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The Torch Trinity community is happy to welcome Dr. Stephen Cha as the newest professor in our Christian Education department. We are posting this interview to introduce Dr. Cha to our community and to encourage you to pray for him as he continues to serve in our seminary.

What made you dedicate your life for the ministry of God?

My father is a pastor, so I grew up being familiar with the church. He always encouraged me to consider being a pastor. I always looked up to him and respected him, so I wanted to be a pastor even when I was young.

When I was in High School in the States, one of my friends who went to college came back to me and shared his testimony about his new relationship with God - which was rooted in Jesus Christ. He also shared The Four Spiritual Laws together with me. That was the point of accepting Jesus, I think. Then I committed my life to God. I realized that God was preparing to call me in the ministry. This was the first time that I ""seriously"" thought about serving Him as a pastor.

That was my senior year of high school. I already decided to become a pastor so I went to college and studied education. Then, I went to seminary to get my Master of Divinity.

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Tell me the reason that you chose Christian Education?

When I wanted to serve God in my high school years, there were lots of friends who wanted to be pastors, church planters, and campus pastors. Then I thought to myself ""Hey, who's gonna be a Sunday school teacher - nobody? Hmm… perhaps I should be a Sunday school teacher."" Since I was interested in teaching children, I thought that I would be educational pastor instead of a senior pastor in a church. That was what I had in mind. So I went to college and studied Christian education. When God gave me an opportunity after my M. Div. studies, I was able to continue my study in Christian education.?

We heard that you served in a church as a pastor for a long time in the United States ?

Right after I went to seminary I started serving as a youth pastor. I was young then. Of course during my college years I served as a part-time minister (probably that was when I was 21 years old). I was serving a Korean American church, most of my time working with second generation Korean-Americans.

Pretty soon, I realized that I had to work together with the first generation adults too. I helped not only the second generation but also their parents because they were struggling with cultural problems. There were needs for churches to deal with these challenges and those were the issues that I had to wrestle with. Actually this became my dissertation topic because I ended up studying how Korean-American families are raising their children in faith.

About 10 years ago, there were many children in Korean-American churches but they ended up leaving the church. It became a pretty big issue. That made me wonder, ""What really went on? What is going on in Korean-American churches and families?"" That is the reason that it became my dissertation topic.

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What is the best thing about being a professor in Torch Trinity?

Every day and whenever I come to Torch Trinity, I really thank God for the very special privilege that He has given me to serve here. Whenever I see seminary students and people whom God is using and preparing for the future, I feel a very special privilege to be here. This is something that makes me really exciting.

But what makes it very difficult for me is when I'm not ready or when I don't know how to serve. I feel that I'm inadequate in many ways. However, to see the people who serve God is one of the best sources of my joy. To see them minister effectively is such a blessing. Of course I love my own time of worship. I love to spend time with my family. They are also a wonderful blessing for me.

Could you give some advice to Torch Trinity students?

Learn to love God. Do not just learn to study or to do things. Grow deeper in your personal relationship with God. Even while you are here having a hard time studying, learning to love God is something that is very important for you.

And we can experience very special things that God is doing here through people who came from various cultural backgrounds. I hope that we may gain a deeper understanding of the Church that is much bigger than your local one. Maybe you are from a Korean church or a church in the States, or whatever your background may be... We ought to begin to think about the Church as God's people and more, God's Kingdom. Think of the Church in a broader Kingdom sense. So, have a really good network with your friends! Have a good friendship with people from different countries! If you are a Torch student and do not have friends from different countries, that will be a big loss to you. The friendship is what we have to take a hold of and treasure most.

What is the first impression on Torch Trinity?

When I came here first, I had time to spend with some of the students. I could only meet them in my class but I was really blessed. Now that I join the full time faculty, I can spend more time together with more students, with professors and with people whom I serve.?

One thing that I'm utterly impressed by is the dedication, the dedication of the professors. Their dedication and examples in many ways make me humble. I really appreciate?many of the things that they are doing.? One thing that I really want to see is that our school becomes a very special school that serves a much wider global community, especially churches in Asia .

Tell us about your family?

My wife teaches English at Torch on Fridays. She comes to Torch too. And I have two children: one daughter who is in the ninth grade and a son who is in the second grade. I really enjoy drinking coffee together with my wife. I cherish time together with my family. We used to go camping but hadn't had the chance to do that in Korea very much. I also serve as an associate pastor in Onnuri so I have my pastor duty too (I am kind of busy J ).

Back in the States, we used to love to invite students and international students over in my house. We enjoyed it quite often. But here in Korea, my wife is busy, I'm busy, and everyone seems busy, so we haven't had a chance to do that. However, as I already said it, we really love being part of the community here. Again we are very thankful for the oppo"