New Life Update Meeting 2026

Pastor Samuel Lee is 35 and joins us as a full-time associate pastor. He has served in Japan, the United States and Korea. He and his wife, Eunjung, do not currently have children. Pastor Young values his experience, commitment to pastoral care and sense of ministry as a calling.

He studied at Talbot School of Theology and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and Pastor Young have found substantial common ground, including on the local church and presbytery. Pastor Young sees their differences as opportunities for fruitful discussion.

New Life has long needed another full-time pastor to share the care of our congregation. Pastor Samuel applied specifically to New Life. He and Pastor Young will also help with PG2 preaching.

The hope is late November or early December 2026, subject to visa approval, housing and relocation. The original target was early November. No date is confirmed, and he and Eunjung will need time to settle in.

He will share pastoral care, preaching and teaching with Pastor Young, including preaching at PG2. Pastor Young will continue to lead in many areas; the detailed division of responsibilities will be agreed after Pastor Samuel arrives. Please welcome him into your lives and receive his pastoral care.

The arrangement is expected to begin when Pastor Samuel arrives, but the start date is unconfirmed. It is intended to continue until a permanent PG2 pastor is appointed or the Session directs otherwise. Pastor Young and Pastor Samuel will share preaching; Steve remains a ministry intern.

For now, New Life's formal responsibility is preaching. Wider oversight, including events, camps and other activities, would require the Session's direction. Pastoral conversations, prayer and encouragement may naturally arise through this ministry.

PG2 and New Life will retain separate budgets. PG2's expenses and a future permanent pastor will not be funded by New Life's budget. The Session is responsible for the pastor search; PG2 is not coming under New Life's financial or organisational control.

Pastor Young's workload is already full. He is developing a roster to share Sunday preaching sustainably, and responsibilities will become clearer over the coming months.

Please consider serving our younger brothers and sisters alongside the wider Saesoon church. Closer connections in discipleship and training are welcome, though no further arrangements are confirmed. Support for PG remains a whole-church responsibility, with care for volunteers' other commitments.

We hope to offer discipleship and theological training, potentially using structures and Bible study material similar to Life Group Leader training. No programme or timeline has been confirmed.

No. PG2 will retain its senior high school service. A combined service is not possible under current space and scheduling arrangements. We do hope to give Year 12 students more opportunities to visit New Life as they prepare for their next stage.

Yes. They will have separate services. Further timing and implementation details have not been confirmed here.

PG1 is outside New Life's announced responsibilities. It is expected to come under Pastor Dowan Kim within Sunday School, but details are still being worked through. Please direct questions about PG1 leadership to Saesoon's elders.

Our giving will fund pastors' remuneration, the ministry intern stipend and New Life ministries, including Children's Ministry. KM will no longer fund part of our regular budget; instead, we will contribute 10% of our tithes and offerings to KM for shared costs. The Session will continue to approve our annual budget.

Saesoon's offerings have historically gone into one church account, supporting staff, missions, ministry budgets and the mortgage. Since 2021, New Life's giving has covered one pastor at the applicable pay scale and our allocated ministry budget. Giving has grown each year.

Only just, based on last year's figures. Giving can support two pastors at an updated pay scale, a modest intern stipend and ministry budgets, with little margin for unexpected costs. Ministry directors are reviewing spending. For detailed figures, please speak with Team Leader Kevin (KK) Kim.

The contingency process is still being developed. The Finance Team has considered stable giving and changes of around 15% in either direction. We aim to monitor income and spending and adjust early, likely by reducing planned expenditure first. Outside support may be needed in exceptional circumstances, but arrangements are unconfirmed.

No fixed increase or minimum has been set, including for costs such as meals. Please do not give to the point of being unable to afford food or taking on debt. Giving is part of discipleship: gratitude, trust and generosity. Pastor Young does not track individual giving and welcomes personal conversations about it.

Yes. Preparing a budget around our own income and needs should allow more responsive planning, within Saesoon's structures and Session approval. Sound financial processes come first; no major new initiatives are approved. Possibilities include strengthening ministries, appropriate staff remuneration, additional staffing and future interns, subject to resources and careful planning.

The Finance Team hopes to provide regular updates showing how giving and spending compare with the budget. The timing, format and level of detail are still being considered.

The Finance Team oversees New Life's finances and accountability arrangements. New Life's expenditure has already been audited for six consecutive years.

Possibly. Saesoon's church-wide decision against Sunday fundraising still applies. Fundraisers on other days may be considered with the wider church.

Please approach serving with patience, humility and a willingness to try. Translation tools can help; Pastor Young uses them in Korean-language meetings. We hope to welcome one another across language differences and serve in FG, KG, PG and other Saesoon ministries.

We hope to offer both, potentially alongside a clearer membership process and opportunities for members to help. Pastor Young and Pastor Samuel first need to settle their responsibilities and assess capacity. No programme or start date is confirmed.

We want our discipleship ministry to grow in depth as well as breadth. Training for those who mentor others is important, and we hope to develop a sustainable approach as pastoral capacity becomes clearer.

No changes to the existing order of worship have been announced.

There are no concrete plans or proposed dates. Church planting remains part of an earlier long-term vision. For now, we are focusing on a healthy church culture and Christlike character, trusting God's timing.

Pray for Pastor Samuel and Eunjung's visas, housing, relocation and settling in; for sustainable workloads for the pastoral team; and for wisdom for Simon and other leaders. Pray for unity, generous listening and trust across New Life and Saesoon.

He is hopeful about investing in future generations. He also recognises his tendency to overthink and overplan. Pray that he will rest in God, trust the Lord's work and lead with peace. Pray that all of us will hold our preferences humbly and seek the good of the whole church.