Seventh-day Adventist family ministries and counseling experts recently inaugurated an international association for active works and development in Seoul.
Seventh-day Adventist family ministries and counseling experts recently inaugurated an international association for active works and development in Seoul.
As the devastation of family problems has become so widespread worldwide, including Korea, the launch of a special association for family development has captured the attention of the Adventist Church in Korea.
Family abuse, dysfunction, and broken relationships have been growing in the world. In Korea, divorce is becoming a major societal issue: while 840 couples are married each day, some 398 divorces are also granted daily, a rate 250 percent higher than just a decade ago.
The inaugural meeting was held Aug. 13 at Sahmyook University in Seoul. Dr. Ki-Don Lee, former dean of Sahmyook University, was appointed president, and Professor Shin-Sup Kim, of Sahmyook University, and Young-Ja Lee, formerly a city director of youth counseling, were made vice presidents.
The organization, provisionally named the International Family Ministries and Counseling Association (IFMCA), will work to help people in their spiritual lives, mental health and family restoration. Activities include scientific research and seminars, Christian counseling, training family ministries workers, scientific journal publication, certifying special counselors, and promoting friendship among the memberships and related international institutes.
According to Dr. Ki-Don Lee, “There are many people who need even now our help in homes, churches and societies. Let us meet their needs with Christian care and help them lead their enriched life that God wants.”
Young-Ja Nam, director of family ministries for the Adventist Church in the Northern Asia-Pacific region, added, “We have needed a special association for family ministries and counseling for a long time. This will be good for training special counselors with systematic courses. I hope it will open widely and give benefits to everybody.”
According to Nam, the creation of an association was spurred by the International Family Ministry Conference held in Korea Aug. 4 to 14. The association is sponsored by Christian Counseling and Christian Education at Sahmyook University’s graduate school, and is in cooperation with the church’s family ministries offices in Korea and the Northern Pacific area. Principal speakers included Dr. Ron Flowers, family ministries director for the Adventist world church, and Dr. Ki-Don Lee. Shin-Sup Kim said, “Healing should start at home first. Then a healthy church and a beautiful society can be established. Through restoration of homes, we can change society and also introduce the gospel to unreached people.”
Dr. Flowers added, “Family ministries activity in Korea has reached new heights with the formation of this new international association. Such an organization promises to be extremely valuable in providing relationship-strengthening services of varying kinds to individuals and families. It should greatly augment the work of local church pastors, providing a unique resource to which they can turn for specialized help.”
