Sang Kim is a Korean-Australian who came to faith in Christ during his time at the Australian National University (ANU). Sang was invited to join a Bible study group (that he didn’t really want to attend!) and decided he would go just once so that his friends would stop inviting him. It was here that he ended up reading the Bible and God brought him to faith as Sang grew in his understanding of the Bible. He shares that it’s God’s unchanging Word that is helping him to continuously hold fast to his faith.
“I was eternally invited to be with Jesus, so I’m very thankful for those who invited me to come,” he shares.
From here, Sang began attending a Korean Presbyterian church in Canberra called All Nations Church, where he met his now wife and decided to pursue ministry. “I attended the church for about seven years. I’m very thankful for the time there – the training, fellowship, and friendship there too”, he says.
Sang’s interest and involvement in SRE
Sang is now right on his way to full-time ministry as he undertakes theological studies at Christ College. He is in his final year and during this has begun to form a deep interest in the SRE programs that are run in NSW schools.
Sang shared that growing up in Victoria, SRE was not something that they had in public schools there. This really got him thinking about it and wanting to experience it first-hand.
“So, I went into a class with Roslyn, the PYNSW SRE Director, and what I encountered was very different to what I thought. There were so many children there that wanted to answer the questions that Ros asked, and they had a fairly good amount of bible knowledge that they wanted to share. But of course, there are some children who aren’t sure why they’re there and I was thinking that it’s really important for us as Christians to participate in SRE and teach children the Bible,” he shared.
Sang shared that the most striking thing for him during the visit was the kids themselves.
Christ College Rural Trip + SRE
Sang got another opportunity to attend SRE as part of his rural trip with Christ College in 2023. He went to an Easter event at Gulgong Public School.
“It was great to see how they all came from different classes with different teachers but were gathered there, learning about Easter from the Bible. I see great value beyond teaching scripture; it gives the opportunity to know other Christian brothers and sisters in the local community”, he shares.
“All of us gathered together in an auditorium, we did an Easter drama and sang a song together. To my knowledge, not many went to church regularly, but all still wanted to know about who Jesus is and what He has done for the believers of Christ. We were struck by the fact that an Easter drama or a Christian song, ‘just a mere activity’ to those who don’t go to church, can also kind of tingle their hearts and trigger some thoughts and questions about who Jesus is. It is very helpful for all to know about Jesus and start to discover more about Him.”
Sang struck by SRE
As a result of this experience, Sang is considering teaching SRE in the near future. “I am certainly seeing the value in SRE and I’m looking to participate in one way or another,” he shares. He also wants to look into helping the link between teaching scripture in schools and working out how to connect non-Christian kids to Christian kids in more ways.
“I want to point out the value beyond teaching scripture, teaching scripture is very important, but there are many other factors like connecting children to others around the same age, their brothers and sisters in Christ in the local community and that way, they may be encouraged to come to scripture class, be able to share with each other in class and even outside of class,” he shares.
“I would like to tie SRE with sharing the Bible. As Christians, I believe we should be able to articulate the Good News of Jesus and of course I can’t force anyone to do it, but I see my role is to encourage them to question, explore and discover faith for themselves and be confident enough to explain it to others.”
Join us to pray…
- Pray for Sang as he works towards the end of his studies at Christ College and thinks through his next few years of ministry beyond his studies.
- Pray also for the students who were able to hear from God’s word at the Easter celebration at Gulgong Public School.
- Pray that God’s Word will work in their hearts and draw them closer to Him.