Hallelujah Church began with one family of eight members on September 9, 1980, in downtown Seoul, Korea. Today, the church has approximately 7,000 members. The development of lay ministry at Hallelujah Church has been an important part of the church’s history and has contributed significantly to the broader lay ministry movement in Korea.
Lay Ministry Academy
Rev. Kim Sang Bok, widely known as “David Kim,” studied, taught, and pastored in the United States for twenty years before being invited to Hallelujah Church. On June 17, 1990, he became the Senior Pastor of the church. One year later, in March 1991, he established the Lay Ministry Academy (LMA).
The purpose of the Lay Ministry Academy was to equip lay people through three basic biblical areas of study:
- Bible — 10 credits
- Theology — 10 credits
- Ministry — 10 credits
A minimum of 30 credits was required for graduation and recognition as a lay pastor.
The first graduation was held in June 1991, with 1,473 graduates. From 1991 through December 2003, almost 33,000 people graduated from the academy. Students came from many different churches. Approximately one-third came from Hallelujah Church, while two-thirds came from other churches.
This demonstrated the tremendous interest among Korean Christians in lay ministry. Many lay people were hungry to learn the Word of God and eager to become involved in ministry.
However, there was an important limitation. Although the Lay Ministry Academy taught the Bible, theology, and ministry, many graduates still did not fully understand what lay ministry actually meant or how to practice it.
A New Understanding of Lay Ministry
Not all Korean pastors agreed that lay people could participate directly in ministry. Some believed that ministry was primarily—or exclusively—the responsibility of ordained clergy. They were willing for lay people to serve, but they did not believe lay people should minister or provide pastoral care.
David Kim challenged this distinction.
To say that lay people can serve but cannot minister is contradictory. Serving is ministering, and ministering is serving. There is no fundamental difference between the two.
David Kim’s conviction came especially from Ephesians 4:11–12, where Paul teaches that Christ gives leaders to the church in order to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the body of Christ.
The pastor’s role, therefore, is not to do all the ministry alone but to equip God’s people for ministry.
This became a central philosophy of lay ministry at Hallelujah Church. David Kim continued to preach and teach this biblical principle. He also emphasized that the twenty-first century would be an era in which lay people would become increasingly active in ministry.
The Beginning of the Lay Pastors Ministry in Korea
The Lay Pastors Ministry (LPM) was introduced to Korea through my ministry. I formally established the LPM Institute Korea on July 1, 1999, and introduced LPM to Hallelujah Church in November of that same year.
When I established the institute, I sought counsel from David Kim because of his strong commitment to equipping God’s people for ministry. I shared LPM materials with him and explained the philosophy and practice of Lay Pastors Ministry.
I also arranged for David Kim to speak directly with Dr. Melvin J. Steinbron, the founder of Lay Pastors Ministry in the United States. After speaking with Dr. Steinbron and reviewing the LPM materials, David Kim became convinced that the Lay Pastors Ministry could be an important model for the Korean church.
In 2004, David Kim sent ten members of Hallelujah Church, along with me, to the International Lay Pastors Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. After returning to Korea, the participants brought back a powerful message:
“Partners in Ministry.”
They also gained a clearer understanding of lay pastoral care ministry and its potential for the Korean church.
For more than a century, Korean churches had attempted various forms of pastoral care. However, many of these efforts had not produced lasting or effective systems of care. LPM offered a practical way to mobilize lay people as partners with the pastor in caring for the congregation.
The First Lay Pastors Ministry Conference in Korea
A major turning point came in June 2000 when Hallelujah Church and the Lay Pastors Institute sponsored the first Lay Pastors Ministry Conference in Korea.
This was a historic event for the Korean church. The keynote speaker was Tom Parrish, General Secretary of Lay Pastors Ministry International in the United States.
The conference theme was taken from Ephesians 4:11–12:
“The Church Will Come Alive When We Build Up Lay People.”
The conference addressed four major questions:
- What is Lay Pastors Ministry?
- How do we start Lay Pastors Ministry?
- Why does the church need Lay Pastors Ministry?
- How do we train lay pastors?
In addition to the four major presentations, the conference included ten workshops led by various workshop leaders.
The conference represented a significant paradigm shift in the understanding of ministry in the Korean church. Lay people were no longer viewed simply as recipients of pastoral care or as helpers of the clergy. They were being equipped to become partners in ministry.
LPM Training Center
Following the Lay Pastors Ministry Conference in June 2000, Hallelujah Church established an LPM Training Center.
The Training Center had seven primary objectives:
- To produce and equip lay pastors.
