In this article, Yoonie Lee reflects on her outreach work with the Family Ministries Team at First Church, using shared interests to build trust and empathy with young individuals near Purdue University. By gradually introducing Bible verses and spiritual conversations, she fostered a positive reconsideration of the church as a place of friendship and solace.
This evangelism outreach aims to provide comfort to young individuals who may not know much about, or harbor negative thoughts, biases, or wounds toward the church. It also seeks to offer a small yet warm gesture to those near Purdue University who may carry anxieties about their lives but strive to push aside such inner turmoil and live diligently. The primary goal is to offer an opportunity for them to reconsider the church positively.
Starting gradually with content, hobbies, and leisure activities that resonate with young individuals who may have wounds or reservations about the church, the aim is to build empathy and eventually foster a welcoming attitude toward God and the church. Ultimately, the goal is to convey that First United Methodist Church West Lafayette (FUMC) can be a place of friendship and solace for them.
The Approach to Initially Reaching Out
As a Korean studying in the United States, I prioritized finding activities that I could share and enjoy with young people. Recognizing the power of content, I attempted to connect with others interested in celebrities such as K-pop groups like BTS and BLACKPINK. I sought out spaces where discussions and empathetic talks about these celebrities take place, particularly among the youth living near Purdue University and West Lafayette. I facilitated group chats for communication through social media platforms where BTS fans gather to converse like Facebook groups and KakaoTalk, an app akin to WhatsApp.
A Group for Communication
By creating such channels of communication, we have been able to build trust and common interests through shared leisure activities and entertainment. This opportunity allowed me to meet people of various nationalities, including students from Taiwan, Germany, the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong. It enabled me to engage with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. We laughed together, enjoyed delicious food, danced to K-pop and other related content, and even practiced activities like yoga together. We gathered at regular times each week to share these joys.
Sharing Bible Verses
By sharing these moments of joy, we began to ease each other’s reservations, and subsequently, we also began to open up about our concerns. We practiced praying together and offering words of hope and encouragement for those in need of comfort. As a Christian, I made Bible verses available for people to see. As people read and saw the meaningful Bible verses, they began to express curiosity about their significance and meaning. This led to sessions where I explained and meditated on the verses with them. Some of them even visited FUMC.
Reflecting on the Church’s Role
There’s been a recent trend of young people holding negative perceptions about the church, resulting in fewer opportunities for them to genuinely open their hearts, attend church, and engage in volunteering. Amid this phenomenon, what can the church do for society? How can it reach out to people?
I believe it’s a time for reflection. Amidst these concerns, I approach people with things they enjoy and can do together, believing that showing them God’s love through these means is contemporary evangelism. Even if it may seem like just having fun together, within that context, we extend kindness, create shared experiences, and build trust, ultimately helping them know God. It’s about patiently and lovingly accompanying them through a process of opening their closed hearts to the church. I hope that with this approach, we can revive youthful energy within the church, ensuring the continuity of the Christian gospel for the next generations.
“Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
—Matthew 17:20 NASB
Do you know about the “Butterfly Effect”? It signifies how the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can create a massive windstorm. More precisely, it suggests that minor events can lead to unexpected and enormous outcomes. I draw strength from the words of our Lord, who said that with faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Inspired by this, rather than waiting for people to come to the church, I hope for the church to actively reach out to them. I believe that even with such small seeds of faith, the precious gospel can spread widely.
— Yoonie Lee
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