My name is Kyeon Heo and I’m currently serving as the EM Pastor at New England Grace Presbyterian Church in Connecticut. I went to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for my undergraduate studies and spent 6 years in the corporate industry as a Multi-media Designer and an English Professor in Korea before attending seminary at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. By His grace, I came to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during my youth group days and is interested in long-term mission work overseas focusing on ministering to the youth and college students.
I first heard about KOSTA during the summer of 2008 where my senior pastor asked me to help with the “youth program” of KOSTA. Ever since then, myself along with two faithful brothers in Christ (Michael Chung and Tim Rhee) have been committed to serve each summer. This is our 10th year serving at KOSTA together and regardless of how many times we felt as though we won’t be able to serve year in and year out, God always helped us to remember the blessings that we experienced throughout the years, which keeps us as well as the volunteers coming back again and again.
I will never forget the first year we served together. We were just out of college and didn’t really know what we were doing. KOSTA placed the youth group in a small classroom upstairs at the SRC in Wheaton College. We barely had enough room to fit everyone into that small room and it was definitely a learning experience. However, throughout the 5 days of KOSTA, it was so clear and visible how God was moving and working in the hearts of not only the students but the staff as well as well during our prayer and worship times. It was through this very first KOSTA experience that taught me that despite my inabilities, despite my inadequacies, God is so much greater and He wanted use KOSTA as an avenue to minister to each and every one of us.
I know KOSTA is predominantly a Korean-Speaking conference which I believe is great! However, ever since KOSTA began 30+ years ago, now I believe there are more and more predominantly “English-Speaking” people to which perhaps the conference can accommodate for.
I want to ask you to pray for the followings:
1. Please pray for the students. We have 30 students registered to be with us for the next five days and we simply desire for these students to hear God’s word and respond. May God open up and prepare their hearts!
2. Please pray for the speakers (Rev. Michael Chung, Pastor Tim Rhee, Pastor Jinu Yu, Pastor Daniel Song, Pastor Kyeon Heo). As we deliver God’s word, that He will empower us and speak through us the truth of God’s living word!
3. Please pray for the counselors and volunteers. That they may not get too caught up on “serving” the youth but also to get blessed as well.