Discipling Harvard Students with a Parent’s Heart: The Ministry of Rebekah Kim
Chaplain Rebekah Kim of Harvard University smiles while sharing stories of over forty years of campus ministry during a talk at Galilee Baptist Church in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Shin Seok-hyun.)
Rebekah Kim, Harvard University’s first Asian-American, female chaplain, has devoted over thirty years to her role of representing Christ on the Harvard campus. She and her pastor-husband, Paul Kim, have nurtured more than 100 ministry leaders and have planted numerous churches around the United States and the world.
Now a grandmother in her seventies, Kim reflects on her commitment to campus ministry at America’s most elite universities. Her spiritual journey began more than fifty years ago when she encountered God through Bible studies as a college student at Seoul National University (SNU), in South Korea.
How has this tiny woman managed to stay steadfast on this path for over half a century?
On November 20, 2024, Kim visited Korea to launch an English ministry for international students in the Seoul metropolitan area. She was interviewed at Galilee Baptist Church, which is near the SNU campus. Addressing the many campus ministers struggling with the challenges of reaching out to today’s college students, she offered these words of encouragement: “Even during times when there seem to be no immediate results, trust that God is still at work.”
Kim also added this poignant reminder: “Ministry should not be our end. Our focus should be on loving God alone.”
A Grandmother Who Doesn’t Sleep
Students of Harvard Asian Baptist Student Koinonia (ABSK) and other ABSKs around the Boston area spend time together playing board games at Kim’s home in Cambridge, near Harvard. (Photo courtesy of Rebekah Kim.)
Kim is a proud grandmother of two grandkids. Yet, as a Harvard chaplain, she has many students she regards as spiritual grandchildren, routinely pulling all-nighters with them to play games and fellowship together.
In addition to student ministry, she is constantly responding to a flood of Kakao messages (a popular messaging app) from pastors, missionaries, and college ministry leaders worldwide, seeking counsel and spiritual guidance. This has led to many days of what she refers to as “patchwork sleep.”
“I receive real-time messages from hundreds of ministers and missionaries around the globe. Some issues are urgent and can’t wait, so I have to respond promptly. Counseling, making decisions, and praying together with people across the world often means my days and nights get flipped. Even when I only get fragmented sleep, I’m able to recharge rather quickly. Could it be that God gave me the health to handle this kind of ministry?” she asks inquisitively with a laugh.
In 1991, Kim helped found Asian Baptist Student Koinonia (ABSK) at Harvard University, and she continues to lead Bible studies for the student group. She often spends Friday evenings with students. These weekly on-campus meetings include singing praise, studying the Bible, sharing delicious meals, and playing various board games.
Afterward, “Dr. Rebekah,” as she is called, frequently invites students to her home nearby for an extended time of fellowship, playing more games (favorites are Listography, Ticket to Ride, and Scout!), watching movies, and sharing.
Adding Love to the Word: Spreading Truth and True Love
Rebekah Kim (left in the front row) and Daniel Cho (right in the front row), chaplains at Harvard University, posing for a commemorative photo at the graduation ceremony of a Harvard ABSK student last May. (Photo courtesy of Rebekah Kim.)
“Dr. Rebekah not only teaches that all answers to life’s problems can be found in Scripture, but [she] also lives this out concretely and consistently, which is why students trust her so much," said Andy Pak, pastor of Galilee Baptist Church.
Pak first met Paul and Rebekah Kim at Berkland Baptist Church, which they founded in 1981 in Berkeley, CA. He began attending the new church as a freshman at UC Berkeley, and he was the couple’s first disciple; Pak has been involved in campus ministry ever since.
“Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel,” (1 Cor 4:15, NIV), Pak quoted the Apostle Paul. “Without concern for membership numbers, Pastor Paul and Dr. Rebekah each disciple with a parent’s heart, which is why those who’ve experienced their teaching and leadership stay connected for decades, like me,” Pak noted.
Paul Kim, [who recently completed his goal of walking 5,000 miles, on Veterans Day 2024], is now the pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cambridge, MA, the second church the couple planted. He also serves as the national chaplain for the Korean War Veterans Association and the Chosin Few.
Rebekah Kim emphasizes that in today’s modern society, which is overflowing with material abundance, young people have a deep yearning for truth and true love.
She remarks, “Much like the Samaritan woman in John 4, the youth of this generation are thirsty for truth and true love. And just as my disciples and I were spiritually transformed when we met the Lord, I hope many students will meet Jesus, who is true love. And as Jesus said, “‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32, NIV).
Answering the Call to Raise Leaders: Over 100 Lives Transformed
Over forty years ago, Kim recalls being asked by a Southern Baptist reporter, “Why did you start campus ministry?” Taken by surprise at the question, she remembers responding instinctively, “Because I was called by God to raise leaders for the 21st century.”
