Our History
The Beginning
1979
Founded by first-generation Korean immigrant families, Bethel has been through many changes in its 40-year history. Bethel’s first senior pastor Dr. David Kim and its founding elders envisioned a time when the English-speaking second generation would become the future of the Korean-American church. Through the years, God has called many different pastors to shepherd both the Korean and English-speaking congregations at Bethel. As we look back, we marvel at God’s sovereign grace, for it is clear how He has used each pastor with his own unique gifts to meet the specific needs of the church at each stage of development.
Germination: Sowing the Seeds
1979 - 1988
Soon after its founding, the first members of the English-speaking ministry (which had begun as the youth group at Bethel) began to graduate college and enter the workforce. Compelled by the need to create an English Ministry (EM) for Korean-American young adults, they formed Light and Salt in 1987 through the leadership of Dr. Hyun Kim. The purpose was to provide this new emerging group a Christian environment where they could become light and salt to the world.
Passion: Finding Purpose and Empowerment
1979 - 1988
While this group continued to grow in number, the ministry remained inwardly focused on the spiritual needs of English-speaking Korean American young adults. Things started taking shape under the leadership of David Gibbons, who cast a vision to build leaders to impact the outside world. By establishing discipleship groups and plugging individuals into various ministry areas according to their gifts, Pastor Gibbons provided both the vision and opportunity for our members to serve within the church and outside its walls. He cultivated many leaders, some of whom continue to serve as our deacons and bring up other leaders, as others have gone out to serve as missionaries or plant their own ministries.
Independence: Building Infrastructure
1994 - 2000
Eventually the Lord called David Gibbons to leave Bethel and plant a church in California. In December 1994, Timothy Park became the new head pastor for the English Ministry. This was also the time that we witnessed an explosive growth in the number of married couples and families in our church. The Lord blessed the congregation with an abundance of children that necessitated the creation of a children's ministry.
Not only did the demographics change—EM was also reorganized. As the members of the church grew older, they became better equipped to handle more of the responsibility of governing church affairs. Eventually, the Session (Korean Ministry Board of Elders) recognized the English Ministry’s ability to oversee its own operations and granted them functional autonomy. During this time, we confirmed our first deacons, and soon after, a diaconal board was formed.
Pastor Park envisioned an autonomous second-generation church with its own elders who would partner with the first-generation congregation to do the kingdom’s work. But before the vision of autonomy could be realized, God called Pastor Park to serve at a church in Atlanta.
Theology: Solidifying Beliefs
2001 - 2003
God called Billy Park to serve as our EM lead pastor. With a vision for theologically pure ministry, Pastor Billy emphasized reformed teaching and preaching, alongside Christ-centered worship. The focus on doctrine and adult Christian education refined and deepened the biblical understanding and knowledge of lifelong Christians, as well as enlightening new believers to the true message of the Gospel.
In 2002, Kenny Ye was called to serve as the college pastor and proved to be a much needed and steadfast shepherd for the congregation in the absence of an EM lead pastor after Pastor Billy’s departure the following year.
Maturity: Strengthening Commitment
2004 - 2005
In this transitional year without an EM lead pastor, Pastor Kenny Ye continued to serve faithfully in his role as interim EM pastor. The deacons, lay leaders, and members solidified their commitment to the church and took more ownership to keep the ministry moving forward.
Growth: Calling Kingdom Workers
2005 - 2009
In His perfect timing, God brought Pastor Walter Lee to Bethel in 2005. Paster Walter become the lead EM pastor of Bethel, and under his leadership, EM matured in its focus on “growing Christ-centered committed Christians who would become compassionate Kingdom workers.”
The EM experienced a significant growth in small group ministries with approximately two-thirds of the congregation engaged in small groups. Under Pastor Kenny Ye’s leadership as associate pastor, the single’s ministry also developed effective leaders within and strove to deepen their understanding of God’s love.
In November 2009, after seven years of faithful service, Pastor Kenny Ye departed Bethel. In April 2009, Pastor William Jin was called as the new senior pastor for Bethel Church. After his arrival, both Korean and English-speaking ministries embraced a one-church model where both ministries would share the same vision and mission. Meanwhile, Pastor Walter was led to plant a church of his own.
The Future Is Now
2010 - Present
We are excited to see where God will lead Bethel Church through Senior Pastor Baeq's vision of a gospel community in mission, where our church can impact the community both globally and locally. Learning from our history and building upon God’s work and faithfulness, we are preparing to become the mature, healthy church that God intended. We look forward to pressing on towards the goal, including our reunion with Christ Jesus!