On a summer Sunday afternoon in 2023, we found ourselves in the terminal station of a valley in Dongducheon City, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A white cross sculpture stands on one side, and a green chapel where melodious praise is heard on the other. In suit and tie, an old pastor walked to the podium to deliver the sermon of the day to both the congregation in person and his tens of thousands of online subscribers. Being 82 years old this year, he is hale and hearty. Unless otherwise arranged, he shares his meditation with the congregation on time at 6 a.m. every Monday to Friday.
He is pastor Kim Jin-Hong, the founder of Deok Rae Community. From his thirties to the present, he has been dedicated to uncovering how the gospel can serve as a blessing to his ethnic group, society, and nation. Along his journey, he has encountered detours and valuable lessons, earning both praise for his contributions to civil development and facing criticisms and controversies over certain matters. Today, at over eighty years old, he reflects on how the gospel can adapt its influence to different times - discerning what should remain steadfast and what must evolve.
Over the past half-century, Pastor Kim has remained steadfast in his commitment to the Community model, which he considers the cornerstone of Christianity's growth. To him, its preservation is paramount for a promising future. Throughout the decades, he has amassed a wealth of practical experience.
A Desert Becomes a Garden: Experiences from 1970 to 2000
--How does one dedicate oneself to living for others in modern society?
A Desert Becomes a Garden is a touching autobiography of the pastor, telling his life experiences from the 1970s to the end of the 1990s. “In South Korea, A Desert Becomes a Garden is an excellent book recommended by the Ministry of Culture, and has been reprinted over 100 times since its initial publication in 1982. In 1998, New East Asia, one of the largest circulation magazines in Korea, serialized the revised edition of the book. Internationally, earlier than South Korea, the book was first published in Japan and later in South Korea, the United States, Russia, and other countries.” The book is introduced so in the preface of the Chinese version published in 2009.
The historical backdrop of the book is set in South Korea during the early 1970s, marked by the aftermath of Japanese colonization, World War II, and the Korean War. Amidst the complex challenges of poverty, underdeveloped technology, weak social infrastructure, and economic disparities, young Kim Jin-Hong, born into a Christian family, initially grappled with doubts about his faith. Disheartened by the church's seeming indifference to the struggles of the people, he embarked on a spiritual quest, exploring various philosophies and religions.
However, through a profound encounter with the book of Romans, Pastor Kim experienced a spiritual rebirth, finding solace and grounding in Jesus. Driven by a desire to serve the common people, he explored various professions, including medicine sales, cosmetics exports, and insurance. Subsequently, he pursued studies at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary with the intention of becoming a professional pastor. Yet, witnessing the tragic consequences of dogmatic mistakes within the church, he opted instead to practice fraternity as an ordinary person.
Thus, he ventured into various grassroots occupations, aiming to both sustain himself and uplift the working class. During a summer vacation, he initiated the "Living Poor Church" in poverty-stricken villages, with the purpose of enabling the destitute to overcome their hardships through faith. Reflecting on those transformative years, he willingly relinquished the allure of studying in the United States to wholeheartedly dedicate himself to serving the underprivileged in a challenging environment.
In his quest to alleviate poverty and empower the disadvantaged, Pastor Kim underwent a series of setbacks and learned valuable lessons. His initial efforts to provide financial aid revealed the importance of cultivating self-reliance among the poor. Encouraging them to start small businesses led to challenges with morality and spirituality. Ultimately, he found that emphasizing faith and fostering a community-based model became the turning point in their journey.
In this process, he discovered the paramount importance of fostering a sense of community among the impoverished. Recognizing the significance of solidarity and mutual support after establishing their beliefs, he embarked on implementing a community-based model. He led the villagers to Nanyang Bay, approximately 90 kilometers away from Seoul. Despite the absence of financial assistance from the state, he successfully addressed the villagers' fundamental needs of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, while simultaneously organizing the poor, weak, and humble members to collaboratively build the thriving "Deok Rae Community Village."
The name "Deok Rae" originates from an ancient Korean concept of farmers helping each other during busy seasons, making it an agricultural community founded on gospel beliefs.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the villagers' primary livelihood was farming, and they experienced divine benevolence. Among the most profound experiences was a second failure in planting rice seedlings during a severe drought year. With heartfelt prayers from both adults and children, they witnessed a miraculous bumper harvest, resulting in economic reversal and prosperity.
