“For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Mt 24:27).

As the truth of the new covenant is spreading to the ends of the earth so quickly like lightning, we continuously hear the joyful news of victory from every place of the world. The 2012 General Assembly, which was held for a week from this past March 21, was a great opportunity for the prophets, who would achieve the complete fulfillment of prophecy, to renew and strengthen their faith.

Pastor Jae-chun Park, who had been taking charge of the gospel work in Australia for about three years, also attended the General Assembly. When he was about to leave for Australia, full of the Holy Spirit, after finishing all the schedules in Korea, I the reporter met him to listen to the news about evangelism in Australia and his vision for world mission.

_ I’m very glad to hear the news about the gospel work in Australia after a long time. Do you remember how you felt when you first went to Australia?

Of course, I do. It was April, 2009. I still remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I was thankful to God for sending me to a place of prophecy, but on the other hand I felt worried because I was not so good at speaking English and did not know anything about foreign cultures, either. However, there was one thing I engraved deep in my mind: ‘I will surely carry out the gospel work in a way pleasing to Mother.’

_ How was the situation of the gospel work in Australia at that time?

It was in 2003 that the gospel began to be preached in Australia. When I arrived in Sydney, there were about 150 members who were keeping their faith together in a small house Church. Some time later, however, we ran into an unexpected situation which prevented us from gathering together in the house Church for worship or preaching. So we moved from place to place to have worship services. Most members kept their faith without wavering even in such a difficult situation, but some of them found it hard to understand the situation. It was May at that time. As Australia is in the southern hemisphere, the winter usually starts around May. Most people think of sunny and warm weather when they hear about Australia. Actually, however, it is very cold and the wind blows fiercely during the winter season in Australia. When the biting, bone-chilling wind rushed through my body, I used to feel somehow sad. I thought a lot of Heavenly Father who had worked hard all lone to lay the foundation for the gospel, embracing all complaints and grumbles from His children, when there were only few Churches.

ⓒ 2012 WATV

A gathering for the female adult group, Church of God in Sydney, Australia

_ You must have gone through many hard times from the beginning. How did you overcome the hard times?

As we all know well and usually say, there was really no other way but to depend on Father and Mother.

Before we had a preaching gathering every day, we wrote a letter to Mother with one mind. There was no visible result right away, but none of us got discouraged; instead, we all continued to cling to God with one mind.

Several months passed like that, and God allowed us to find a good place to worship. All the members participated in the construction work according to their own circumstances—some worked all day long, and others such as office workers and university students worked from the evening till late at night. But none of them felt tired; they were all happy and joyful.

The construction work was completed in two months, and we had our first worship service in the new temple on the Passover, 2010. I cannot express in words how happy I was when I shared the blessing of a new life with my loving members in the new beautiful temple. Father must have felt the same way whenever He established a Church after many hardships.

ⓒ 2012 WATV

The young adults and male adults always study the Bible hard. They are the pillars of the Church in Sydney.

_ You probably felt that God was with you.

Yes, I did. I deeply felt that God was always with us, taking great care of us. When I went to Australia, I actually felt somewhat afraid because I thought that Australia was so far away from Korea where Mother dwells. It may seem very far away to us, but for God it is not really so far. The fact that God is always beside us, helping us all, gives us great strength.

The members have also come to have a firm belief that they will be able to overcome any hardships and adversities because Mother is always with them. Since they now know that God helps them in everything, they always ask Mother for blessings—whenever they are about to do something.

_ They must have become stronger in their faith through the hard times.

Right. I’m sure that everything is in accordance with God’s plan. Actually, the members had not suffered much hardship in their life of faith. So, the hardest time for them was when they had no Church building. They still give thanks to God for the hard time, saying that it helped them strengthen their weak faith just like a plant that was raised in a sheltered environment. Now they do not complain or grumble although they encounter unexpected hardships, and they think nothing of having some inconvenience.

_ Australia is known as a nation of immigrants, so there must be many immigrants in Zion as well. Do you have any difficulty in helping the members become united with one another because of their cultural differences?

In Australia there are quite a few Koreans and also many people from the adjoining island countries of Australia. In Zion, we have many brothers and sisters from island countries such as New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and the Cook Islands, as well as native Australians and Koreans.

There is no language barrier because most of them speak English, but there are some differences between them in their way of thinking and customs because they are from many different countries. Nevertheless, they do not feel any difficulty in being united with one another, and it surprises me a lot. It is probably because they have a strong sense of bonding and belonging, with the thought: “We are all one in Elohim God.” Honestly, I am still lacking in my ability to speak English. So, I find it hard to talk to the members in English about things apart from the gospel, but the members listen carefully to me and if they fail to understand something, they even blame themselves, saying that they are not yet accustomed to listening. As they’ve continued to obey the Teachings of Mother, they become used to considering others better than themselves, understanding and respecting each other’s differences.

