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Korean Anabaptist Fellowship founded
Stories of faith unite international group
By Hannah Heinzekehr Mennonite Mission NetworkUPLAND, Calif. — From the seeds of shared stories, the Korean Anabaptist Fellowship was born Nov. 19-21.
Hun Yu and Kyong-Jung Kim talk during the Korean Anabaptist Fellowship gathering in Upland, Calif. Kim is from the Korean Anabaptist Center in Seoul, South Korea. — Photo by Hannah Heinzekehr/Mennonite Mission Network
Pastors and leaders from the United States, South Korea and Canada came for the first official international meeting of Korean Anabaptists.
“Together we celebrated the birth of people who seek to follow Jesus in the Anabaptist way of faith and practice and also in the Korean context,” said Hyung-Jin Kim, a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. “We promised to hold each other in solidarity.”
Kim said the most valuable part of the gathering was “to hear the story of each Korean leader who confesses that they are Anabaptist. It is interesting to hear how they try to live out the Anabaptist confession in a Korean context.”
Mountain View Mennonite Church hosted the event.
The idea for the gathering was developed by Hyun Hur, pastor of Church for Others in Temple City. Hur wanted to provide a space where congregational leaders who identify as Anabaptists could come together to fellowship and build relationships.
Korean Anabaptist leaders often feel like they are working alone within a strong Reformed Christian context in Korean communities, or among Anabaptist communities that don’t understand Korean culture and background.
“This meeting was important in order to contextualize Anabaptist faith and practice in Korean Christianity, which is so strongly oriented to Reformed theology and tradition,” said James Rhee, pastor of Stephens City (Va.) Korean Mennonite Church.
Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Church USA’s Intercultural Relations team and Mennonite Church Canada Witness provided funds to help subsidize travel and meeting costs. Kuaying Teng, denominational minister for Asian ministries and a Mennonite Mission Network staff member, helped Hur contact Korean leaders connected with MMN.
“While the number of Korean Anabaptist churches is growing and its network is expanding, we need to have more clear communication structures, because all of us come from different backgrounds with faith practices,” said Kyong-Jung Kim, administrator of the Korean Anabaptist Center in Seoul.
The group named itself the Korean Anabaptist Fellowship and made plans to gather again with the Korea Anabaptist Fellowship in Canada at the Mennonite Church Canada assembly in Calgary, Alta., June 29-July 3.
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