Staff members are very important to this kind of ministry. Every organization has its own approach to staffing, but I believe the style we developed at LPM Korea has been very effective.
One reason is that I have learned that every person has strengths. Everyone has spiritual gifts—or, perhaps more simply, talents—in certain areas. Some people teach very well. Some are excellent at building fellowship. Some think logically and reasonably. Others have very systematic and structured ways of thinking. Still others are quiet and careful, helping to prevent mistakes.
As we can see, there are many different kinds of people in the world. Even in a small organization, we need people with different strengths and personalities.
There are two major points I would like to emphasize.
1. Building a National-Level Team
When I began this ministry, Dr. Melvin advised me, “You cannot do it alone. If you want to cover all the churches in Korea, you need to build a team at the national level.”
As we know, Dr. Melvin developed a monograph on the Leadership Group for Lay Pastors Ministry in the local church. Although the monograph was written primarily for local churches, I believed that its principles could also be adapted for the national level. Therefore, I used these ideas to develop the staffing structure of LPM Korea.
There could have been many different titles for those working at the national level, but we chose the term “Staff” for LPM Korea.
Following Dr. Melvin’s teaching, I invited people around me to join as staff members who would work together for the churches of Korea. People gradually joined our group. In the beginning, only three people started the institute, but eventually the number grew to eleven.
Through experience, I found that fewer than five people made the team somewhat weak, while more than ten people made it more difficult for the core team to work closely together. Therefore, I tried to maintain a core staff of approximately eight to ten people.
2. Developing a Sense of Family
The second important point was developing a strong sense of family among our staff members.
I told them many times, “We are family.” This idea has remained deeply in my heart. That is why I believe the concept of staff is especially appropriate for this kind of ministry.
Our staff members do not easily leave LPM Korea because we share two important things. First, we have a clear goal: to help the churches of Korea. Second, we have a strong internal culture: we are family.
Every member was a volunteer. In other words, no one received a salary—not even our full-time staff members in the office, including myself. For the last ten years, we continued the ministry without salaries.
We ate together, were sad together, were happy together, and thought together. When we faced a difficult problem to solve, an important assignment to complete, or a challenge that required success, sometimes we could not sleep well. In some ways, however, we even enjoyed facing those problems, challenges, and tasks together.
Because we had both a family spirit and a team commitment to a specific mission, this kind of ministry was possible.
I deeply appreciate the investment of time, energy, and even personal sacrifice that our staff members gave to this ministry for the sake of helping Korean churches.
I believe we have done very well together, and I hope that ministries in other countries can also develop this kind of team.
I am especially grateful to Dr. Melvin, who guided us in this direction, and to LPMI USA, which continues to serve as a model for the rest of us.
At LPMI USA, they use the term “Board Members” because they work at the international level. For that reason, the title Board Member is appropriate for their ministry. At LPM Korea, however, we chose the word “Staff” because it reflects the way we work together—as a committed team and as a family, united in one mission: serving and helping the churches of Korea.