One Day at a Time

When the church closed its doors last year due to the pandemic, Young Nak High School went through a season of confusion, emptiness, and separation. No FNFs, No Sundays, No Carnitas or Boba with church friends after service. What I thought was the strongest attribute of the high school ministry, relationship and intimacy, came to a freezing halt without a set date of return. Something had to be done to gather God’s people again while honoring the authority and protecting our neighbors. That’s when Daily Devo, entering its 20^th month, was born.

Making High School students read the Scripture is a daunting task. After all, reading anything is a dead discipline for Gen Z. TikTok, Instagram reels, and other sub-1 minute contents are the ways for this generation to connect with the world. Watching YouTube clips are always more entertaining and often more informative than reading difficult and seemingly archaic messages of the Bible. In a sense, instead of meditating on the Word of God to develop their worldview, our students are more readily attracted to catchy, flashy, and convenient means to shape their truths and desires. It almost looked like a debacle waiting to happen to introduce daily reading of God’s Word to this generation.

First few months of Daily Devo was difficult to say the least. Most days had one or two students with frequent zero turnouts. Needless to say, I was discouraged, saddened, and hopeless. What I thought was a faithful step seemed to have become a fruitless one. However, God’s calling for His people was very clear: “meditate on [the Word of God] day and night”. For a church, giving up on the Bible is giving up on God; I decided to go down with the ship. Every weekday at 8pm (It’s 9pm now), a handful of students I continued to gather and reflect on the Word of God regardless of how many people attended. Reflecting on the Scripture wasn’t always entertaining or even informative, but a handful of us continued to gather and protected this faithful journey.

Just like He always does, God moved in our daily journey with Him. A few months after, what started as a two-student endeavor multiplied to 10+ students. 20 months into Daily Devo, we now average close to 20 students every night. Regardless of how much work or responsibilities they had, many students continue to set aside 9:00pm every weekday to read the Word of God and pray together. There was no secret recipe for our spiritual multiplication; we gathered, received our daily bread, and prayed.

Studies show that only about 11% of Christian population reads the Bible daily. The same studies reveal that many Christians never read the Bible outside of Sunday services. Less than 9% of our students’ generation regularly read the Bible. It is clear that we are slowly removing the Bible from our lives. The message of the Bible is becoming more irrelevant and dismissible to our students. We have a choice as the church to go with the trend or reverse the tide. My prayer is that the restoration of Young Nak will come through this faithful gathering of young people. We are becoming God’s church as we gather every night at 9:00pm. As a gathering of two became 20, I can’t wait until we become a gathering of hundreds and thousands in the name of Jesus Christ.

Relationships and intimacy are still the strongest attributes of Young Nak High School Ministry. However, those attributes revolve around the holy Word of God and people gathering to receive it every day. What I thought was going to be a temporary “pandemic play” has become a fixture in Young Nak High School Ministry. One day, when we witness God’s revival and reminisce what started it, I will confidently say it started ‘one day at a time’ with a blessed gathering of a handful of young students. Join us in this faithful journey! It will surely be fruitful.

Pastor Ohyoung Kwon