Over time, the Deok Rae Community Village evolved into a sanctuary for healing, renewal, and harmonious living. Despite South Korea's economic prosperity in the 1980s, many individuals sought refuge in the community, seeking solace from various hardships such as pain, pressure, depression, family abandonment, and desperation. Through collaborative work and communal living, seekers experienced both physical and mental recovery.
In the last few chapters of A Desert Becomes a Garden, Pastor Kim talks about his vision and thinking of running a Deok Rae community, pointing out that “Korean churches are much revived, but unfortunately they are too inclined to individual healing and personal salvation”. Due to their weak social and historical views, they have limited influence on society and times. The Deok Rae Community combines the evangelical movement, the community movement, the church reform movement, and the social renewal movement, hoping to bring renewal to the church and society through the power of the evangelical community.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the headquarters of the Deok Rae Community formed a Group consisting of New Life Healing Hospital, Deok Rae Village for Social Welfare, Korean Deok Rae commercial companies, and several charitable organizations.
New explorations and experiences in the past ten years
--How to uphold the essence of the gospel and continue to develop in a changing era?
It has been about 20 years since the publication of A Desert Becomes a Garden. Now, Deok Rae Village in Guangyandong is a new attempt by Pastor Kim in 2012.
“At the age of 70, I bought land with my pension and started over.” His motivation behind this fresh beginning was his realization that the Korean church lacked spirituality and a recognition of his own past mistakes. “I may be more bad things than good things, so I repented and start over. I come here with such a heart.”
He explained, “When you start a community, if you emphasize spirituality too much, the industry will fall, and vice versa. Because of the emphasis on agriculture and the economy, spirituality is much weaker. Farmers cannot do Bible study as they are too tired and busy for money. Therefore, the purpose of starting here is to establish a balanced Jesus Community that harmonizes faith and daily life, as well as the balance between labor and prayer.”
In 2012, with a pension of 1.2 billion won (about 6.5 million RMB), he acquired a mountainous area covering 240,000 square meters in Guangyandong, where he established a church, a fasting monastery, a school, a food processing factory, and a farm as part of the new endeavor in the Deok Rae Community. Additionally, the seven churches he founded in other places started operating independently while maintaining interactions with this new community.
“There have been significant changes between the era before 2000 and the present. To stay ahead of the times, we must adapt. The 1970s marked a very poor era in South Korea, even poorer than North Korea at that time. However, South Korea has grown to be 50 times richer than North Korea now, so the church must stay ahead of the changes in this era."
“We initiated the project in Guangyandong in 2012.” He recalled that at that time, the people in the Deok Rae Community were still engaged in traditional agriculture. "Although they worked very hard, their annual income was only 150 million won (about 800,000 Yuan). It was evident that the community could not be sustained in this manner. So, I decided to seek a paradigm shift and opted not to rely solely on traditional agriculture. Instead, I ventured into using the Internet and social media to sell our agricultural products online, which eventually increased our income tenfold in just three years."
He established a Youtube channel, conducting live broadcasts of worship at 6 a.m., 11 a.m., and 7 p.m. every day, while also promoting the natural agricultural products they produced. Currently, they have 180,000 stable subscribers. According to him, this approach represents a new way to expand in the current era.
In his opinion, churches in China can also explore the concept of agricultural communities and become a model for agricultural management, considering China's significant reliance on agriculture. This could be instrumental in helping many people.
Regarding the operation of agricultural communities, he offers a valuable suggestion: "Quality holds greater importance than quantity. The key to a stable income lies in producing high-quality featured products."
He continues to embark on various new attempts, believing that the essence of the gospel should remain unchanged while adapting to the external situations that have changed over time. He emphasized that the approach to expansion must be continuously revised and adjusted according to different circumstances, integrating both the internal essence (contents) and the external aspects (hardware).
The importance of the community model for future development
In addition to insisting on the essence of the gospel and changing with the trends of the times, Pastor Kim has always continued and emphasized the model of Jesus Community.
