GLEF 2018-Review

REVIEW OF THE GLEF 2018

by Sara Ryu

“‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exodus 19:4-6a)

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

The Global Leadership Empowerment Forum (GLEF) is organized by several UBF chapter leaders (Dr. Peter Chang [Bonn, Germany], John Park [New Jersey], Peter Kim [New Jersey], Dr. Paul Chung [New Jersey]) alongside seven next generation leaders (Peter Lim [New Jersey], Joseph Lee [New Jersey], Peter Ryu [Bonn], Sara Ryu [Bonn], Joshua Park [São Paolo, Brazil], Maria C. Park [New Jersey], and Paulina Lee [Toronto, Canada]) and is sponsored by the UBF Next Generation Scholarship Foundation in New Jersey. The GLEF is a long-term educational program with the vision of empowering the young people of the UBF next generation (“next generations”, or “next-gens”) as leaders, able to be participate in and contribute to the global body of Christ both within UBF and beyond. The project consists of annual Forums (congresses), as well as interim follow-up and preparatory programs, educational UBF lectures, and publication of relevant materials. For two weeks, from July 24th to August 6th, 2018, there was the inaugural Global Leadership Empowerment Forum (GLEF), in New Jersey, USA (Rutgers and Princeton Universities). In this document, I will introduce the reader to the vision of the UBF GLEF and trace the trajectory from the 2018 GLEF to the 2019 GLEF.

1) GLEF Vision

In Exodus 19:4-6a, God declares his hope for the Israelites, whom he brought out of slavery and into the desert, in order to make them into his kingdom of priests and holy nation, spiritual leaders for all nations of the world. This promise is renewed for the church in 1 Peter 2:9. From its inception, UBF has claimed this promise of God, and has aimed to raise spiritual leaders for all nations through campus ministry discipleship. The GLEF is a practical educational program that aims to cowork with the Spirit of God and with the first generation to make this vision a reality for our UBF next generation coworkers. With this vision, we can consider one person as one people; one house church (family) as one nation; one one-to-one Bible Study as World Mission.

2) 2018 GLEF: UBF Spiritual Legacy

The program of the 2018 GLEF had two major purposes a) to educate the next generation to understand, cherish, and continue our UBF spiritual legacies, and b) to empower the next generation as Self-Motivated Executive Bible Teachers (SEBTs) with professionalism and vision.

In the past fifty-seven years, on a foundation laid by Dr. Samuel Lee, the late co-founder of UBF, UBF has developed a rich spiritual legacy that imitates Jesus’ life-giving servant leadership in order to raise spiritual leaders on campuses. (Mk 10:45) The legacies are: i) Go back to the Bible ii) World Mission through lay missionaries iii) Campus Evangelism through one-to-one Bible Study iv) Manger Ministry through house churches v) Disciple-making ministry vi) Daily Bread and testimony writing vii) Giving spirit, “five loaves and two fish” viii) Pray to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

The lectures on the UBF spiritual legacies were all delivered by first generation UBF missionaries like Dr. John Jun, Dr. Mark Yang, Dr. José Paul Ahn and Little Sarah Kim and many other UBF leaders. They were witnesses to how God himself mobilized the UBF first generation to do his work through marvelous world campus pioneering ministries. We pray that the next generation can learn and practice this UBF legacies in spirit and truth.

3) 2018 GLEF: SEBTs with Professionalism and Vision

The foundational UBF spiritual legacy that catalyzed the movement in the first generation, and that we believe is the foundational catalyst for the next generation is: Go Back to the Bible.

For this reason, we had the direction in the 2018 GLEF of equipping participants as Self-Motivated Executive Bible Teachers (SEBTs) with professionalism and vision according to 2 Timothy 2:15. Practically, this consisted of teaching Inductive Bible Study Methodology, and helping participants to practice it through studying Mark’s gospel (making Factual Study of the whole book, finding core messages of every chapter and section, and making Questionnaires for every section, as well as for whole-book thematic studies on Discipleship and Leadership). We also supplemented in-depth study of Mark with a comprehensive education of the Bible: we had Factual Study presentations of seventeen books of the Old Testament, the gospels, and Acts, as well as visual presentations of the entire OT, Jesus’ ministry, and Acts on maps.

We prayed and are praying for next gens to be established as “Bible Teachers”, and more than that, as “Self-Motivated” and “Executive”. A question that preoccupies our ministry in this time is how to empower the next generation as independent, responsible, and capable spiritual leaders. Through the GLEF 2018, we began and experienced the spiritual secret of inter-generational, intercultural, and international coworking. The first generation wisely and humbly created an environment that enabled the next gens to both learn and lead by, for example, preparing inductive Bible Study materials, leading Bible Studies, caring for participants, giving announcements, and presenting factual studies. Through the GLEF 2018, seven next generation staff members were raised as responsible and proactive leaders for the next generation who can work together with the first generation in one spirit. We awarded them and several native leaders (a total of thirteen, or 25% of all participants) SEBT certificates. We are praying for the remaining 75% of the participants to obtain SEBT certification through our ongoing follow-up program.

GLEF 2019: MESSENGER-TRAINERS AND DISCIPLE-MAKERS

Through the 2019 GLEF, our purpose is to equip next gens and next gen native leaders as messenger trainers and disciple makers. Our vision is to empower next gens and native leaders by strengthening their identity as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation and teaching the way to live and lead as spiritual leaders by faith.

For this purpose and vision, we will study the five books of Moses (the Pentateuch), focusing particularly on Exodus and Numbers. Through this study, we want to learn the forty-year salvation history of God’s people, from redemption from slavery to the conquering of the promised land. Thus, we can experience the faith process by which God trained his people to live lives of faith with God’s vision. In particular, we want to show how God loves sinful people sincerely and faithfully, and raises them up as spiritual leaders. Additionally, through the Israelites’ living in tents and worshipping in a tabernacle while wandering in the desert, we can learn the faith of tent-dwellers.

To supplement the Pentateuch study, we will also study examples of leadership: Moses, Jesus, David, St. Paul, and Dr. Samuel Lee. We have many good resources that are available to us within our UBF community. We want to invite senior missionaries and shepherds who have completed PhD’s on UBF’s spiritual legacy, disciple-training, leadership, and vision to lecture for us during the GLEF 2019. They can share with us their expertise and personal histories and experiences both within the UBF context and vis-à-vis the broader body of Christ and world mission.

We are aware that our purpose and vision is too great as to be accomplished in a single week Forum. Therefore, we hope that the Forum will be a beginning and core meeting congress to learn the lives of God’s people through Exodus and Numbers. We want to also mutually exchange good lectures and provide seed education for further development.

In particular, we will encourage participants and their parents, as well as those who could not participate, to execute, supplement, and continue their education through a structured follow-up program. The follow-up program will help gens, missionaries, and shepherds to experience working together to complete inductive Bible study on the texts, question-making, message-preparation and delivery, and messenger-training. Our vision and prayer is not only to make capable individuals, but to build up local UBF ministries and house churches around the world. Thus, this will be a good opportunity for next gens, native leaders, and missionaries to develop their discipleship ministry and spiritual strategies and to practically work together intercontinentally, interculturally, and intergenerationally as one body of Christ.

The 2019 GLEF will be held from July 29-August 7, at a picturesque and well-equipped educational centre by the Rhine River in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. Attendance is limited to 50 people, and we will provide scholarships for all qualified attendants. We ask UBF chapter leaders to recommend participants and to join this UBF next generation leadership empowerment movement and partake in this vision.

Sara Ryu