On June 19, First Church held a special Commissioning Service for Pastor Su Kim and his family to celebrate God’s calling them as missionaries to Thailand. The Kims left for Bangkok in mid-July to begin serving with United World Mission. Their ministry will help build a network of pastors and church planters, and cultivate a gospel-centered church planting movement there. While Thailand has been the focus of missionary efforts for 190 years, out of the 67 million people, only 0.6% are Christian.
Our church was privileged to provide scholarship support and host Su for a mentorship program in January 2018. He graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2019 and was ordained as a pastor for mission service by the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. Since then, Pastor Su has been our Assistant Pastor, serving in student ministry and missions and participating in pastoral duties. Over the past three years, the family has been preparing for their cross-cultural transition and overseas service.
Su and Christina grew up in suburban Baltimore. Su earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from the University of Maryland. He worked in management at a public utility company, and since 2006 they have led short-term mission teams to Thailand. During their fifth trip in 2013 the Kims sensed God’s call, and three years later they accepted His call.
Thailand is a country of great spiritual need, and Bangkok is a vast city with few churches. We are grateful for the vision God placed in the hearts of the Kim family. Their move to Thailand has been many years in the making and had to be postponed due to the global pandemic. During this waiting period, the family has been anchored in faith and confident in God’s call. We have no doubt that they will have a tremendous impact in Thailand. Thank you to all who have chosen to walk alongside the Kim family; please continue to encourage, support, and pray for them.
Visit our website at fpcbonita.org/kim to learn more or join their email list.