“Being a Christian shouldn't be limited to just attending church; instead, church, life, and society should seamlessly integrate. Faith, life, and work ought to be harmoniously intertwined, creating a balanced community that reflects the Biblical model and represents the future of Christianity.”
He firmly believes that the community plays a crucial role in nurturing positive faith and fostering meaningful interpersonal connections.
"Our village has three core goals: to love our work even as we age, to live a happy life, and to share our lives together."
At 82 years old, Pastor Kim reflects on a life filled with fulfilling work, happiness, and constant sharing with others.
Drawing from his accumulated experience in community building, he emphasizes the importance of "embracing tolerance, acceptance, and recognition of each other's differences, while maintaining a culture of continuous communication among community members."
He perceives the community model not as a rigid framework but as highly flexible and diverse. For example, a ministry or a team can function as small communities and different communities can intersect, blend, and interact.
"It is a way of life: respecting each other, sharing with one another, worshiping together, and engaging in economic activities collectively."
However, Pastor Kim acknowledges that many young people today are not accustomed to this way of thinking due to the prevalent emphasis on self and individualism. He understands that it can be challenging for individualists, those with weak altruism and strong self-centeredness, to integrate into the community model. Therefore “it is necessary to slowly guide them to join the community, like watering them in slowly instead of pulling them in at once so they will be irritated.”
“If everyone walks with individualism, everyone will feel uncomfortable, but if everyone walks in a community way, everyone will get better, which is a common good.”
The goal of the Jesus Community is to walk with God every day.
Pastor Li currently serves as the manager of Deok Rae Community Village in Guangyandong, where his responsibilities extend beyond leading Bible studies to overseeing the operation of food processing plants and other industries.
Reminiscing about his initial involvement in the community roughly 30 years ago, Pastor Li highlighted that the concept of community extends beyond Christian churches and can be found in various ideologies. However, he emphasized a crucial distinction - in some cases, leaders become revered as guides who dictate truth and law to their followers, assuming god-like status. In contrast, the Jesus Community they are fostering centers its principles on the teachings of the Bible. Together, believers and Pastor Kim engage in open discussions, evaluating suggestions against biblical values and embracing change when needed.
