Day 1 – Gus Kim

1. What do you do for a living? (occupation/field of study)

I am a minister and currently serve as a pastor at Grace Church.

2. How do you like to spend your free time?

I like to take my family out to eat or watch soccer games in my free time.

3. Share one interesting fact about you that most people don’t know!

I was born in Korea and grew up in Argentina. That’s where I get my accent! I also got married during my senior year in college.

4. Do you have a favorite book in the Bible? If you do, which one is it and why?

My favorite books are the Gospel of John and Galatians. I like how John portrays Jesus in his Gospel and how it contains events and teachings that are unique and not part of the other Gospels. I also like the Book of Galatians because it establishes the importance of correct and true Christian doctrine, which helped me build my foundation on Christ in my early Christian years.

5. Is there a verse/passage in the Bible that has significantly impacted your life? If so, which is it and why?

I also have many verses and passages that impacted my life. But if I must choose one, I will choose Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through [Jesus] who gives me strength.” For my college essay, I was asked to write about a book or a quote that has had a significant impact in my life. I chose Philippians 4:13 because Jesus is the one who completely transformed my life.

6. Is there a prayer request that has been on your heart recently? If so, please share with us.

I have been praying for our church to grow together spiritually, and not to be lukewarm but on fire for Jesus. Personally, I have been praying for God to continue to give me faith, boldness, strength, joy and passion to serve Him and His church.

7. Tell us about how you met Christ? (Feel free to share a brief testimony).

I was born and raised in a non-Christian family. At the age of 10, my family left Korea and immigrated to Argentina to start a restaurant business. In Argentina, my parents placed me in a Catholic school where I attended masses occasionally and took religion classes as part of the school’s curriculum, but I had no interest in either God or religion. 

When I was 16 years old, my parents sent me to study abroad here in New York. Instead of focusing on my studies and pursuing the American dream as my parents hoped, I started skipping school and spent most of my time with friends: smoking, drinking, playing video games, gambling, and getting involved in gang fights, and I ended up dropping out of school.

It was the summer of 2002 when I met Su, now my wife. Because of her, I decided to go back to school and finish my education. She was also a devoted Christian and asked me to attend services on Sundays. Knowing how important it was for her, I started going to church on Sundays, although I hated it because I was an atheist. But as I heard sermons, sang worship songs, and spent time with other Christians at church, I began to open my heart to God.

After I started going to church for about a year, I had a chance to go to a retreat where I became desperate to find out if God really existed. So, I prayed asking God to reveal Himself to me and to come into my life. That night God answered my prayer. The Holy Spirit came into my heart and filled me with an unexplainable peace, joy and hope (something that I have never experienced before). I also felt loved and accepted as who I was for the first time. After the retreat, I decided to believe and dedicate my life to Jesus. The things that I used to do for fun and for pleasure meant nothing to me anymore. My life was completely transformed.