Issue 31
July 15, 2020
Seoul, Korea
Greetings!
As summer approaches, churches are getting ready to open their vacation Bible schools, which this year will be online. Looking at the situation positively, we can see it as a fuller development of the education program into the online sphere, rather than as a limitation. In this issue of the newsletter, we feature the story of a Korean War veteran’s son, Rev. Chad Hammond, who now is in Korea to continue the evangelical ministry of Rev. Billy Graham.
Bible school arrives online: Focus is on “family” sharing of faith experiences
COVID-19 is causing summer Bible schools to be moved online. According to this trend, many churches are preparing online classes for “indoor summer Bible schools.” The key word for Bible schools this year is expected to be “family,” in response to the COVID-19 situation. There’s deep regret not to be holding regular Bible school gatherings, but on the positive side, whole families can now participate together in the experience.
Shin Hyeon-ho, researcher in charge of this area at the Christian Education Research Institute, commented, “As a side effect of COVID-19, church ministries are being carried out online. We should understand, however, that this is not an online replacement of ministry, but an online expansion of it.” He added, “Through online church schools, parents who have been mere observers have found their place as responsible educators… I am hoping for the creation of a new model of Christian education based on parent-teacher cooperation.”
Father fought in Korean War, son speaks for “peace through the Gospel”
During the Korean War, John C. Hammond (1928~1995) participated in the Iron Triangle Battle in 1950~51, as an officer with the U.S. Infantry 3rd Division. “Iron Triangle Battle” refers to the fierce North-South struggle in the triangular area that is the meeting point of three Gangwon-do counties; Pyeonggang, Cheorwon and Gimhwa.
From time to time, John Hammond would share anecdotes with his son Chad about what he’d gone through in the Korean War. He’d enlisted not long after his marriage. Thrown into the situation of life-or-death battle, he assisted the infantry unit’s sole medical officer in treating wounded soldiers. From him he learned how to sew up wounds. The practice at the time was to treat only Korean and U.S. soldiers, but Hammond cared for injured North Korean war prisoners as well. “He told me this story so often that when I was very young, I thought my father was a doctor,” Rev. Hammond said. “I still treasure the wooden box with traditional Korean patterns that I inherited from him.”
Rev. Hammond remembers his Baptist parents as persons of sincere faith. “My father had a lot of Biblical knowledge,” he recalled. “He always guided our family according to the words of the Bible, teaching us a faith that helped us keep going even after a fall, and never give up.”
Rev. Hammond first set foot on Korean land in 2007, when he came with his mother and his four-year-old son to participate in a memorial worship service for Korean War veterans. He said he cannot forget the warm reception they were given by Koreans at that time. When he and his son were looking at a monument to fallen soldiers at UN Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu, Busan, an old soldier who was passing by stopped to shake his hand and express thanks. Hammond was deeply moved.
Rev. Hammond’s Korea connection was resumed last July when he became director of the “2020 Korea Festival” (which has been postponed to next year due to COVID-19). He is now Director of Asian Affairs at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “My special, strong ties with Korea drew me here,” he said. He said he has been moved by the Korean people’s originality, devotion to their country, and diligence. “I’ve been deeply impressed by the citizens’ active cooperation with the government guidelines in the ongoing coronavirus situation,” he said. “This national character seems to be the driving force that unites people and helps them make it through the changed situation.”
About the Korean church, he said, “The Lord must have given Korea a special mind for mission… Working with the Korean church, I have felt people’s enthusiasm for mission.” When asked what the Korean churches need to do for peace on the Korean peninsula and evangelization of North Korea, he gave this reply: “Unification will be realized according to God’s response. Our work is simply to continue praying and putting our trust in the Lord.”
박여라 영문에디터 yap@kmib.co.kr
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