Their vision for the community transcends the confines of a church, extending to a broader focus on societal and environmental concerns, exemplifying social responsibility.
He shared, "Our way of life revolves around walking with God every day. Life within the community serves as a constant training ground for walking with God. This pursuit represents the very expansion of the kingdom of God. As we strive to cleanse our lives of sin through our walk with God, His kingdom continues to grow and flourish."
- Translated by Charlie Li
2023年夏季一个主日的下午，在韩国京畿道东豆川市广岩洞一个山谷的终点站，这里一边是一个白色的十字架雕塑，一边是响着悠扬赞美声的绿皮建筑的礼拜堂。一位老牧师西装革履走到讲台，面向实地会众以及他在自媒体上数万的订阅者们分享当天的信息。虽然他今年已经82岁的高龄，但却精神矍铄。不仅仅主日，其实每周一到周五早晨6点若没有其他安排的话，他都会西装革履、准时站在讲台上与会众分享灵修默想。
他就是德来共同体的创办人金镇洪牧师。从30多岁开始到现在，他一直致力于探索福音如何成为自己所在的族群、社会和民族的祝福，有弯路和教训，有对他在促进平民发展上很多的赞扬和褒奖，也有不少对他在处理一些事情上的不满和争议......一路跌跌撞撞走到今天，年逾八旬的他对福音在不同的时代如何彰显影响力有思考：哪些是不变的？哪些是要变的？
与此同时，过去近半个世纪的人生中，他服事的模式一直坚持的是共同体（Community）的模式，他认为这个是基督教发展的核心，若失去的话则没有未来。而在过去几十年的实践中，他也有很多切实的体会。
《荒漠乐园》记录1970-2000年的经历
—— 现代社会中如何奉献自己为他人而活
《荒漠乐园》其实是金镇洪牧师一本朴实感人的自传，讲述他1970年代到1990年代末的的人生经历。“在韩国，《荒漠乐园》是一本文化部向国民推荐的优秀图书，从1982年出版发行以来，已再版100多次。1998年，韩国最大发行量之一的杂志《新东亚》连载此书的修订本。在国际上，先于韩国，这本书最早在日本出版，后来在韩国、美国、俄罗斯等国相继出版。”在2009年这本书中文版的出版前言中如此介绍说。
该书的历史背景是1970年代初期的韩国，因曾经的日本殖民、二战和3年的朝鲜战争等历史，遗留了贫穷、生产技术落后、社会设施薄弱、经济发展极为不平衡等各种复杂问题。年轻的金镇洪出生于基督教家庭，母亲一直为他祷告希望他成为牧师，但他进入大学后却渐渐怀疑自己的信仰，尤其是看到教会常常不关心民生疾苦、仿佛是伪君子的聚会所一般，于是几年里面在不同的哲学和宗教中彷徨、苦恼和寻觅，最终在研究使徒保罗的著作《罗马书》的过程中经历重生，安身立命在耶稣里面。
同时，他抱着服侍平民大众的心志，做过药品销售、化妆品外销、保险外勤员等许多形形色色的工作，信仰后进入到长老会神学院计划成为职业牧师，但仍旧看到教会常常犯了教条化的错误导致灵魂受压的真实悲剧。最后他决心不作职业牧师，而是以普通人的身份实践博爱。
于是，他开始尝试各种基层职业，一方面为了谋生一方面为了服侍劳苦大众。那个暑假，他开始在贫民村创立了“活贫教会”，意即为贫民开创生存的道路，帮助他们靠信仰战胜贫困。回顾那些年的人生，就是他甘愿抛弃公派留美的美好前途，自愿到恶劣的环境拼命为穷苦人服务的过程。
另一方面，他为穷苦人服务的道路也是一路经历很多挫败学了很多教训，不断更新和进行新尝试。最开始，他以为穷苦人缺的是钱，于是他借着筹款、借钱，甚至还有自己捡破烂并捐钱给需要的人，并且和他们一起生活，但最后他发现其实即使给了他们钱，结局是仍旧贫穷。所以，他发现比起给钱，其实根本是需要建立他们自力更生的心，于是第二阶段，他鼓励他们做小买卖和做自生会，但是开始有了一些钱后以后发现道德和灵性出现了倒塌，结论也是不行；于是到了第三阶段，他开始强调信仰的建立和学习。
在这个过程中，他发现穷苦人建立信仰后一起生活和互助非常重要，他开始尝试共同体模式，于是他带领村民到离首尔市90公里的南洋湾，在没有任何国家财政支援的情况下，不仅解决了村民的衣食住行问题，还组织贫困、软弱、无知的村民成功地建设起“德来共同村”。
“德来”是古代韩国的一个单词，意思是农忙时农户们一起互助做农活，因此他创办的德来共同体是一起相信福音的人开始的农业共同体。
因为在1970-1980年代，他所带领的贫苦人只有一条路就是种地做农业，上帝也恩待了他们，其中最深刻的一次经历是在大旱年间插秧二次失败，之后靠着大人和孩子一起多次恳切的祷告降下雨来，在最绝望的情况下迎来农业的丰收，最终带来经济的逆转和繁荣。
他所创办的这个“村子”——德来共同村也成了一个让人栖息、疗愈和更新之地。即使在1980年代韩国经济开始腾飞，人们的物质不再艰难后，仍旧有许多因为各种痛苦、压力、心灵郁结、家人抛弃、没有出路的人来到这里，借着一起劳动和生活，恢复了身心灵健康的真实故事。
金牧师在《荒漠乐园》的末尾几章，谈及他做德来共同体的异象和思路时，指出：“韩国教会很复兴，遗憾的是太倾向于个人的治愈和个人的得救”，却社会和历史观很淡薄，导致对整个社会和时代的影响力却很有限。金镇洪在他的自传中说到，德来共同体将福音运动、共同体运动、教会改革运动和社会更新运动相结合，希望透过福音共同体的力量给教会和社会带来更新。
21世纪初，他创建的德来共同体运动本部已形成一个集团，下设新生活治愈院、社会福祉德来村、韩国德来经济公司、多个慈善公益组织等许多部分。
过去十年来新的探索和经验
——如何秉持福音本质在变化的时代继续发展？
自《荒漠乐园》出版至今约有20年过去，如今，广岩洞的德来村是金镇洪牧师2012年开始新的尝试。
