Pastor and 60 Members Plant New Church

On April 26, 2026, over 1,000 people filled the sanctuary of Grace Community Chapel in Teaneck, N.J. Standing before the altar were senior pastor Jae Park, who planted the church 21 years ago, and his wife, Jee Park, along with 31 church members and their children (about 60 members total) who decided to move to Korea with them. It was a commissioning service to plant a new church in Seoul, South Korea.

Pastor Park later wrote on Facebook: "There is almost no natural reason for us to choose this path. This is a path sent by God."

Having immigrated to the United States at the age of 12 and spent his whole life near New York City, what made him decide to leave behind a stable position and a community he loved for 21 years? In an interview on July 17, Jae Park summarized the root of this decision this way:

"The moment discipleship training truly ends is when the person doing the training lives it out."

After 21 years, he said, the time had come for him once again to live out the principle he had taught his congregation in New Jersey.

What Kind of Church to Build?

Park noted that he could step away from leading a healthily growing church because Grace Community has always aimed to be "a church that plants churches," and the congregation has grown together in faith by sharing and participating in that vision.

Park said the vision began 21 years ago when he read Tim Keller's church-planting manual (now published as Center Church). Having served in youth ministry for 14 years, Park became convinced that church planting was the most effective mission strategy of the 21st century, prompting him to deeply consider "what kind of church to build." Around that time, encouraged by friends who were pastors in the Christian Reformed Church in North America, he joined the CRCNA, trained with the denomination’s church planting center, and then worked with a core group to plant Grace Community Chapel.

He placed the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19–20 at the center of the church, saying, "The Great Commission consists of the main verb 'make disciples' and three participial phrases: 'going,' 'baptizing,' and 'teaching.' Obeying the Great Commission simply means making disciples."

To make disciples, one must go to that place, establish a holy community through baptism, and teach, according to the Great Commission. In an era overflowing with excellent sermons and teachings online, Park has particularly emphasized the "holy community." 

In Center Church, Tim Keller describes baptism as "an incorporation into a worshiping community with accountability and boundaries." Baptism marks not only an individual's coming to faith but also an event of entering into a community. And discipleship is realized only within the ecosystem of this community—growing together by caring for and keeping each other accountable rather than walking alone.

Restoration to a Holy Community

In the early stages of the Grace Community church plant, the congregation began to grow. However, Park said, he noticed a strange phenomenon: people who identified as Christians were not attending worship services regularly.

Wrestling with this issue, he observed the trend of a generation that prioritized travel and a North American culture that placed family above all else. Beneath those symptoms he discovered a more fundamental issue: the breakdown of ecclesiology (the theology of the church).

"Do you believe in the church?" Pastor Park asked. "When I ask this, even my pastor friends respond, 'Why would you believe in the church? You should believe in Jesus.' However, the Apostles' Creed explicitly confesses faith in 'the holy catholic [universal] church and the communion of saints.'"

Restoring ecclesiology, says Park, means restoring the holy community intended by God—the image of the early church.

To achieve this, Park noted, he began to lead by example. On Sundays, he preached the teachings of Jesus, and during the week he strove to live them out.

He also initiated a 12-week discipleship program grounded in apologetics and systematic theology. Spending three to four hours every week with a group of 12 people, he led them into deep personal sharing. While doctrinal education was important, he said, there needed to be an emphasis on sharing life together. Through this, participants began to experience a safe space where they could be vulnerable by revealing their pain and sins—a "community that keeps each other accountable."

Further, Park said, he constantly challenged the group and provided opportunities for them to ponder and practice how to live out what the Bible teaches.

Word Brought to Life

The fruit produced by this ministry has spread in ways that we might not expect, Park added.

For example, during a mission trip to India with Pastor Park, one young man witnessed the severe shortage of clean water in the local area. Upon returning to the U.S., he founded FOREFRONT, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing clean water. Over 10 years, the organization dug 170 wells in India and established a school in a rural slum, opening doors for girls who lacked educational opportunities; it currently educates a total of 300 children. That young man was later named one of Forbes magazine’s "Next 100 Leaders."

In addition, six other non-profit organizations have originated from the faith-focused work of members of Grace Community Chapel.

Park has also sought to lead by example. While visiting orphanages for ministry, he personally adopted an orphan. Following his example, four other families decided to adopt, and currently 20 families are going through the adoption process.

After years of learning that discipleship training is an absolute necessity, various members have also become convicted to reach out, saying, "I could also go to another country to preach the gospel."

Realizing the Vision of "A Church That Plants Churches"

Park noted that Grace Community Chapel has consistently pursued three goals: making disciples, restoring a biblical community, and continually planting churches that plant other churches.

However, actually planting a church requires significant discernment and patience, he said. Even when the church grew into three multisite campuses, it was important to wait until leaders were fully prepared, he explained. Watching assistant pastors mature spiritually through the crisis of the pandemic, he said, Grace Community proceeded with the strategy of church multiplication. Cornerstone Church and King's Covenant Church were birthed through this process (see A Church-Planting Ripple Effect), and ministers were also sent to Australia, Thailand, and Japan.

In connection with this process, Park cited efficiency: "Experience has taught us that when people who have experienced a holy community together and know its value participate as core church-planting members, it is far more efficient in transforming newcomers with gospel-centered values to grow into a healthy church."

Then, after verifying that the planted churches were faithfully practicing the main church's discipleship and community culture for five years, Pastor Park gained the conviction to plant a new church in Seoul, Korea.

He explained that it can be dangerous to jump into church planting just because it seems important or because everyone else is doing it. He also cautioned against an attitude of sending someone simply because the church has the financial resources and a willing candidate. Looking back on some situations, he said, "Church planting became a fad of sorts. I saw many cases around me where people jumped into church planting without deep reflection, education, or preparation regarding 'how' to do it, only to end up closing their doors after five or six years."

In Seoul, Starting Again from the Beginning

Planning and development for the new church plant in Seoul has made steady progress, with Korean-language services starting already in May of this year. And in the first week of September, once all of the families who decided to reverse-immigrate have arrived in Korea, a launch service will take place.

Park said that the challenge they face in Korea is clear: there are a growing number of "unchurched Christians" (unaffiliated Christians who consider themselves born-again but do not attend church), as well as many who believe they are maintaining their faith through a once-a-week Sunday service alone. He interprets this as a gap in the understanding of the "holy catholic church" and the "communion of saints."

So, he said, it seems good to bring into Korea what Grace Community has been able to build in the United States. It’s important to take up the vision to live together within a community and restore the true meaning of discipleship.

In the face of all this, said Park, he has asked himself: "Do I truly trust in God completely?"

Confessing that he is still "afraid," Park admits this is not a step taken with absolute certainty, but a step taken while embracing fear. Trusting in God is the main thing, he said, as we cast our lives fully upon the Word. And discipleship is not merely words but living out the call to follow Christ; community is not a theory but a commitment; and faith is not private but the shared experience of a holy community.