CRC Korean Church History Webpage

A webpage dedicated to the history of Korean churches in the CRCNA has been added to the Korean portion of the CRC website. Titled “The Development History of the Korean Church Community in the CRCNA (1969-2024),” the page was compiled by Rev. Edward Yoon, pastor of Phoenix (Ariz.) Korean Presbyterian Church and a professor at Providence University.

The Korean history page examines the formation and growth of the Korean diaspora congregations in the CRCNA over the past five and a half decades. Beginning with Rev. Myung Jae Lee’s entry into the CRC in Chicago in 1969, Yoon outlines major events that followed, such as the formation of the Korean Council in 1984, the establishment of Classis Pacific Hanmi in 1996, the division of that classis into two Korean-speaking classes (Hanmi and Ko-Am) in 2014, and the transformation of the Korean Council into the Korean Ministers’ Association in 2024.

The page also records some of the conflicts and issues that have led some churches to leave and others to remain. This historical document was officially presented at Synod 2024 during a lunch banquet where Rev. Edward Yoon shared a few highlights from this history.

Today approximately 120 Korean churches are active within the CRC, making up about 10 percent of the entire denomination. Yoon said he hoped that adding this historical timeline to the CRCNA website can help clarify the identity and role of the CRC Korean community within the broader denomination and promote mutual understanding and cooperation between Korean churches and those of other ethnicities.

The CRC Korean Church History page can be found on the denominational website at koreancrc.com/history-of-korean-crcs.