In search of mission organization ― UBF (University Bible Fellowship)] Bible Reading and Disciple making targeted for college students world-wide

Kukmin-ilbo article on Feb 18, 2008

 Do you know which mission organization sent most missionaries last year? According to Korea World Mission Association, it is the University Bible Fellowship (UBF) which sent 1486 people (79 countries) out of total 17,697 people. The main focus of UBF, which started in Korea and grew world-wide and self-supporting, is bible study and disciple making and preaching the gospel to students world-wide.

The purpose of UBF, which was founded in Kwangju, Jeolla province by the Late Pastor Chang-Woo Lee and Sarah Barry from the Presbyterian Church, US-Southern, was to help college students, immediately after the 4/19 nation-wide demonstration and 5·16 coup d’état, to read the bible and live by it and follow Jesus’ world mission command. UBF, which started bible study and prayer meeting with a motto ‘Bible Korea, World Mission”, still focuses on the same purpose without change even after 47 years.

Campus mission is the most important activity in UBF. In particular, one-to-one bible study and small group bible study best depicts its character. Students learn through bible studies how to apply the word in everyday life and how to become true disciples of Christ. Campus mission is also the main focus of world mission. Missionaries teach the bible to college students, young people and neighbors and raise them as disciples.

Most UBF missionaries are sent after about 10 years of training. Bible study during under-graduate and post-graduate is the basic and they receive after graduation, more than two years, basic training as Christians, disciple making, preparation as tent-maker missionaries, foreign language training and culture study. Later they receive intensive training in the HQ for two months and then they are sent off.

UBF policy for mission is a professional self-supporting missionary. Thus they have to carry out the mission as well as working. The first missionary was sent to West-Germany in 1969 and it was a nurse. Missionaries sent up to now are all long-term missionaries with jobs.

As the professional self-supporting ministry is becoming a new mission strategy for restricted areas, UBF missionaries are becoming a subject of study. In particular, more attention is given as the natives, after receiving the missionary-calling, are sent out as missionaries. Hyun-Jeong Lee, the Korea UBF director, said “UBF will co-work with native missionaries and put more effort to mission” and “we will raise the disciples of Jesus through Jesus’ incarnation spirit with a focus of a 10-40 window area”

Reporter Sang-Mok Shin