사랑하는 복음의 동역자님께,
(English translation follows below)

우리에게 새로운 한 해를 허락하신 우리 주 예수님의 이름으로 문안을 드립니다. 

첨부해 드리는 미주크리스천 신문 신년호 4면에 제가 쓴 새해 선교 신년사가 실려있습니다. 한번 읽어 주시고, 이 한 해도 우리 모두 “뱀처럼 지혜롭고 비둘기처럼 순결한” 예수님의 제자들, 복음의 일꾼들로 살아가기를 소망합니다. 

복음의 동역자님 여러분께서 동일한 믿음, 같은 소망, 한결같은 사랑, 그리고 하나된 복음의 열정으로 함께 해 주심에 거듭 깊은 감사를 드리며, 이 한 해도 때마다 일마다, 주 성삼위 하나님의 놀라우신 섭리와 인도하심, 그리고 보호하심을 체험하며 새로운 영적 육적인 돌파를 기대하며, 하나님의 영광과 나라를 위해 크고 작은 일들을 믿음으로 시도하고 도전하는 믿음의 용사들이 다 되시기를 축복합니다! 할렐루야!

Dear beloved fellow workers of the Gospel,

I greet you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has granted us a new year.

Attached is the New Year’s edition of the Korean Christian Press newspaper, featuring the New Year’s missionary message I wrote on page 4. I hope you take a moment to read it, and I wish that this year, we all strive to live as Jesus’ disciples, “wise as serpents and innocent as doves,” and diligent workers of the Gospel.

I express my heartfelt gratitude for your continued partnership in the same faith, shared hope, unwavering love, and united passion for the Gospel. As we embark on this new year, may you experience the wondrous providence, guidance, and protection of the Triune God in every moment, season and circumstance. I pray that each of you becomes mighty warriors of faith who boldly attempt and challenge both great and small tasks for the glory and kingdom of God! Hallelujah!

[New Year’s Message (Mission Field)] – The Korean Christan Press

Wise as Serpents and Innocent as Doves in Mission

Missionary Barnabas K Kim (President, KIM Mission; Chaplain, U.S. Federal VA Health System)

On April 17, 1997, I departed from Korea as a missionary sent by Daegu Dongbu Church, affiliated with the International OM Mission, and entered the mission field after completing the Perspectives on the Global Christian Movement seminar at William Carey University in Pasadena, Southern California, and the U.S. Center for World Mission (currently Frontier Ventures). It has already been 28 years since then. At that time, Dr. Lim Yoon Taek, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, delivered a message at the graduation ceremony of the International OM Korean American Mission Headquarters (OM KAM). He was also an International OM missionary and had boarded the missionary ship MV Logos (currently MV Logos Hope), where he had gained field experience and academic achievements more than ten years before me. On that day, he shared the verse from Matthew 10:16, in which Jesus sends the twelve disciples out for training in pairs with the words, “Be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.” He encouraged us to become missionaries who balance wisdom and purity. Since that day, I have reflected on Jesus’ words in my ministry as I served three years on the Doulos missionary ship (MV Doulos, OM), ten years as the representative of OM USA Korean American Headquarters, four years in doctoral studies in pastoral theology, fourteen years as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve, one year as a chaplain in the Arizona State Prison, and have engaged in hospital missionary work across six U.S. hospitals over fourteen years. As we welcome the year 2026, I would like to encourage and urge all fellow workers of the Gospel engaged in various ministries in mission fields around the world to maintain a heart that is pure and innocent like a dove, while being wise like a serpent, regardless of when, where, or in what circumstances they find themselves—never losing the initial passion and commitment from when they were first sent. May the Lord Jesus and the spirit of wisdom and purity, the Holy Spirit, be with us this year!

감사와 기도로,

김경환 목사 드림
Barnabas K Kim
Korean International Ministries