By Pastor Eun Sun Han, Director of KOSTE Europe, Berlin Korean Protestant Church Senior Pastor

After the Korean War, in the midst of poverty and turmoil of political chaos, University Bible Fellowship started through the shepherd heart and co-working of late Missionary Samuel Lee and Missionary Sarah Barry in Kwangju, Korea in 1961. For nearly last half of the century, UBF has achieved undeniable and powerful Acts of Holy Spirit and Mission of early church planting the gospel-centered world-mission-faith to young Korean college students. And it is certainly God’s special grace that nurses and college students who obeyed world mission command have been preaching the gospel and carrying out the mission in all the nations starting with Germany 40 years ago.

Like Apostle Paul had a Macedonian vision, Korean self-supporting missionaries have achieved re-exportation of the gospel by spreading the gospel successfully to college students in Europe. They have wisely overcome language and cultural barriers and mission in developed countries through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I would like to applaud the self-supporting missionaries not only for their independent living, but for setting a good example living a life of a good shepherd sacrificially serving and giving. They were able to destroy this barrier because they had faith on the potential of five loaves and two fish. They were deeply moved by Jesus’ salvation grace and their genuine love and passion made it possible. I think highly of all missionaries who raised the disciple-making ministry of European intellectuals and became forerunners of world mission by sending them out as missionaries to a third mission field. I would like to express my admiration to all the missionaries who are ceaselessly working for the spread of the gospel in every corner of the world.

Last year in April, I had a chance to attend the first UBF World Mission Report in Cologne with my wife. While listening to the reports, I still remember continuously witnessing the Holy Acts of early churches and it left a strong impression on me. On the occasion of celebrating the 40th anniversary of UBF European Campus Mission, I would like to welcome and congratulate the publication of the 40-Year History of European Campus Mission which entails stories of faith and spiritual struggles.

I highly anticipate the display of the Holy Spirit through the active collaboration among the Korean Churches in Europe and missionary organizations including UBF to spiritually awake the German and European churches and achieve spiritual revival of Europe so that Europe may become a missionary-sending continent once again. May God’s overflowing blessings be with Europe UBF Director Missionary Peter Chang and all the self-supporting missionaries in Germany and Europe who wholeheartedly prepared European International Summer Bible Conference and put together a vast historical data from the last 40 years.