Rev. Changsu Kim was among the first ordinands as a provisional elder in the then-newly formed Great Plains Conference in 2014, after receiving approval from the Board of Ordained Ministry.
A decade later, he will be chairing BoOM, after election by the board on Feb. 3.
“I love this job. I love serving on BoOM, interviewing candidates and getting to know other colleagues in ministry,” Kim, 40, said. “I believe God is calling me to serve more, extending my duties and responsibilities.”
Kim will join the executive team as vice chair/chair-elect, providing a 17-month transition period before he leads the board.
“The hope there is to make a smooth transition, so he’ll be a part of the executive team,” said the Rev. Andrew Conard, who will serve as chair until July 2024, when he reaches the maximum 12-year term on the board. “We’ll work together in the transition and that will give us extra time to do it well.”
Conard said he feels confident in Kim’s leadership, gifts and graces for the position.
“I appreciate his wisdom, his insight and the ministry that he brings,” Conard said. “I’m excited about the vision that he might have of the future.”
The Korean-born Kim becomes the first international pastor to chair the board.
“It’s very meaningful to me,” he said.
Kim has been pastor at Shawnee United Methodist Church since 2020, previously serving churches in Tonganoxie, Worden, Admire-Allen-Miller and Overland Park Central Korean UMC.
He is in his eighth year on BoOM.
“It was a very humbling moment,” he said of his election. “It has been our goal as the Board of Ordained Ministry that we are shepherding and upholding the candidates who are going through this process. We believe that every individual, every candidate, is a gift to our church and the Great Plains Annual Conference.”
Kim said his goal is to make BoOM even more inclusive and encouraging to those seeking to serve in ordained ministry.
“We like to see each individual candidate as a masterpiece of God, who sent us for this great ministry, building the kingdom of God around us,” he said.
Contact David Burke, content specialist, at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.
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