EDITORIAL: In Memory of the Late Dr. David J. Cho
Timothy K. Park, Editor
Dr. David J. Cho (Mr. Mission) has gone to be with his Heavenly Father at his eternal home. I imagine that he must be enjoying his life in heaven and fellowshipping with his beloved ones in Christ. Although we are sad that we can no longer see him, it must be a great joy for him to be with the Heavenly Father and with those who had gone ahead after fighting the good fight serving the Lord. Dr. Cho has left a great legacy in the missionary movement of the church in the 20th and 21st centuries.… [read more]
MY PILGRIMAGE IN MISSION
David J. Cho
I was born on December 19, 1924, near the Yalu River, at the Korean border with China. I was the eldest son of a prominent Korean resistance leader against the Japanese military regime, which had occupied Korea since invading it in 1905. My father received Christ as his Savior when he was ten years old, and I was raised as a Christian from childhood. As an infant, in my hometown, I was baptized by Donald A. Swicord, a missionary from the Presbyterian Church in the United States… [read more]
INFLUENCE OF DR. DAVID J. CHO ON ME
Timothy K. Park
Dr. David J. Cho (1924-2020), who has been called “Mr. Mission,” went to the Lord at his home in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea on June 19, 2020. Dr. Cho was born on December 29, 1924 in Chungryol-dong, Yanggwang-myeon, Yongcheon-gun, North Pyeongan Province of North Korea, located on the banks of the Yalu River that flows across the border between the mainland China and the Korean peninsula. He lived a life of faithfulness in his service to the Lord until the Lord called him to his eternal home.… .[read more]
TRIBUTE TO DR. DAVID J. CHO, 1924~2020
Greg Parsons
One of the most accomplished mission leaders of our lifetime died in June 2020 – Dr. David J. Cho. His life is a story of deep commitment to the Lord and profound engagement to the spread of the Gospel. Few in the West noticed his passing. I have recorded at least two interviews with Dr. Cho. The last one when he attended a small meeting of younger, very innovative mission thinkers and practitioners from Asia. His attendance and encouragement at that meeting reflected a characteristic rare in Korean leaders: Cho was willing to buck the system when it wasn’t working – or when it just needed some prodding! … [read more]
MR. MISSION, MY MENTOR
Jacob Nahuway
In the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28, Jesus Christ commands us to go. We should heed the warning of Jeremiah and obey God: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” Today many do not want to go, concerned with fear or consumed with complacency. Nowhere is this more evident than in conflict zones such as those in Myanmar. Often the causes of conflict are the same, whether in regions, in churches, or in individuals. Missionaries must first believe what they claim to believe, resolve to submit to Christ, and then go on an adventure only God could orchestrate… [read more]
DR. DAVID J. CHO, HIS LEGACY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH MISSION MOVEMENT, AND FRATERNITY WITH THE MOVEMENT FOR AFRICAN NATIONAL INITIATIVES
Reuben Ezemadu
Dr. David J. Cho was to the Global Mission Movement, David Yonggi Cho was to the Church Growth Movement. In fact, Dr. David J. Cho played a major role in championing the cause of the Two-Thirds World Missions efforts and was among the leaders from Asia, Africa, and Latin America that brought to limelight what the Lord was doing with the emerging missionary forces in the global South. Other contemporaries, comrades, and compatriots of his in advocating for and establishing a strong footing for the recognition of the emerging great mission forces from the two-thirds world then were Panya Baba (Nigeria Evangelical Missions Association), Jonathan Santos (Antioch Missions, Brazil), and Petrous Octavianus (Indonesia Missionary Fellowship)… [read more]
DR. DAVID J. CHO AND HIS INFLUENCE ON THE THIRD WORLD MISSIONS
Seth K. Anyomi
I first met Dr. David Cho in 1989. I was privileged to be among some forty delegates from Asia, Africa, and Latin America who met at the Western Theological Seminary in Portland, Oregon from May 1-5, 1989, to formally constitute the Third World Missions Association (TWMA). The meeting was called by Dr. David J. Cho and hosted by Dr. Donald Smith, a retired American Missionary to Africa, who was then lecturing at the Western Conservative Seminary in Portland, Oregon… [read more]
AMA: MAKING MISSIONS MORE EFFECTIVE
Dale W. Kietzman
When trying to assess the impact of the Asia Missions Association in its 4 decades of existence, with so much that has occurred, I came to realize that the most basic intent of the Association was to try to make the “New Forces in Mission” as effective as possible. What could an association do to increase effectiveness?… [read more]
LET US RESTORE THE WAY OF APOSTOLIC MISSION IN THE MISSION OF 21ST CENTURY
David J. Cho
When Paul came to Ephesus again in 54 AD, Apollos had brought many people to Christ, but they knew nothing of the Holy Spirit. Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came upon them. For three months, the Apostle Paul taught of the Kingdom of God, but there were some people who became hardened and disobedient. Paul, taking with him his disciples, withdrew from them to reason daily at the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia, both Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord. Therefore, I dare to say that Ephesus is the heartland of the Apostolic Mission in Asia… [read more]
MY GRANDFATHER’S “ORDINARY” LEGACY
Joanne Yongjoo Kim
There were many moments when I should have noticed how special and different he was. Moments like when I thought, “Why is my grandpa’s friend’s name up there?” when I saw Billy Graham’s quote up on my high school classroom wall. Moments like, when I asked about a big rock on display in the living room, my aunt told me it’s a piece from the Berlin Wall. Moments like when he asked me what present I wanted from his trip to China when I was four. I thought he meant the Chinese restaurant, so I asked for a bowl of corn soup. Moments like every time he came back from a trip, he brought me toys that no other friends of mine had — a shiny, miniature sculpture of Taj Mahal, Russian wooden palace egg painted of a beautiful palace in Moscow, and many others. He also made sure to bring a box of Hawaiian Host, Jelly Beans, or Guylian Chocolates from the plane ride for my sisters and me to share… [read more]
BOOK REVIEW: A HYBRID WORLD Diaspora, Hybridity and Missio Dei
Lorajoy Tira-Dimangondayao
In Canada, where I live, international migration accounted for 82.8% of all population growth (in Canada) during the first three months of 2019. The report further states, “in this context, population growth in Canada will probably rely increasingly on international migration.” Census 2016 reported 37.5% of the under-fifteen population are first-generation immigrants or have at least one parent who is foreign-born, and it projected between 39.3% and 49.1% of the entire population of children aged 15 and under living in Canada would be foreign-born or have at least one first-generation parent by 2036. These immigrant-background children grow to be cultural and multiethnic hybrids, and many of them racial hybrids, highlighting the Canadian government’s multicultural and pluralistic aspirations… [read more]