_ It’s really touching to hear that they are so considerate of one another. It must have influenced the gospel work as well.

ⓒ 2012 WATV

The young adults and male adults always study the Bible hard. They are the pillars of the Church in Sydney.

Of course! They have the same kind of love for both their physical and spiritual families. One of the prominent characteristics of the members from island countries is that they are very devout in their faith. Even before they received the truth, they enjoyed reading the Bible and used to go to church regularly every Sunday no matter how busy they were. So, they are very surprised to discern the truth through the Bible. Then they immediately call their family in their hometown and preach the gospel to them with eagerness.

Some of them personally visit their family and relatives in their country to preach the truth to them. Most of the members who have immigrated to Australia need to provide financial support for their family in their hometown, so they are not well off and they don’t have enough time, either. Despite all these unfavorable circumstances, they try to preach the truth to the people in their hometown by every means possible. It is because they cannot just watch them walking the wrong path of faith, firmly believing falsehood as truth, as they did before.

Since we know their earnest heart, sometimes we go on a short-term mission trip to their hometown together with them. I’m sure that God is also pleased with our unity and accomplishes such an amazing work, allowing us to bear abundant fruit.

_ There are probably many gracious stories about the members.

ⓒ 2012 WATV

The youth students are the future of the gospel work in Australia.

Yes. A sister from the Cook Islands went on a month-long mission trip to her hometown to preach the Word to people there, including her father. At that time she left together with another sister, but the sister with her had to come back after a week because something suddenly came up. As there were many people who wanted to listen to the truth, she was worried about how to preach to those many souls all alone. On the day when the sister went back to Australia, however, a sister and her daughter from the Auckland Zion in New Zealand came to the Cook Islands to preach to their family. They put their minds together as one and preached the gospel diligently to people there. As a result, a house Church has now been built in the Cook Islands. Besides, there are many other gracious cases that cannot be explained without mentioning God’s grace.

_ It seems that unity is more important than anything else in order to accomplish world evangelism quickly.

That’s right. When it comes to the gospel in Oceania, we’ve continued to work together with the Church in New Zealand and many other Churches in Australia. That is how the gospel has been spreading so quickly to neighboring island countries.

Now the gospel is being preached throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth. So I think this is the time when all members around the world should become one, regardless of which local Church, city or country they belong to. Although we are all from different countries, with different cultures and backgrounds, if we throw away our own thoughts and try to fathom Mother’s will, we can all become united in mind and purpose.

God has provided a good foundation for all brothers and sisters around the world to become united in mind. No matter how far apart we are, we can listen to Mother’s words and can also easily see how world evangelism is being accomplished, through videos, the Elohist magazine, the website, etc. I believe that the shortcut to achieve complete unity is to always listen to Mother’s words and to put them into practice.

_ How do you want to fulfill the gospel work from now on?

ⓒ 2012 WATV

I want to continue to do the gospel work in a way pleasing to Mother, as I did at first. The greatest joy for Mother is to find all of Her lost children from heaven. We once went to a village to preach, without knowing that it was the village where Muslims were living together. After knowing it, we hesitated, but soon we started to knock on the doors one after another, believing that there was surely a reason why God led us there. Our belief proved true! We met a soul who had been eagerly looking for the truth; her family was the only Christian family in that village. What would have happened to the soul if we had just passed by the village? We do not know where our lost brothers and sisters are. That is why we can’t and shouldn’t just pass by even a single person.

With a definite goal to preach the gospel to all people in Oceania, we are always ready to go whenever God tells us to go—whenever God gives us the opportunity. Now we are preparing to go on short-term mission trips to Fiji and Tonga where Zion has not yet been established, in cooperation with the Church in New Zealand, and we are also planning to go to other cities in Australia to preach the gospel. As of now, Zion has been established in every city with a population of over 300,000, including Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Cairns, and Adelaide, as well as Canberra the capital city of Australia. We believe that the gospel in Oceania will be completed soon if we bring forth more gospel workers and preach the gospel diligently in the neighboring regions of house Churches and also provide full support for the gospel in island countries.

_ Just the thought of it makes me so excited. Is there anything else you’d like to add before we conclude?

At the General Assembly this year, Mother clearly taught us that what is important in preaching the gospel is our “mindset” and not our “methods.” At that time I felt like She was saying the words to me, not someone else. Actually, until last year, I often just tried to teach the members as I pleased and to plant in their hearts something that I myself wanted to. Now I want to set them an example through my actions with an awakened spirit of a prophet, so I can give them courage just as Mother always encourages us, saying, “Cheer up! Animo!”

I can’t wait to convey to them the Holy Spirit that I’ve received from Mother. I will do my best to truly please Mother by joyfully carrying out the gospel work in unity with the members this year.