Trinity City Church exists to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ who join in the renewal of our city and world through the power of the Holy Spirit. This means we seek to partner prayerfully and financially with those who are making disciples of Jesus Christ in our city and in the world.
Renee Kim is one of those partners and she currently serves in a variety of roles related to mobilizing missions for God’s kingdom. We contacted Renee to get to know more about her, the context of where she serves, and how Trinity can continue to bless her through prayer and giving.
Trinity City Church [TCC]: First of all, tell us about your current ministry context. Where are you? What are you doing? How long have you been doing it?
Renee Kim [RK]: I am a Mobilizer for God's Kingdom. God has given me a heart and a deep desire to awaken His church (all believers) to His global purposes. The Bible may be 66 different books, and two testaments, but it all leads to one story!
I currently work for a Ministry based in Minneapolis called Engage Global. This ministry began in 2012 and I started volunteering there in 2013. In 2016, my husband and I began raising support and joined staff full time the summer of 2017. At EG we, "catalyze churches to engage unreached peoples through Global Christian Training and Global Christian Resources.” We do this by hosting teams of churches from all over the country every weekend at our training center. We cover God's Word, God's World, and God's Work. We begin with the Biblical basis of God's heart for all peoples. We then send teams out to visit and interact with people from the five major world religions (Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim, and Buddist). The team's go out as learners, they are not going to share the gospel as that would not be possible without knowing language and culture. By the end of training we go over "God's Work" and show that EVERY believer has a role to play in God's Kingdom work!
I also coordinate the "Perspectives" courses in the Twin Cities. I am on the Area Team and am the Loop Coordinator, meaning I assist other coordinators throughout Minnesota in getting their classes up and running. I first took the Perspectives course in 2007. I moved up to Minnesota in 2008, joined a coordinating team, and began coordinating classes in 2009. I have done this every year since!
Lastly, I am on the Equipping Team through "OMF," a mission's sending agency. I am a "Mission's Coach" and I help prepare people before they move overseas to plant churches in the least reached areas of the world.
I love all of these roles, however, my biggest and most important role is "mom" to two beautiful children. I have a ten year old son and an eight year old daughter. I am a single mom (widow) and only get by every day by God's grace, mercy, and strength.
TCC: How did you connect with Trinity? What has your partnership with Trinity looked like? How has Trinity come alongside you and provided help?
RK: My husband and I were a part of the launching team at Trinity City Church back in 2010. He was sort of "recruited" to help lead worship, and since we were dating TCC was stuck with me too. We were actually the first wedding ever at TCC, so we have been connected to them since the very beginning.
In the beginning our partnership with Trinity was mostly financial. We did do a short time of sharing after service one Sunday in the chapel that a few people attended. I also met with Pastor Bryan, Charlie, and Timothy last January and hosted them at Engage Global. I wanted them to see our training center in person and hear all that we do. The desire is to get an initial team from TCC to come to an EG weekend, and then ideally TCC will continue to send teams 1-2 times a year.
TCC: What fruit have you seen from the Lord in the last few months?
RK: Doing God's work is never boring. There are daily surprises and I find no greater joy or honor than being a part of His work. In 2021 we had over 60 students graduate from the Perspectives course and go out and engage in God's work. We also continue to have teams every weekend at Engage Global and each weekend we see God working in people's lives. So many questions, new relationships made, and coaching happening. We have also helped send people to many nations all over the world including, most recently, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Chad. We still have many people waiting to go overseas as well due to the continued pandemic. God is always working, if you look closely you can't miss it.
TCC: What are some of the challenges you have faced in the last few months whether personally or in the ministry or in the community?
RK: COVID is always bringing challenges. Our registrations for the Perspectives course beginning [January 18, 2021] are the lowest they have ever been. I have never needed to cancel the course due to low numbers, but that may happen this year. We have also needed to cancel EG teams every now and then due to people having COVID.
Personally, my life as a single mother is exhausting. I pray every day for God to bring me a partner and someone who can love my children as their own. I also have a chronic health condition called Mast Cell Disease that can be very debilitating. Given all that I have going on, asking for a partner isn't always just a want, but a need. I also have been a nurse for 14 years (I resigned from the hospital after my husband passed away) and I am currently in school to become a Holistic Health Practitioner. So far God has helped me to manage my time well, and I pray that will continue.
TCC: What are some of the ways the people of Trinity can help this ministry? Financially or spiritually or otherwise?
RK: Prayer. We can't do anything without people faithfully praying for us. I would also love a team of people to come to an Engage Global weekend! Giving money can be easy, giving time requires more commitment. (Not that I don't appreciate the financial support! OF COURSE we do!) I feel that the joy and excitement to give will change dramatically when people know and understand what they are giving to.
TCC: Specifically on Perspectives, can you tell us a little about the class and then why someone should take it?
Perspectives is a 15 week discipleship course on God's heart for the world. It is divided into four sections, the Biblical, Historical, Cultural, and Strategic basis of God's heart for all nations. It will help you discover your place in His kingdom work and how you can use the gifts He has given you to bless all peoples. You will read your Bible with fresh eyes and your relationship with God will deepen in a way you never thought possible. We joke that this course is like trying to drink out of a fire hose, which sounds scary, but it will change your life in the best possible way.
If you would like to connect with Renee or learn more about any of the ministries she is involved with, please email her at Renee@engageglobal.org. If you are interested in giving financially to her or signing up for her newsletter, please visit https://missionstream.org/missionary/kim.