A Heart for Canadian Koreans

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series examining the missiological issue of receptivity among people groups. Future issues will continue to examine and illustrate matters of receptivity among people in North America.

Elijah experienced a grand victory over the 450 priests of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah on Mount Carmel. He stood against great odds because he knew he was not alone in God’s mission. Similarly, Baptists in Canada are being encouraged by visionary missions leaders.

Pastor Ben Choi, a Korean pastor in Victoria, British Columbia, is one such leader. No one can deny God’s call in his life. Upon graduating with a doctorate in Business Administration in 1994, Choi became a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Shortly thereafter, another pastor and Pastor Choi combined their efforts to start All Nations Baptist Church in Montreal. When that other pastor moved to Victoria to work among a First Nation people group, Pastor Choi enrolled at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Missouri. Upon graduating from seminary, Choi answered the call to return to Canada to pastor the Victoria Korean Baptist Church (VKBC).

“I first said no because my vision was to plant churches,” Choi commented. “After several weeks of prayer, I agreed with a new vision: to pastor a church which plants churches.” Choi is leading his church to plant 100 new churches and baptize 10,000 souls. Choi led his church to partner with the North American Mission Board and the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists. In addition to being a visionary leader with a clear call, Choi has remained faithful to his missions calling, evidenced by the following:

• Every Sunday, eight young adult members of VKBC help a Tsawout people group church in their children’s ministry.
• In August, 2007, a new church plant was launched in Victoria.
• VKBC is partnering with other Korean churches to start a new Korean church plant located east of Vancouver.
• VKBC is also working with Korean ministers to equip other people group leaders for God’s ministry.
• Choi was the first Korean pastor to excitedly say yes when invited to participate in the Vision Tour Toronto.

Meanwhile, the Victoria church is growing. The average attendance has grown from 50 to 100 Canadian Koreans since Choi arrived two years ago.

Praise the Lord for raising up called-out visionary missions leaders like Ben Choi in answer to the prayers of His saints. To God be the glory that He is encouraging and refreshing the Canadian Baptists to continue the work to which He is calling them.

To learn more about the work in Canada, visit www.ccsb.ca.

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