ONNURI CHURCH AND SEATTLE BRIDGE CHURCH MERGE INFORMATION
IMPORTANT: Please read the whole document in order to fully understand the information and context of the merge.
ABOUT ONNURI CHURCH
Onnuri Church is a non-denominational church with a Korean Ministry and an English Ministry (OEM). The Korean Ministry consists mainly of 1st, and 1.5 generation Koreans and Korean-Americans and has the following ministries: Mercy, Mission and Outreach ministry, Young Adult ( ), Youth, and Children’s Ministry. OEM consists of 1.5 and 2nd generation Korean-Americans, primarily in college, 20s, with some in their 30s.
Onnuri Church is located in the city of Lake Forest Park. The address is: 20150 45th Ave NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155.
Onnuri Pastors: Pastor Johann Kim - Senior Pastor Pastor Andy - Onnuri Youth Pastor Daisy - Children’s Pastor Noh - Pre-K and SarangBu Pastor Jae - KM Worship and Young Adults
Pastor Lee - KM Associate Pastor
OEM:
Currently no EM Pastor
ABOUT SEATTLE BRIDGE CHURCH
Seattle Bridge Church (SBC) is part of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the congregation mainly consists of 1.5 and 2nd generation Korean-American families.
SBC currently meets in Bothell at Crosspointe Church.
SBC has following ministries: Worship (Praise team, AV team), Youth and Children’s, Mercy, Mission and Outreach ministry, College and Young Adult.
SBC Pastors: Pastor Won Lee - Senior Pastor Pastor YJ Choi - College & Young Adult
Pastor James Kim - SBC Youth Yeojin Lim - Children’s
MERGE VISION & GOAL
Pastor Kim (Senior Pastor of Onnuri) shared the vision for a potential merge with Pastor Won Lee (Senior Pastor of SBC) and the OEM leadership. After much prayer seeking the will of God, Onnuri KM, EM, and SBC leadership unanimously decided to begin the discussion for the potential merger.
The vision of the merger is for both churches to ultimately become one church that can open its doors and share the gospel to our neighbors of different race, age, gender, ethnicity, and generations. First generation churches have laid the foundation many years ago and have been serving the communities based on Christian values. They also planted seeds for the next generation and nurtured them to grow and prosper. Both churches recognize the importance of continuing efforts to expand God's Kingdom and for ministries to bridge generation to generation. We already see leaders and stewards stepping up and carrying on these responsibilities. It is our intent to support, prepare, and empower these leaders and the next generation as one church in the future.
The leadership from Onnuri KM, EM, and SBC all recognize that this shift will not occur immediately. It will take time for this merger to fully take place.
Initially, the merger will begin with two churches under one roof: SBC will relocate to Onnuri Church’s facility in Lake Forest Park. Also, the current OEM congregation will become members of SBC, where Pastor Won will continue to shepherd as Senior Pastor. Both churches will maintain their current names (Onnuri Church and Seattle Bridge Church) until a further integration into one church in the future.
Ultimately, the vision of the merger is for both churches to become one church. In the later future, steps and plans will be made for the final merge step between both churches. This is what we have been praying about and will be voting on.
TIMING/TIMELINE
Both churches will hold a congregational vote on the same day. The day will be decided through the joint committee and both congregations will be notified at least two weeks in advance. As of now, both Onnuri and SBC are targeting to have a congregational vote by mid-May. The votewill require a two-thirds (2/3) approval from the respective church votes to proceed with the merger.
Only if the congregational vote passes for both churches then the merger will take effect within thirty (30) days.
MERGER: INITIAL STEPS
Sunday services for all congregations will be at Onnuri Church in the Main Sanctuary. Service time is still being discussed to accommodate for each worship service. Each congregation should be prepared to have different service times than what it is now. Times will be shared prior to the vote.
The Senior Pastor for the merged SBC will be Pastor Won Lee. Pastor YJ Choi will continue to lead SBC college and young adults. Pastor James Kim will be SBC Youth’s director. Yeojin Lim will be SBC Children’s director.
Initially, there will be no changes that will occur on the KM-side of Onnuri Church. Both Onnuri Youth and Onnuri Children’s Ministry will continue to function under KM leadership. Due to the different worship times of the Onnuri KM and SBC, both churches will continue to hold separate Youth and Children services. If any of the current times change, everyone will be notified of the time and date changes. Some potential changes could include: joint youth Bible studies, joint youth retreats, joint VBS, and other joint events.
Those who are serving outside of their attended worship service (e.g. Youth and Children’s Ministries) will be able to attend SBC Worship Service and vice versa to Onnuri KM Service. With the shared building and with two churches initially being under one roof, there will be an opportunity to assist each other and serve one another.
Onnuri EM members who are currently serving in Onnuri KM ministries, such as Children’s or Youth, will still have the opportunity to continue serving in Onnuri ministries. Current SBC members can serve in Onnuri ministries and Onnuri KM members can serve in SBC ministries. We see this as an advantage and opportunity having two churches under one roof to serve one another.
After merging, the plan is to have a new leadership team consisting of SBC leadership and Onnuri EM leadership. After SBC and Onnuri EM unite, Onnuri KM leadership will no longer oversee Onnuri EM as a part of the merged SBC.
Current Onnuri EM congregation will become members of SBC. If they would like to remain within Onnuri, they have the option to join Onnuri KM. Ultimately we are members of one body - the Body of Christ.
Though SBC will be autonomous from Onnuri KM, the two churches will continue to involve each other with updates and be equal partners as the discussion for the future union will be continued by a new task team/committee.
Financially, both Onnuri KM and SBC will remain independent. In terms of offering (tithing), we believe that where you worship is where you give offering. Though Onnuri KM and SBC finances will be separate, we plan to serve one another with our resources. Further financial discussions will occur in the future as the two churches near further integration.
MERGE COMMITTEE
The Merge Committee has been established, and a team of four (4) members from each church are discussing the potential merger. Many of the decisions will be made through this committee.
The committee has been working to put this information together for all congregations (Onnuri KM, EM, and SBC) and will continue to meet to work out the details of the merger.
If you have any additional questions, please reach out to the merger committee:
SBC: Victor Kim, Danny Lee, YJ Choi, James Kim Onnuri Church: Christina Yoon, Gil Su Cheol, Oh Beom Seok, Dan Park