging to my spiritual growth during those years of teaching.
As I neared the end of my final year teaching, my desire for more formal, theologically-based training had grown exponentially. While I had the training necessary to teach history, I knew I didn’t have the theological knowledge to answer students’ questions about faith and the Bible as well as I desired. I was also noticing a deep need for me to have a better understanding of and training in pastoral care, counseling and other skills needed to care for missionary kids, who were my main area of ministry focus.
Some Resonate Global Mission missionaries connected me to Calvin Seminary, and here I am!
CTS: What have been some of the highlights of your time here at Calvin Seminary?
Jin Soo: I entered Calvin Seminary as an online student in the Spring 2023 semester (and switched to residential in the Fall 2023 semester), intending to do a MA in Christian Leadership. Over the past year, God convicted me that two years of seminary was not enough – I needed the full breadth and depth of training I could possibly receive here. I switched to the MDiv program this year, and am concentrating on missiology and member care so I can eventually return to the mission field and be a more effective missionary to missionary kids.
Since coming to Calvin Seminary, I’ve deeply appreciated the relationships I’ve built with my classmates. I’ve found this community to be one that asks good questions and listens well. So many people here are clearly yearning to learn more about missions and God’s work in the global church – I’ve had many opportunities to share about my upbringing in Kenya and teaching experience in North Africa.
CTS: What led to you attending the Lausanne Congress?
Jin Soo: Attending the Lausanne Congress is an invite-only experience. A friend of mine–a Korean missionary who also worked in North Africa–sent me an email in early 2023. She had been invited to apply, and was encouraged by the conference organizers to invite those she knew who’d be interested in attending to apply – so she reached out to me.
The application to attend not only asked about my mission experience, but also asked about my age and background so they could ensure the attendees represented a wide range of ages, ethnicities, countries of origin, backgrounds, and more.
Flights to and lodging in South Korea isn’t cheap, but the Lausanne Congress had scholarship funds that generously helped me attend.
CTS: What were some highlights or favorite parts of the conference for you?
Jin Soo: Three things come to mind: the diversity among attendees, conversations with my table group, and what I learned about the persecuted church.
This Lausanne Congress welcomed over 5,400 people from 202 nations – one of the largest gatherings of Christian, evangelical mission leaders ever. I saw people from many cultures, denominations, languages and theological persuasions worshiping and praying together – a beautiful picture of what heaven will be like!
The Congress also assigned attendees into table groups, placing six people at each table to facilitate in-depth conversation and relationship building with people from other parts of the world. I had the privilege of sitting with and learning from fellow believers from Ghana, Brazil, and many other parts of the world.
What was most impactful, though, was the sessions on and conversations about the persecuted church. At the conference, believers from China, Iran and other ‘closed’ countries were present. One man from a Middle Eastern country shared about how he attended the last Lausanne Congress (in 2010), was arrested upon his return, and spent five years in prison, one of those in solitary confinement. This man’s story of suffering for the sake of the Gospel deeply touched me, reminding me that even though I’m in a place where I’m not persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, millions of Christians are daily in fear of persecution, violations of their safety, and being put to death for their faith in Christ. This was a wake up call to be fervent in prayer for the persecuted church, and also to share stories–like this man from the Middle East–with Christians who don’t experience persecution.
CTS: What did you learn or hear about that you wish others had been present for? What do you wish the church in the United States could hear from the Lausanne Congress?
Jin Soo: One of the main areas of focus at the Lausanne Congress was a call to repentance and unity, specifically repentance for how we’ve treated the marginalized and vulnerable, as well as how we’ve neglected unity and favored disagreement.
Many of the speakers–including Ruth Padilla DeBorst, Anne Zaki, and Sarah Bruell–described this need for repentance and unity, calling this global body of representatives to draw upon one another’s strengths and listen intentionally to both sides of the story before making rash decisions, judgments, or unfounded opinions about one another. I sensed both a deep tension among the delegates, but also a growing commitment to Gospel unity despite differences.
Where I saw this unity take place most profoundly was in a regional meeting for ministry leaders from the Middle East and North Africa. The leaders took turns sharing stories of what God is doing in their country, and fellow participants celebrated and prayed for God’s work in each country and place. Even the Israeli and Palestinian delegates actively set aside the war and other conflicts to encourage one another in their ministries. It was a beautiful, visible picture of Gospel unity despite conflict and differences, and I wish more people could have witnessed that.
CTS: How do you see your time at Lausanne shaping your continued studies here at Calvin Seminary, as well as your personal faith journey?
Jin Soo: Attending the Lausanne Congress confirmed that I’m in the right place, receiving training so I can serve missionaries. However, I also am sensing God calling me to be a collaborator and bridge builder, promoting unity among the global church. I could see myself acting as a listener, learner and storyteller, taking stories from one church to another. That way, churches in Brazil could learn what’s happening in Ghana, and people in California could learn about God’s work in Brazil, and people in Lebanon could hear stories of God’s work in California. The Lausanne Congress impressed upon me the power and necessity of storytelling, as it’s an avenue for us to look outside our own contexts and witness God’s work in other areas of the world.
Another aspect of my life and faith journey God has convicted me in is my ability to listen. So often, I’m tempted to speak more and listen less. These experiences at Lausanne convicted me to be a better listener, asking questions about how God is at work around the world. I see this especially as it relates to the persecuted church, as not asking questions meant I never had a full understanding of the deep pain, suffering and persecution millions of Christians are experiencing daily because they believe in Jesus. I no longer want to be complacent in my inattentiveness to the needs, prayer requests, and growth in the global church.
Even as I think about how Lausanne called us to global unity under the Gospel, God also used my time there to remind me that pursuing unity begins in my own life and relationships. I came home and had some very restorative (although hard) conversations with people in my life about bitterness or resentment I was harboring against them. I trust that God will continue to help me pursue unity here in Grand Rapids, Calvin Seminary, and beyond.
My time at the Lausanne Congress clearly demonstrated to me that God is at work not only here in West Michigan and the United States, but in the church around the world. The 5,400 attendees are proof of that. I come away from the Lausanne Congress trusting that God will continue to work in and through His Church as we pursue unity in disagreement and restore relationships through repentance and empathetic listening.
Interested in learning more about the Lausanne Congress and Movement? Check out the following resources:
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