Brite enriches Korean-speaking students
By Catherine Pillsbury
Staff Reporter

The Disciples of Christ ministry is overcoming language barriers as the Korean Studies program at Brite Divinity School begins its second year in corroboration with the SanFrancisco Theological Seminary.

The purpose of the program is to integrate Korean-speaking students in America to a Korean-American ministry where they can become productive members of the church, said Tim Lee, director of the Asian Studies program.

“This program is geared toward helping Korean-Americans within the Disciples of Christ to have leadership that is fully formed about the disciple tradition and able to teach communities about it so that they can become more integrated with the larger church life,” Lee said.

Students enrolled in this program are typically first-generation immigrants who speak little or no English, Lee said. Students spend the first two years of the three-year program in San Francisco at the San Francisco Theological Seminary taking regular theological classes in Korean with hopes of picking up English before moving to Brite for their third year, he said.

“The idea is that they move to Brite and finish the program as an ordinary student of Brite and, in that period, come to meet people and establish relationships with institutions that will enable them to be productively engaged in ministry,” Lee said.

The cost of tuition is fully provided by the seminary, but it’s difficult to make any sort of guarantees, he said.

“We have tried very hard to work with various churches and seminaries to provide any extra money that they truly need,” Lee said.

Because it is in its initial stages and has a limited amount of money, only four students at a time are admitted into the program, Lee said.

Brite President Newell Williams originally planned the program for Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, where Geun-Hee Yu, executive pastor for North American Ministries in Indianapolis, confronted him with the idea. However, due to lack of funds at CTS, Williams said it was brought to Brite.

The program is in the midst of its three-year experiment and is still being evaluated, but Williams said he is personally committed to seeing it go beyond the three years.

“The Disciples of Christ Church has made a large investment in it, and people have been working very hard and are dedicated,” Lee said. “So I think we have a good future ahead of us.”

Catherine Pillsbury