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 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 | Jan 29, 2019 | Frontier
After a short hiatus, we are finally back with FRONTIER! Recently I had the privilege of going to Atlanta to minister at a multi-church retreat for youth. While there I met a lot of amazing people. One of them was Edward, who was serving behind-the-scenes with media. I appreciated his hard work and dedication, and we got a chance to talk in between sessions. Most of our conversations revolved around faith and dreams. That’s when I found out he was a rapper! Here’s more about my new friend, Edward, aka Kaptivated. Tell us who you are. My name is Edward. I’m 24, and I was born, raised, and currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m a full-time graphic designer and a part-time rapper. On stage, I go by Kaptivated. How did you get into rapping? It was two things. First, my older brother Eric had been rapping for a while before I picked it up. I didn’t hear much of it until after he became a Christian and he started showing me some of his songs. He used to record and make beats all the time—seeing this as a middle schooler made me realize that music production was accessible. It wasn’t just something for the celebrities to do; it was something I had the resources to accomplish myself. Second, I heard the song “Stan” by Eminem. That song made me realize the power that hip hop could have. It made me realize that music—hip hop especially—could be leveraged as a tool for great influence in the world. These two realizations naturally led me to start writing my own songs and...
by Sam | Jan 11, 2017 | Frontier
“One of the biggest blessings in doing what I do is that it opens doors for me to meet so many amazing people all over the Tri-state region. Victor is definitely one of them. I first met him a couple years ago when Pursuit had its first ever missions team go out and love the city of New Brunswick for a week. Victor was part of that team, and I have had the pleasure of getting to know him since. He is one of the most talented, creative, and humble young men I’ve met, and it’s an honor to share his story through FRONTIER.” — Sam Won 1) Tell us about yourself. My name is Victor – 22, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and currently living in Central New Jersey. I’m the Art Director of NoLedge Productions, an amazing and young team that I joined earlier this year. I’ve been serving and doing life with my family at Praise English Ministry (PEM) for the past four years while I was attending Rutgers University. I’ve also been investing in the craft of barbering for about 5 years now and have been able build amazing relationships with many of the clients that have been in my chair. When I’m not filming, this is actually my main source of bread and I’m honestly still humbled by how supportive my clientele base has been over the years. You also must know that I’m a die-hard Kobe Bryant fan. It’s basically Jesus then Kobe. 2) When did faith become such an important part of your life? I first heard about Christ at a...
by Sam | Aug 25, 2015 | Frontier
In this edition of Pursuit FRONTIER, I do a Q&A with an awesome young man, Brian Li. I first met him a few years ago at a retreat for a college ministry and then reconnected at Living as the Beloved Son. I have always been encouraged by his passion for Jesus and for dancing. He is definitely someone who is taking the Kingdom of God into new frontiers filled with artists and dancers. Check out what he has to say! 1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Brian Li, currently 24 years old and living in central New Jersey. I work as a software test engineer down in Matawan, NJ, but when I’m not at work, I’m usually either involved in the community of my church GCC (Grace Community Chapel), serving in my dance ministry REACH, or dancing with my other dance team The Society. It’s a pretty busy schedule, so I’m always constantly praying for God to increase my capacity. 2) How did you come to know Christ? I came to know Christ right before going into high school, but as an immature teenager with very worldly things on his mind, I quickly went prodigal once delving into the school year. I had a very hardened heart towards God and I struggled with depression, suicide, and a lot of brokenness in general. It wasn’t until college that I finally let God work in my life and remind me of His unconditional love. As He revealed Himself more and more to me through prayer and Scripture, my faith gradually became less about me and more about Him. One...
by Sam | May 28, 2015 | Frontier
In this edition of Frontier, we have two amazing young men who have given a year of their lives to serve in the Ivory Coast. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. They have battled malaria, sickness, and many other trials, but have continued to seek after God and serve His people. Check out their stories and what they have been up to this past year. 1) Share with us who you are and what you do. DK: My name is Daniel Kim and I graduated from Rutgers University in May of 2014. Upon graduation, I worked at an outsourcing company as a salesman, and did pretty well for myself. I was relieved to have a job at all right after graduating, and considered myself extremely blessed. After working there for about 3 months, a series of “signs” and God’s voice led me to my decision to become a missionary. — JK: Hello, I’m Josh Kim and I’m a 2nd generation Korean-American born and raised in Jersey. Currently, I’m serving as a year-long missionary in Ivory Coast, Africa with my good friend, Daniel Kim. We’ve been serving with Abidjan International Ministry (AIM), a non-governmental organization part of Korean Abidjan Presbyterian Church (KAPC) here in Ivory Coast. We’ve been specifically helping out with one of AIM’s recent project known as Empowerment Center for Children and Youth (ECCY). ECCY’s goal is to empower Ivorian children and youth and their futures through nutritional, medical, educational, and social assistance. In this francophone country, learning English is considered really important in advancing in school and life so our main responsibility has been teaching English to...