“70岁的时候，我拿着韩国给的退休金买了这块地，重新开始了。”金牧师介绍说，他之所以这样做，一方面发现韩国教会缺乏的就是灵性；另一方面还有一个很关键的内在驱动，就是他发现自己过去几十年有很多做错的地方，“可能比起做好的，做的不好的可能更多，所以悔改了。‘重新开始吧！’——带着这样的心来到这里。”
他解释，“做共同体的话，若是过于强调灵性的话，实业就会跌倒；可是若是又过于强调实业的话，灵性又会跌倒。因为之前强调农业、经济方面很多，所以灵性就弱了很多。因为太拼命地去赚钱、做农活，身体太疲惫了，工作太忙了，所以不能做圣经学习。所以在这边开始的原因是希望做平衡的耶稣共同体，信仰和生活平衡、劳动和祷告平衡。”
于是，他在2012年拿着12亿韩币（约合650万人民币）的退休金，买了广岩洞一处山谷24万平的山地，在这里建立了教会、禁食修道院、学校、食品加工厂、农场等，开始了德来共同体新的尝试。而之前他在其他地方创办的七个教会也开始独立运作，与这里形成互动。
“现在和2000年以前的时代有很多改变。我们要走在时代前面，因为1970年代是韩国非常贫穷的时代，当时比北朝鲜还贫穷，但现在韩国比北朝鲜富裕50倍，所以教会要走在这个时代变化的前面。”
“广岩洞这里是2012年开始的。”他回忆说，当时德来共同体的人们仍旧以传统的方式做了农业，“很努力地做了，但是一年的收入只有1.5亿韩币（约合80多万人民币）。这样的话，共同体无法持续。所以我就改变了想法，希望有模式（paradise）的转变，所以就决定不再做传统的农业，而是用网络和社交媒体，尝试在网上买我们的农产品，然后三年之内收入增加了10倍。”
他介绍说，自己尝试在Youtube上做了频道，不仅有每天早上6点、上午11点和晚上7点的敬拜的直播，也会有他们做的纯天然农产品的推介，目前稳定的订阅群有18万。在他看来，这就是一种当下时代新的拓展方式。
在他看来，中国的教会也可以尝试多做这样农业性的共同体，并且成为农业经营的模范，因为中国也是以农业为基础，这样可以帮助到很多人。
而谈到农业共同体的运作，他也给出建议：比起只是增加外面的数量，更加重要的是质，意思是需要有很好的特色产品，这样才能有稳定的收入。
他谈到其实一直以来，他都在有很多新的尝试，而不同的时代哪些需要改变哪些不需要改变？对此，他回答说：“福音的本质是不变，但是外在的情况改变了，根据不同的情况拓展的方式要不断地改变、持续的改变——不是改变一次就结束了。第一个是内面的，是内涵（contents），第二个是外面的，是硬件（hardware），这两个要一起走。”
共同体模式对未来发展的重要性
除了强调坚持福音本质，并顺应时代潮流拓展形式进行改变外，金镇洪牧师一直延续和强调耶稣共同体的模式。
“基督徒不能只是努力得去教会，而是教会、生活、社会要三者成为一体；信仰、生活、工作也是要成为一体——要建立这三者平衡的共同体——这也是在圣经里面有的模式，这就是基督教的未来。”
他谈到共同体可以帮助参与的人更好得在信仰、以及人与人沟通上发挥正面的作用。
“我们的村子有三个目标：1. 直到老了仍然热爱工作 2. 幸福的生活 3. 过一个分享的生活。”
金牧师介绍说：“我现在82岁，也是一直参与很多的工作，生活很幸福，也总是分享给别人。”
而谈到多年自己做共同体积累的经验之谈，他分享说认为最重要的是“包容对方，对对方的包容、接纳和认可，要认可对方和自己的不同，要不断地沟通。”
在他看来，共同体的模式并不是一种死的框架，其实是很灵活和多元的，比如一个事工、一个团队可能就是一个小小的共同体，不同的共同体之间也是交叉、互融、互动的。
“就是一种生活方式，彼此尊重彼此分享，一起做礼拜，一起做经济。”
其实很多当下的年轻人并不习惯于这种方式，因为强调自我、个人主义。金牧师承认，个人主义者、利他性比较弱、自我为中心比较强的人的确融入到共同体模式中是很难的，所以“就需要像水慢慢进来一样，要慢慢引导他们加入到共同体里面，不能一下子拉进来，这样他们反而会很反感。”
“如果每个人都以个人主义走的话，每个人都会感到不舒服，但以共同体的方式走的话，所有人都会好起来的，是一种共同善（common good）。”
耶稣共同体的目标是每天与神同行
李牧师是现在经营广岩洞德来共同村的经理。他日常的工作不仅包含每天和金牧师一起带领圣经学习，还有食品加工厂等实业的运营等。
他回忆说，自己开始加入其中是在大约30年前的1990年代。
他提及共同体的概念其实不仅仅基督教正统教会有，不少异端也强调这种概念。李牧师说到：“他们也会使用这个概念，但是他们认为的共同体和我们不一样的是：他们是引导他们团体的引导人成为了他们的神。所以，教主说的话就成了真理和法。但是，我们做的耶稣共同体是以圣经为中心，比如他和金牧师都有建议的话，那就一起讨论，如果和圣经不一样的、错误的话就大胆改变。”
同时，他介绍说，他们的异象是比起一个教会只是关注自己，也强调关注社会和世界，比如社会责任、环境保护等等。
他分享说：“我们这样生活，所生活的目标是每天与神同行，共同体的生活是训练，是训练与神同行。这就是神的国度的扩张。当我们与神同行，不断地洗净自己的罪生活的时候，神的国度会不断地扩张。”
访谈|《荒漠乐园》作者、首尔近郊德来共同体创办人金镇洪牧师：教会在不同的时代哪些不变，哪些要变？
On a summer Sunday afternoon in 2023, we found ourselves in the terminal station of a valley in Dongducheon City, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A white cross sculpture stands on one side, and a green chapel where melodious praise is heard on the other. In suit and tie, an old pastor walked to the podium to deliver the sermon of the day to both the congregation in person and his tens of thousands of online subscribers. Being 82 years old this year, he is hale and hearty. Unless otherwise arranged, he shares his meditation with the congregation on time at 6 a.m. every Monday to Friday.
