Korean Adventist Young Adults in America Chart a New Future

July 30, 2015:   Sabbath afternoon August 8 during the East Coast Korean Camp Meeting in the United States, a “summit on the future” will convene to which young adults are invited. The Korean Church Association in the United States is made up of immigrants from Korea and this meeting is part of the “English ministry” section of the organization which involves largely second-generation immigrants who worship in the English language.

This is an “unprecedented” event, according to an announcement on the association’s web site. It involves a maturing step for a large immigrant group among Adventists in the United States.

Participants will work in small groups around tables and explore questions such as the following: Why are Korean American young adults leaving the Korean language churches during or after college? Why do some stay or eventually return? Are Korean language congregations still necessary for the second generation? What can English ministries in Korean churches offer English-speaking young adults? What can English-speaking young adults offer to the future of English ministries in Korean churches? How should these activities be organized in the future?

Each discussion group will select a leader and a scribe, and share a report of their ideas with the larger group. The reports from the discussion groups will be collected and collated by an editing committee into a written report from the summit to be shared with the Korean Church Association annual executive committee meeting, September 6-12.

The young adult summit will convene on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown where the camp meeting is also being held. The summit is scheduled for 2 to 5 pm Sabbath afternoon.

For more information about the event and the English-language young adult section of the camp meeting, go to this web page:  https://aksdaem.com/events/yasummit/