Get to Know the Kim Family

Ministry Description

Our family lives and serves on the mainland of South Korea. HwanKyu serves with the Word of Life South Korea team as the Media & Resource Development Coordinator. He focuses on the translation and development of resources that will equip local churches and ministries to reach the next generation with the Gospel. HwanKyu is also involved in counseling opportunities through Camp Ministries and the School of Youth Ministry in English. Our desire is that every student will hear the Gospel from a friend.

Learn more about the ministry in South Korea Mainland.

About HwanKyu

Hi, my name is HwanKyu Kim. I was born and raised in South Korea. Growing up, my mother had a personal relationship with Christ, but not my father. My father grew up with a Buddhist influence. My family including my older sister attended church every Sunday. The only reason my father attended church was that it was one of the conditions that my mother’s parents required to accept my parents’ marriage. For me, the church was a place where I had to go whether I wanted to or not because that’s what I did on Sunday.
I did not have any negative feelings about the church. I believed that there was a heaven and hell. I was familiar with the Bible, God, and Jesus Christ through Sunday school, but I didn’t have any interest to come to know Christ. My mom made me serve at the church as a member of the choir team and ministry team. At that time, I believed there were two ways of salvation. Salvation through works and salvation through my mother’s sincere faith. I was always confused about salvation. It wasn’t clear to me how to have assurance of salvation. I did not have a personal relationship with Christ.
In South Korea, all males must serve in the military for about two years unless they have physical or mental difficulties. I decided to join the army at age 21. While I served in the military, I attended church every Sunday. Most of my company and battalion members went to church to receive a special snack or gift. However, I attended base church to keep up with my attendance.
After serving my military service, I had a break for a few months. My mother introduced me to a place called SYME (School of Youth Ministry in English). I was interested in attending SYME because it provided opportunities to develop my English. Learning English (especially speaking) is a major appeal and provides an opportunity to have a better job. At that moment, my father wasn’t happy about this decision. But he allowed me to attend there because of the advantage of learning English.
Finally, I realized how I can have assurance of my salvation by receiving the gospel. This was shared by a missionary at SYME. I was able to understand that Christ had died and was raised to make a way for me to have a relationship with Him. It was personal. All I had to do was accept this gift of salvation. It is not earned from what I do, it’s free. After I was born again through the gospel of Christ, I decided to serve the Lord throughout my life. I decided to enroll at the Word of Life Bible Institute. At that time, my father also came to know Christ and he could not be happier and more supportive of my decision. I attended the Bible Institute in 2016 and 2017. In 2018 my father passed away from cancer, but I can see how God had directed his life and my life.
Since that time, the Lord has done many great things in my life. Now I’m serving the Lord in South Korea, and I’m so excited to be used by God.

About Cynthia

Hi, my name is Cynthia (Eichelberger) Kim. I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania for most of my life. I was very blessed to grow up in a home where my parents had a personal relationship with the Lord. My dad was a pastor, so I was always involved in church activities. We would go to church every Sunday, every Wednesday, and every Friday. Because of this, I thought I was a pretty good person. I believed I deserved to go to Heaven. However, my only motivation was my own sinful nature. I desired to do good things to be noticed.
At the age of six, I was attending a Vacation Bible School. It was then that I heard the Gospel message and truly grasped and understood it for the first time. I realized that what I truly deserved was eternal separation from God in Hell. I finally understood that because of the sin that I had committed I could not enter Heaven when I died. However, because God loved me so much, He sent his sinless, perfect Son, Jesus, to die for all sinful people, for me. Even while I was still an enemy of God, Jesus willingly chose to pay the punishment of my sins by dying on the cross. But He didn't stay dead. Three days after being nailed to a cross He rose again conquering sin and death. Through His resurrection, I can have life. Anyone who admits they are a sinner, believes in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and calls upon him to save them from their sins, will be saved.
After hearing and understanding this, I wanted to become a part of the family of God. So, I asked Christ to save me from my sins and to become my Savior and the Lord of my life.
Around the age of nine, I was attending a Child Evangelism Fellowship camp when I heard a missionary speak about Asia. After learning about her ministry, I became very interested in ministry in Asia. This desire continued throughout high school. After visiting South Korea as a high school student and attending the Word of Life Bible Institute in South Korea, the Lord gave me a desire to serve Him in South Korea. It is amazing to see how God has worked in my life and my husband’s life to direct us back to South Korea. We are so excited to be here serving the Lord in South Korea.
We have two sons named Zayn and Noah Kim. We also have a baby girl on the way! We are so excited to be used by the Lord in South Korea.

Psalm 96:2-3 "Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!"

Contact Information

hkim3@wol.org
hkim3@wol.org
cynthiakim@wol.org
Address:
HwanKyu Kim
Word of Life South Korea
PO Box 600
Schroon Lake, NY 12870