He is pastor Kim Jin-Hong, the founder of Deok Rae Community. From his thirties to the present, he has been dedicated to uncovering how the gospel can serve as a blessing to his ethnic group, society, and nation. Along his journey, he has encountered detours and valuable lessons, earning both praise for his contributions to civil development and facing criticisms and controversies over certain matters. Today, at over eighty years old, he reflects on how the gospel can adapt its influence to different times - discerning what should remain steadfast and what must evolve.
Over the past half-century, Pastor Kim has remained steadfast in his commitment to the Community model, which he considers the cornerstone of Christianity's growth. To him, its preservation is paramount for a promising future. Throughout the decades, he has amassed a wealth of practical experience.
A Desert Becomes a Garden: Experiences from 1970 to 2000
--How does one dedicate oneself to living for others in modern society?
A Desert Becomes a Garden is a touching autobiography of the pastor, telling his life experiences from the 1970s to the end of the 1990s. “In South Korea, A Desert Becomes a Garden is an excellent book recommended by the Ministry of Culture, and has been reprinted over 100 times since its initial publication in 1982. In 1998, New East Asia, one of the largest circulation magazines in Korea, serialized the revised edition of the book. Internationally, earlier than South Korea, the book was first published in Japan and later in South Korea, the United States, Russia, and other countries.” The book is introduced so in the preface of the Chinese version published in 2009.
The historical backdrop of the book is set in South Korea during the early 1970s, marked by the aftermath of Japanese colonization, World War II, and the Korean War. Amidst the complex challenges of poverty, underdeveloped technology, weak social infrastructure, and economic disparities, young Kim Jin-Hong, born into a Christian family, initially grappled with doubts about his faith. Disheartened by the church's seeming indifference to the struggles of the people, he embarked on a spiritual quest, exploring various philosophies and religions.
However, through a profound encounter with the book of Romans, Pastor Kim experienced a spiritual rebirth, finding solace and grounding in Jesus. Driven by a desire to serve the common people, he explored various professions, including medicine sales, cosmetics exports, and insurance. Subsequently, he pursued studies at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary with the intention of becoming a professional pastor. Yet, witnessing the tragic consequences of dogmatic mistakes within the church, he opted instead to practice fraternity as an ordinary person.
