by Sam | Apr 16, 2019 | Inspiration, Reflection
by Kevin Kim Have you ever wandered into your kitchen just moments after having an entire meal and opened the fridge looking for something to eat? Your stomach tells you that you’re still full, but something inside of you has a need to be filled, and your mind takes you to what would normally feed you. It’s hard to explain because you know you’re not actually hungry, but for some reason, you find yourself in a place looking to eat yet again. What you need to understand is that even though you are physically full, the hunger you have is VERY REAL. Dr. Rob Reimer (doctorate in preaching, not in nutrition) describes this phenomenon as us mistaking our hunger for something physical while it is actually spiritual. Our souls are hungering to be filled and we don’t realize that we are hungering for God… so instead we proceed to pour a bowl of cereal or grab a stick of cheese. We’ll get back to this in a little bit… Have you ever heard of imposter syndrome? Well if you haven’t, here is a quick definition from one of the most reliable resources out there (Wikipedia): Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with “impostorism” incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive...
by Sam | Apr 2, 2019 | Frontier
Photo by Seung Won Baik Tell us who you are and what you do. My name is Deborah Kim, 23, and work at a small family-owned company in the Garment District in Manhattan. How did you first fall in love with music and performing? I found my love for music at church when I was very young. My dad was the choir conductor and worship leader at our church, so I always sat in during their rehearsals and remember thinking that I wanted to be a worship leader and be a singer when I got older. At a young age, I was exposed to performing, musical theater, and dance through this youth theater school in New York called Helen Hayes Theater and fell in love with performing then. Since then, I’ve always sought to surround myself with music, performance, and other musicians. What is your inspiration for creativity? My inspiration for creativity comes from a bunch of different things. Instrumentally, I listen to a lot of different genres like rap, funk, pop, r&b, folk, K-pop, Kr&b, indie-folk, and combinations of all of those. Lyrically, my inspiration has been coming from personal experiences, my relationship with God and the seasons He takes me through, specific people in my life, and even walking through NYC! All in all, becoming more aware of my surroundings and making observations about people and circumstances have been giving me inspiration for my music. You recently started something called “The Quarry”. What is it and what is it about? The Quarry is a community of musicians who want to grow as artists through collaborative activities such...
by Sam | Mar 26, 2019 | Reflection
by Faith Eury Cho I will never forget the first time the Holy Spirit touched me. My body physically felt the warmth of His Presence and I was utterly moved to tears. I knew it was supernatural. I knew it was real. And after the moment was over, I had a hunger to know how to return to that encounter, to know how to sustain it for even longer. I wanted more than a moment with Him. I wanted a relationship. As a pastor, I think one of the most common questions I’m posed with is, “How do I grow in my relationship with God?” As a child, I always imagined that a close friendship with the Spirit meant that all your prayers were answered within the second and that you have this powerful best friend you can tangibly sense at all times. However, in the earlier stage of my Christian walk, I actually experienced the contrary. It was almost as if He was a flaky friend rather than a good one. It seemed like He only came when He wanted to come. He moved only when He wanted to move. He didn’t always answer prayers in the way I asked. He didn’t always speak in loud, obvious ways. Later did I realize that it was not that my standards were too high for God. Rather, they were just too narrow. In fact, God cannot be boxed by the limitations of my soul. James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you…” This is a promise. If you take a step towards Him,...
by Sam | Mar 12, 2019 | Frontier
I first met Lisa back in 2012 at a retreat as a speaker. Since then, I’ve seen here and there, and was following along her faith journey. Most recently, we served together at BYG Summer Retreat, where she serves as one of the pastors. It’s been a joy to see her grow in the Lord and lead so powerfully! We are so excited to have her intern with this in this season. Get to know this amazing woman of God. Tell us about yourself. My name is Lisa Song. I am a wife, mother, pastor, and student. I am happily married to Bryan Song, and together we have a beautiful daughter named Jordan. My husband and I are college sweethearts and we currently serve in ministry together at Bethany Church. How did you come to faith and how did you get called? Growing up, I had always attended church, but I didn’t really have a relationship with God. I went to church to be with friends, not to meet God. I came to faith and committed my life to God when I was a sophomore in college (ironically) at a youth retreat, which was the first youth retreat I ever went to. I had never witnessed the Holy Spirit move so powerfully before that night. After that retreat, I was so hungry to learn more about God and I wanted to serve Him in any way that I could. I was on track to become a lawyer, but I kept sensing in my spirit that I was called into ministry. I didn’t tell anyone because I was deeply afraid, but God...
by Sam | Mar 5, 2019 | Reflection
Dear Pursuit NYC, As you know, we are transitioning out of Pursuit to focus on our local church and personal ministries. In any season of change, we always want to take a moment to look back and reflect on the journey completed and look forward to the path ahead. May this remind us of God’s faithfulness and blessings. That one fateful retreat in 2013 was the birth of a beautiful Kingdom partnership. Although we had departed shortly after to serve in Korea, we knew that there was more to come; the best was yet to come. There is much that has changed since then and much that has not. Something that has changed: the major breakthroughs and heights reached in the ministry. From witnessing a gathering of a few people to over a hundred, the fruit of the ministry started to visibly be shown. The exponential growth of Pursuit was inspiring to those involved and those looking from the outside. Something that has not changed: friendship. If there is one thing we are walking away with, it is that we have made eternal friendships with you brothers. Beyond strategy and productivity, the foundation of our ministry rested upon the precious relationships that were built here. The kind of hilarity that would occur in our staff meetings might be seemingly insignificant, but were the most treasured memories. Reminiscing about some of those moments now makes us want to laugh. Those times will especially be cherished and missed. We want to remind you that each of you, unique in your identity and giftings, are a tremendous blessing to all those around you. We believe He...
