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The desire to serve is something many Christians strive for. This desire can be impeded by the difficulties of one’s personal life, especially when it comes to balancing every aspect of life all at once.

 

“I’ve seen the case where there’s working adults, and especially new post-grads who want to serve and want to be on staff, but they don’t understand the extent of the commitment that they’re committing to,” says Helen Han, a post-graduate on Korean Campus Missions (KCM)’s Staff.

 

Helen’s Story

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Helen Han is a post-graduate from the University of California, Irvine and a Staff member of Korean Campus Missions, a missions-oriented college para-church ministry. Han has experienced much pain in her past but this pain has allowed her to gain a closer relationship with God.

 

“I basically had a really rocky childhood and I grew up with a lot of physical, emotional and mental abuse,” says Han. “...while I was going through some of the hardest episodes of abuse in my life, God sent help to me, through me actually. He allowed me to report it and get help for my family and that’s when I was able to really feel His presence for the first time.”

 

Through this experience, Han has been able to grow in her relationship with Christ and develop a greater understanding of His workmanship in her life.

 

“I think if [God] didn’t die for me if He didn’t die for us, nothing that I have right now, like my community, my family, my future grad school career, none of that would matter right now,”  explained Han. “Everything would be meaningless and very empty but it’s because I have a personal relationship with Jesus and with God, that I’m able to live my life and be hopeful… Everything that I’m developing in my character is because of God and everything I’m learning in my life is following after God’s character. So the more I grow up and the more I develop my character, the more I’m becoming like God which means I’m made in His image.”

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Serving for God’s Glory

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As previously mentioned, Han serves on staff for KCM in order to reach out to collegians and encourage them to live for God’s Kingdom.

 

“KCM stands for Korean-American Campus Missions. I think it’s gonna be changed to Koinonia Campus Missions,” says Han. “...the missions statement is to make disciples in collegians... it’s a heavily missions centered program. So in the summer, they’ll send out many teams of college students to go on missions and that’s to grow a heart of mission, a heart for the lost, and a heart for the Gospel in college students where they wouldn’t get that opportunity anywhere else; not all churches have that.”

 

KCM reaches eight different campuses across California and strives to build a strong Christian community for collegians that point them to God’s Great Commission: “To make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19a).

 

Han has experienced the impact KCM has on a collegian’s life firsthand which has led her to serve on staff for the organization.

 

“It’s because of the big impact that KCM had in my college years. Basically, my friend group was from KCM, my small group leaders, my mentors were from KCM,” expressed Han. “I found a lot of my community and my friends, and a safe group within this organization. But when I went on missions, I learned how to verbalize the Gospel. I learned how to live it out and that wasn’t something I was able to find in my own small local church at the time. After I graduated, it wasn’t even a question for me [to serve] because of the impact KCM had on me and because I know how effective it can be in changing collegians lives, I really wanted to be on leadership for that and help out, help impact other younger collegians lives in the way it impacted mine.”

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When Life Interferes

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Balancing every aspect of life (work, personal life, etc.) is challenging, let alone also trying to serve whole-heartedly in a ministry.

 

“I just budget out my time for everything,” shared Han. “If I know I have to be at a serving event or a KCM event, I’ll mark that day down or get everything done before I have to go. KCM has a wide staff and various committees who are in charge of different things, I’m not in charge of too much, I’m only responsible for a certain amount of things. So thankfully I’m not overwhelmed or anything.”

 

During the stages after college, many struggle to find their place in society. And often, once they do, it can be hard to balance everything they want to contribute to, such as work, serving, and social life.

 

“I would say know the extent of the commitment before you actually commit,” says Han. “I’ve seen the case where there’s working adults, and especially new post-grads who want to serve and want to be on staff, but they don’t understand the extent of the commitment that they’re committing to. So just understand where you have to be and when, and how much effort you have to put in, how much time it’s gonna take.”

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Serving with a Whole Heart

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Despite the craziness of life, as Christians, we are still called to serve those who are lost with a servant heart.

 

“If that’s truly is something that you’re willing to put forth, then I would say, “Go ahead and commit.” because if you’re able to do it, why wouldn’t you?” says Han. “But also assess whether you have the heart to do it and what your heart is going into it. if you’re serving because you just want to be on staff and have that title, then you’re gonna burn out so quickly.”

As life progresses, it can be hard to find a place in the chaos but in everything we do, we must align ourselves with Christ. As Philippians 2:3-5 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”