At the Sunday worship service at the NYG, the offering will support the work of Rev. Dongjoo (DJ) Kim, who is a LCC missionary at large, working with Street Reach, a ministry in Regina and Moose Jaw. He will be at the gathering as part of two breakout sessions, one for youth and one for leaders.
Rev. Kim says: “I am a pastor of a mobile church. The congregation I serve is made up of over 150 hardcore gangsters, those who are breaking the law, and the police officers of the Regina and Moose Jaw police services, those who are working to keep the law. This mobile church always responds, moving from one place to another place, delivering the sacramental gift of forgiveness in the darkness and most desperate of places. The central mission of this mobile church is to provide God’s Word, hear confession, and deliver the sacramental gift of absolution first instituted by Christ Jesus Himself to those who are dying, the family members of the victim, and police officers who having a difficult time dealing with the trauma they experience on the job. In this mobile mission, I have even ministered to notorious gangsters on the street and to those who are locked up in solitary confinement. The offering will be used for purchasing Tim Hortons gift cards in order to feed the at-risk youth I meet with on a daily basis.”
Chaplain Dongjoo (DJ) Kim, a native of South Korea, carries with him a shocking past—from renouncing his membership with the White Snake gang; witnessing horrific occurrences while serving in the South Korean Military’s special forces; to his enrolment at a Lutheran seminary in Canada. Rev. Kim eventually became an army chaplain for the Royal Regina Rifles, supporting soldiers returning from Afghanistan, and now serves as a chaplain for the Regina and Moose Jaw Police Services. Through his Street Reach ministry, Rev. Kim works with at-risk youth, and currently has over 150 hardcore gangsters under his care. Rev. Kim’s years of service under agonizing circumstances has taught him that it is important to ask for help even in the midst of helping others, and he is currently being treated for severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
You can read more about Rev. Kim’s life and work here: https://www.canadianlutheran.ca/honourable-wound-whats-the-difference-between-a-hero-and-a-warrior/
If you would like to support this ministry and will not be at the NYG, or would like to donate online or with a cheque rather than cash, you can donate via Synod office at the link below, or with a cheque payable to Lutheran Church-Canada with “Regina and Moose Jaw Street Ministry” on the memo line. https://lutheranchurch-canada.tng-secure.com/?pageId=donation-edit&categoryId=10959
Another option is to donate through the Concordia Lutheran Mission Society: https://www.concordiamissions.org/street-reach-regina-9608/