Thus, he ventured into various grassroots occupations, aiming to both sustain himself and uplift the working class. During a summer vacation, he initiated the "Living Poor Church" in poverty-stricken villages, with the purpose of enabling the destitute to overcome their hardships through faith. Reflecting on those transformative years, he willingly relinquished the allure of studying in the United States to wholeheartedly dedicate himself to serving the underprivileged in a challenging environment.
In his quest to alleviate poverty and empower the disadvantaged, Pastor Kim underwent a series of setbacks and learned valuable lessons. His initial efforts to provide financial aid revealed the importance of cultivating self-reliance among the poor. Encouraging them to start small businesses led to challenges with morality and spirituality. Ultimately, he found that emphasizing faith and fostering a community-based model became the turning point in their journey.
In this process, he discovered the paramount importance of fostering a sense of community among the impoverished. Recognizing the significance of solidarity and mutual support after establishing their beliefs, he embarked on implementing a community-based model. He led the villagers to Nanyang Bay, approximately 90 kilometers away from Seoul. Despite the absence of financial assistance from the state, he successfully addressed the villagers' fundamental needs of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, while simultaneously organizing the poor, weak, and humble members to collaboratively build the thriving "Deok Rae Community Village."
The name "Deok Rae" originates from an ancient Korean concept of farmers helping each other during busy seasons, making it an agricultural community founded on gospel beliefs.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the villagers' primary livelihood was farming, and they experienced divine benevolence. Among the most profound experiences was a second failure in planting rice seedlings during a severe drought year. With heartfelt prayers from both adults and children, they witnessed a miraculous bumper harvest, resulting in economic reversal and prosperity.
Over time, the Deok Rae Community Village evolved into a sanctuary for healing, renewal, and harmonious living. Despite South Korea's economic prosperity in the 1980s, many individuals sought refuge in the community, seeking solace from various hardships such as pain, pressure, depression, family abandonment, and desperation. Through collaborative work and communal living, seekers experienced both physical and mental recovery.
In the last few chapters of A Desert Becomes a Garden, Pastor Kim talks about his vision and thinking of running a Deok Rae community, pointing out that “Korean churches are much revived, but unfortunately they are too inclined to individual healing and personal salvation”. Due to their weak social and historical views, they have limited influence on society and times. The Deok Rae Community combines the evangelical movement, the community movement, the church reform movement, and the social renewal movement, hoping to bring renewal to the church and society through the power of the evangelical community.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the headquarters of the Deok Rae Community formed a Group consisting of New Life Healing Hospital, Deok Rae Village for Social Welfare, Korean Deok Rae commercial companies, and several charitable organizations.
New explorations and experiences in the past ten years
--How to uphold the essence of the gospel and continue to develop in a changing era?
It has been about 20 years since the publication of A Desert Becomes a Garden. Now, Deok Rae Village in Guangyandong is a new attempt by Pastor Kim in 2012.
“At the age of 70, I bought land with my pension and started over.” His motivation behind this fresh beginning was his realization that the Korean church lacked spirituality and a recognition of his own past mistakes. “I may be more bad things than good things, so I repented and start over. I come here with such a heart.”
He explained, “When you start a community, if you emphasize spirituality too much, the industry will fall, and vice versa. Because of the emphasis on agriculture and the economy, spirituality is much weaker. Farmers cannot do Bible study as they are too tired and busy for money. Therefore, the purpose of starting here is to establish a balanced Jesus Community that harmonizes faith and daily life, as well as the balance between labor and prayer.”
In 2012, with a pension of 1.2 billion won (about 6.5 million RMB), he acquired a mountainous area covering 240,000 square meters in Guangyandong, where he established a church, a fasting monastery, a school, a food processing factory, and a farm as part of the new endeavor in the Deok Rae Community. Additionally, the seven churches he founded in other places started operating independently while maintaining interactions with this new community.
“There have been significant changes between the era before 2000 and the present. To stay ahead of the times, we must adapt. The 1970s marked a very poor era in South Korea, even poorer than North Korea at that time. However, South Korea has grown to be 50 times richer than North Korea now, so the church must stay ahead of the changes in this era."
