GKYM's 10th Mission Conference to Take Place in Rochester, with Hopes for '2nd Gen' Korean Americans as the Main Lineup

GKYM 2013
GKYM's 8th Mission Conference in 2013 took place at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

GKYM (Global Kingdom Young Adults Missions Festival) International, one of the most well-known Korean American missions organizations in the U.S., will be hosting its 10th conference later this year from December 27 to 30 at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center in New York.

At a press conference at Daedong Manor in Flushing held on Thursday, organizers explained the direction and outline of this year's conference. Among those present at the press conference included Hae Taek Kim, the senior pastor of ChoongSyn Reformed Church in New York and the co-founder of GKYM; Dong Yul Lee, a missionary from Haiti Institute for Mission; Jason Noh, the interim senior pastor at Light Presbyterian Church in Toronto; Min Yong Chung, the senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church; Jim-Bob Park, the senior pastor of Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles; and Eun Yul Kim, one of the staff of GKYM.

GKYM has continued with the purpose of bringing together Korean American young adults scattered all over the world to raise them up as missionary workers to share the gospel in the unreached places. Since GKYM hosted its first conference in 2008 at Niagara, some 1,000 young adults have committed to short term missions and about 100 have been sent out as long term missionaries.

The upcoming 10th conference is centered on the theme, "We the Messengers," based on the theme verse, Malachi 3:1. Though the lineup of speakers has not yet been confirmed, organizers expressed hopes to include a majority of second generation Korean Americans as the main speakers, including Dr. Michael Oh, the executive director and CEO of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.

"As the speakers and leaders of the conference are increasingly of the second generation, the culture of the conference is going through big changes, and it's becoming something that even non-Christians outside of a Korean immigrant church context can be a part of," said Rev. Eun Yul Kim.

This year's conference will also include a youth track for those participants who will be bringing their whole family.

"Not only are second generation Korean Americans attending GKYM, but now those of the third generation are also participating," said Rev. Min Yong Chung. "I hope that the conference will be a way through which blessings are passed on from generation to generation, and not only that but that it will become a place in which anyone can come and be blessed."