Looking back, she adds, “By God’s grace, what I said at the time has come true.” While ministering in areas with many elite universities since 1981, the Kims have discipled over 100 pastors and their wives, missionaries, and campus ministry leaders.
One of her first disciples at Harvard ABSK, Daniel Cho, has been serving alongside her as a chaplain at Harvard for the past decade. David Um, now senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church and a chaplain at MIT, began studying the Bible under Rebekah Kim’s mentorship during his undergraduate years at MIT.
Many pastors now leading churches across the United States, in South Korea, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and beyond, were also taught the Bible and discipled by Rebekah and Paul Kim.
At Harvard ABSK, alumni actively support the campus Bible study group. Currently, eight professionals in diverse fields serve as staff, mentors, disciplers, and financial sponsors.
Kim reiterates several times the importance of what Jesus said regarding a grain of wheat—how it must first die in order to produce fruit [John 12: 24-26].
She often shares with campus ministry workers the story of Adoniram and Ann Judson, the pioneering Baptist missionaries sent from America. “Over 200 years ago, they were in Myanmar, sacrificing and suffering so much, but they persevered and distributed tens of thousands of tracts for over six years without winning a single convert.”
“But the flood of believers that came later,” Kim continues, “was more than they could handle. As Scripture promises, those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy [Ps 126:5, NIV]. If you abide in God’s word and fulfill your duty with patience and perseverance, he will bring the harvest in his perfect time.”
Finding God in College: The Importance of Campus Ministry
Rebekah Kim leads a Bible study session at Harvard ABSK. (Photo courtesy of Rebekah Kim.)
Kim lives by the principle of being a “God-first” believer. There was a time in her life, however, when she was far from God, a thorough nihilist. Although she attended a mission school in South Korea, Paiwha Girls’ High School, she only paid attention during chapel services because she was a good student.
Kim went on to excel academically, gaining admission to Korea’s top university, Seoul National University, but she fell into depression, recognizing that “a life chasing after being the best is endless.”
During the winter break before her third year of college, Kim was introduced to the Bible by friends who had been witnessing to her for over a year. Studying Genesis, she had the life-changing experience of receiving Christ into her heart. Kim recalls, “Through the study of Genesis, when I learned about the beginning of everything, including my very origin, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy.”
Kim majored in botany at SNU and eventually immigrated to the United States to pursue doctoral studies. After much prayer, she felt called by God to change her career path.
Her faith decision led to intense conflict with her family who, at the time, were not Christians. Kim explains, “In the end, through my witnessing, my parents came to believe in Jesus before passing away.”
“I thank God,” she adds, “that many of my family members are now pastors and ministry leaders.”
After marrying Paul and establishing Berkland Baptist Church together, Rebekah Kim enrolled in Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary) where she received an MDiv. Later, she received a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA.
It is especially meaningful that her niece, Jeansue Hong, and her pastor-husband, Daewon Hong, both graduates of SNU, now lead the ABSK group at their alma mater. Daewon Hong met Rebekah Kim when he was a post-doctoral student at Harvard and not yet a Christian. Hong “came to know the Lord” and dedicated his life to ministry through Kim’s campus Bible studies.
“Just as I was changed from my prideful self to seeing myself as a sinner in need of Jesus Christ,” Hong says, “I want current SNU students to have the same opportunities to come to faith and be transformed by God, as I was.”
Prioritize Loving God Before Campus Ministry
Kim is currently the fourth longest-serving chaplain out of approximately forty chaplains at Harvard University. She notes that only about one-third are evangelicals.
She is well aware of the growing challenges of campus ministry, often hearing how “impossible it is these days to preach the gospel on campus.” She laments, “Thirty years ago, it was still culturally acceptable to do street evangelism by taking a group of students out to Harvard Square for caroling during the Christmas season. But now, things are much more hostile and difficult.”
Despite the difficulties, Kim recounts how she personally “came to know the Lord” through campus Bible studies and that over the course of fifty-plus years in college ministry, she has seen many of her students become disciple-making disciples.
For this reason, she concludes with a note of hope: “Just as one person, the Apostle Paul, changed the course of world history, I have emphasized the importance of ‘one person’ throughout my ministry. I believe when campus ministers are ‘all-in’—pouring out their lives to disciple even one person—we will begin to see more Apostle Paul’s in the 21st century—those who can turn the world upside down.”
At its core, campus ministry,” she states, “ is simply bragging about Jesus. I believe loving Jesus and waiting for his return should be our first and foremost priority as campus ministers.”
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This story was written by Shin Eunjung and published November 23, 2024, by Kukmin Ilbo, a South Korean daily newspaper that espouses Christian values. David Um and his colleagues at Antioch Baptist Church translated the story from Korean to English. Dan Nicholas, the BCNE Managing Editor, copyedited the story. BCNE reprints this translated story with the newspaper’s permission. Read the story in Korean online here.