“We initiated the project in Guangyandong in 2012.” He recalled that at that time, the people in the Deok Rae Community were still engaged in traditional agriculture. "Although they worked very hard, their annual income was only 150 million won (about 800,000 Yuan). It was evident that the community could not be sustained in this manner. So, I decided to seek a paradigm shift and opted not to rely solely on traditional agriculture. Instead, I ventured into using the Internet and social media to sell our agricultural products online, which eventually increased our income tenfold in just three years."
He established a Youtube channel, conducting live broadcasts of worship at 6 a.m., 11 a.m., and 7 p.m. every day, while also promoting the natural agricultural products they produced. Currently, they have 180,000 stable subscribers. According to him, this approach represents a new way to expand in the current era.
In his opinion, churches in China can also explore the concept of agricultural communities and become a model for agricultural management, considering China's significant reliance on agriculture. This could be instrumental in helping many people.
Regarding the operation of agricultural communities, he offers a valuable suggestion: "Quality holds greater importance than quantity. The key to a stable income lies in producing high-quality featured products."
He continues to embark on various new attempts, believing that the essence of the gospel should remain unchanged while adapting to the external situations that have changed over time. He emphasized that the approach to expansion must be continuously revised and adjusted according to different circumstances, integrating both the internal essence (contents) and the external aspects (hardware).
The importance of the community model for future development
In addition to insisting on the essence of the gospel and changing with the trends of the times, Pastor Kim has always continued and emphasized the model of Jesus Community.
“Being a Christian shouldn't be limited to just attending church; instead, church, life, and society should seamlessly integrate. Faith, life, and work ought to be harmoniously intertwined, creating a balanced community that reflects the Biblical model and represents the future of Christianity.”
He firmly believes that the community plays a crucial role in nurturing positive faith and fostering meaningful interpersonal connections.
"Our village has three core goals: to love our work even as we age, to live a happy life, and to share our lives together."
At 82 years old, Pastor Kim reflects on a life filled with fulfilling work, happiness, and constant sharing with others.
Drawing from his accumulated experience in community building, he emphasizes the importance of "embracing tolerance, acceptance, and recognition of each other's differences, while maintaining a culture of continuous communication among community members."
He perceives the community model not as a rigid framework but as highly flexible and diverse. For example, a ministry or a team can function as small communities and different communities can intersect, blend, and interact.
"It is a way of life: respecting each other, sharing with one another, worshiping together, and engaging in economic activities collectively."
However, Pastor Kim acknowledges that many young people today are not accustomed to this way of thinking due to the prevalent emphasis on self and individualism. He understands that it can be challenging for individualists, those with weak altruism and strong self-centeredness, to integrate into the community model. Therefore “it is necessary to slowly guide them to join the community, like watering them in slowly instead of pulling them in at once so they will be irritated.”
“If everyone walks with individualism, everyone will feel uncomfortable, but if everyone walks in a community way, everyone will get better, which is a common good.”
The goal of the Jesus Community is to walk with God every day.
Pastor Li currently serves as the manager of Deok Rae Community Village in Guangyandong, where his responsibilities extend beyond leading Bible studies to overseeing the operation of food processing plants and other industries.
Reminiscing about his initial involvement in the community roughly 30 years ago, Pastor Li highlighted that the concept of community extends beyond Christian churches and can be found in various ideologies. However, he emphasized a crucial distinction - in some cases, leaders become revered as guides who dictate truth and law to their followers, assuming god-like status. In contrast, the Jesus Community they are fostering centers its principles on the teachings of the Bible. Together, believers and Pastor Kim engage in open discussions, evaluating suggestions against biblical values and embracing change when needed.
Their vision for the community transcends the confines of a church, extending to a broader focus on societal and environmental concerns, exemplifying social responsibility.
He shared, "Our way of life revolves around walking with God every day. Life within the community serves as a constant training ground for walking with God. This pursuit represents the very expansion of the kingdom of God. As we strive to cleanse our lives of sin through our walk with God, His kingdom continues to grow and flourish."
- Translated by Charlie Li
The Visionary Pastor: Building a Jesus Community for the Modern Era
