GA Moderatorial
Jin S. Kim for Moderator of the 219th General Assembly – Presbyterian Church (USA)
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Jin delivers a message at the PC(USA)'s 218th GA (2008) titled, "Walking Humbly".
Jin is the founding pastor and head of staff of Church of All Nations in Minneapolis. He was born in Korea in 1968, came to the US with his family in 1975, and grew up in Columbia, SC and Atlanta, GA in a multiethnic environment. He holds degrees from Georgia Tech, 1990, Princeton Seminary, 1993, and a doctor of ministry from Columbia Seminary, 2005. He is currently Moderator of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area and Chair of Cross Cultural Alliance of Ministries, serves on the boards of the Minnesota Council of Churches, Greater MN Association of Evangelicals, and Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, as a PCUSA delegate to the National Council of Churches, and as a US delegate to the 3rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town 2010. He was formerly president of Presbyterians for Renewal. He is also a part of the Jewish-Presbyterian Dialogue and the Special Committee on the Belhar Confession.
He speaks widely on the renewal of the church at conferences, colleges, seminaries, presbyteries and congregations, both in the US and abroad. He was a preacher at the 2004 and 2008 General Assemblies of the PCUSA, is adjunct faculty at Dubuque Seminary and has also taught at Princeton Seminary, Columbia Seminary, and Duke Divinity School, as well as at seminaries in Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Russia, and Korea. Jin has a passion for the ministry of reconciliation and a vision for the visible unity of the global church shaped by the best of our Reformed tradition. His household includes wife Soon Pac, Claire Nicea, 10, Austin Athanasius, 8, and Jin’s parents.
Reflections on our life together as a Presbyterian family…
In a post-modern, post-ideological, post-denominational, multicultural age often marked by uprootedness and loss of meaning, how do we “do church” in a way that testifies to the reconciling gospel of Jesus Christ? In an individualistic culture that tends toward alienation and isolation, how do we lead our congregations, ministries and presbyteries to become high-risk, low-anxiety places, to lead God’s people to confess who they are, to experience healing in intimate community, and to be a witness to the liberating power of the Spirit?
This is an age that requires a new conceptualizing of leadership. How can churches be re-oriented from institutional management to the kind of leadership that is daring, imaginative, prophetic, countercultural, yet peace-full? In a time when many of the historic mainline churches find themselves on the brink, how might we reinterpret this de-centering as a gift and an opportunity for transformation? Is it possible to lead our local congregations and presbyteries into an embodiment of both radical diversity and deep intimacy that counters the homogenizing and commoditizing impulses of the dominant culture?
Jin invites the whole Presbyterian family to engage these difficult questions out of his unique experience of leading a vital mainline congregation representing more than 25 nations, cultures, languages, generations and denominational backgrounds where everyone is a “minority”.
Unanimously endorsed by:
John Nelson
Anthony Jermaine Ross
Dana Caraway
Jin S. Kim
Hikari Nakane
Congratulations, Jin. Best wishes!
“For such a time as this.” I am pleased to know that God is leading you to lead the Church at this time. May your journey to General Assembly be one of Peace and Joy. My prayers are with you, dear brother in Christ.
Rev. Kim,
As your sister in Christ, and your sister congregation, we are pleased to know that you have taken on the challenge of transformational leadership. As I read of you candidacy, I immediately wanted to let you know how honored our church would be because you walk the walk and talk the talk.
Blessings on your journey, and if there is anything we can do at Seigle, please let us know! You have our full support!
Your’s in Christ,
Pastor Flo Watkins
Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church
Charlotte NC 28277
So, my brother, it would appear that my prophetic utterings may not have been lunacy after all.
Shalom,
Elward
Jin,
Excellent news, my brother. I’ll be praying for you as you stand for election.
Dear Jin, I was happy to read of your endorsement for GA moderator by our presbytery. If I had been at the meeting, I most certainly would have given you my endorsement (but, alas, I’m in Claremont, California for my sabbatical!). I sure hope you get the job this summer. Best to you, Paul Capetz
Congrats and Thanks, Jin! I’m still in Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery (EOP) and will be coming up to your neck of the woods for GA as a commissioner this year. Let me know how I can be of help to you in your candidacy in addition to speaking to other EOP commissioners.
Peace,
Dan