- To provide seminars for Lay Pastors Ministry.
- To establish ministries based on the LPM model.
- To build an effective LPM system within the church.
- To spread the teachings and philosophy of LPM.
- To continue studying the biblical principles of Lay Pastors Ministry.
- To conduct national and international seminars.
The central focus of the Training Center was lay pastoral care.
The Ministry Leadership Group
Hallelujah Church established a Ministry Leadership Group (MLG) to provide ownership and leadership for the ministry. The group consisted of nine members, including the Senior Pastor’s wife, who volunteered to participate.
The members were trained in the philosophy and practice of LPM, with particular emphasis on PACE ministry, the basic responsibility of every lay pastor.
PACE stands for:
- P — Prayer
- A — Availability
- C — Contact
- E — Example
Through PACE, lay pastors develop personal relationships with those entrusted to their care. Prayer, availability, regular contact, and personal example become the foundation for effective lay pastoral care.
The Ministry Leadership Group was also responsible for developing an appropriate training curriculum and establishing a ministry system that could be implemented throughout the congregation.
Equipping the Leaders
David Kim began by equipping the leaders of Hallelujah Church. He first trained fifteen elders using the twelve-module PACE training program.
Most of the elders responded positively, although some were initially uncertain about the concept. As they continued to study, participate in the training, and experience the ministry, their understanding changed. Eventually, all of the elders became supportive of the ministry.
The training was then expanded to other leaders:
- 38 deaconesses
- 22 deacons
- 9 youth leaders
- 8 elders
- 28 men’s leaders
- 199 women’s leaders
In this way, almost all of the major leaders of Hallelujah Church received PACE training.
As a result, approximately 5,000 members of the congregation came to understand the basic philosophy of LPM and PACE ministry.
“The Twenty-First Century Is the Era of Lay Ministry”
On the first day of 2001, David Kim preached from John 21:15–17 and made a significant declaration to the congregation:
“The twenty-first century is the era of lay ministry.”
From that time forward, he continued to preach, teach, and speak about Lay Pastors Ministry on many occasions.
The concept of LPM gradually spread throughout the church. Many trained leaders began adapting PACE ministry to their cell groups, Bible studies, teaching groups, and other ministry settings.
PACE became the core of the pastoral-care ministry and was increasingly used as a practical way to care for members of the congregation.
Three Stages of Development
The development of LPM at Hallelujah Church can be understood in three stages:
Stage One: Study and Preparation
June 2000 – June 2001
During this period, the church studied the philosophy and principles of LPM, trained leaders, and prepared the ministry structure.
Stage Two: Clinical Development and Expansion
June 2001 – December 2002
During this stage, the church began putting the principles into practice. Leaders gained practical experience and expanded PACE ministry throughout the congregation.
Stage Three: Settlement
January 2003 – Present
During this stage, LPM became increasingly established as part of the ministry structure of Hallelujah Church.
A Questionnaire on the Ministry
In early 2003, Hallelujah Church conducted a questionnaire regarding the Lay Pastors Ministry. A total of 547 members responded.
The survey provided valuable information about how members were practicing PACE ministry and how much time they were investing in prayer and pastoral care. The results indicated significant participation, particularly among women, in carrying out PACE ministry.
The survey confirmed that lay people were not merely learning about ministry. They were actually becoming involved in caring for one another.
The Possibilities of Lay Pastors Ministry
One of the most encouraging findings concerning Lay Pastors Ministry is the effectiveness of lay pastors in caring for the congregation.
Research reported by Dr. Melvin Steinbron in Can the Pastor Do It Alone? indicated that members perceived the effectiveness of lay pastors as approximately 70 percent of that of the Senior Pastor in pastoral care.
This is a remarkable finding.
Lay pastors are not ordained clergy. They are ordinary Christian men and women who have been equipped, commissioned, and given responsibility to care for others.
When pastors equip lay people for ministry, the ministry of the church expands far beyond what one pastor could accomplish alone.
This is the heart of Ephesians 4:11–12.
The pastor does not have to do all the ministry. The pastor’s greatest ministry may be equipping God’s people to do ministry.
The experience of Hallelujah Church demonstrates what can happen when a congregation embraces this biblical vision.
Lay Pastors Ministry builds up the body of Christ by turning church members from spectators into partners in ministry.
It is not simply a program.
It is a paradigm shift—from pastor-centered ministry to shared ministry, from laity as helpers to laity as ministers, and from the pastor doing ministry alone to the whole body of Christ ministering together.