On Sunday, January 12, 2025, we held a seminar for parents and everyone interested in the subject of “Why Church Matters”. It featured some thoughts provided by Dr. Joseph Park, clinical psychiatrist, followed by reflections from Rev. Dave Lee and Pastor James Park. Below is the full video of the session and a summary of the contents.
Drawing from his experiences as a clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Park discussed why the church might be a unique and invaluable place that addresses some of the urgent issues that the young people face today, such as loneliness, anxiety, addition, and depression.
Dr. Park argued for an understanding of church as an “embodied community”, where in-person interactions are frequently encouraged and emphasized in spaces like weekly meetings, worship services, and retreats. As young people receive a consistent exposure to people of different ages and life stages, they go on to experience a greater sense of connectedness. Dr. Park suggested that having an embodied community like the church can counter the tendency toward digital overuse that results in isolation and disconnectedness.
Furthermore, Dr. Park defined the church as an integral space for “moral formation” for the young people. The church not only provides a clear and shared narrative structure rooted in a common historical basis, but also aids in the formation of a principle-centered, moral compass that helps young people navigate through the complexities of our modern, pluralistic society.
Dr. Park concluded the seminar by encouraging the parents to take a greater ownership of their faith community for the next generations. He highlighted regular and consistent attendance as a concrete step towards that vision.
“What Is Church To Our Children?”
In his response to Dr. Park’s seminar, Rev. Dave Lee offered a brief pastoral reflection on how the young people view the church as an “alternative community” that affords them the opportunity to form meaningful, intergenerational relationships and to reflect critically on their life in a safe space with those who share similar values. Rev. Dave also shared how the church functions as a place of embodied learning, where the message of the gospel that is taught to the young people is also lived out in real and concrete ways by the educators (i.e. pastors, teachers, volunteers). In that sense, Rev. Dave argued for the church as a necessary and stable “anchor” for our young people in their ongoing development as children, youths, and young adults.
Kids Church Ministry
Related to the seminar and the reflection, Pastor James Park shared some of the new initiatives for the children’s ministry in 2025: 1) the launching of brand-new curriculum (“GROW”) that prioritizes building regular, consistent faith practices for the families; 2) the weekly homework for the children and parents based on the Sunday lessons; and 3) the plans for the upcoming Easter season that include musical ensembles and the production of an Easter play.
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