[Pastoral Column] We Are Not a Harbor; We Are a Shipyard, Constantly Sending Out Vessels.

The Transition from a ‘Church Consumer’ to a ‘Kingdom Pioneer’

– Concluding The Blessing Church Pioneer/Church planter School, Class 1 –

By God’s abundant grace, the 10-week journey of The Blessing Church ‘Pioneer School,’ Class 1, successfully concluded on Wednesday, October 29th. We bless all the graduates of Class 1 in the name of Jesus for their dedication and effort, as they ran this race with fervent passion, holding fast to the vision of God’s Kingdom amidst their busy lives.

Why Did We Gather as ‘Pioneers/Planters’?

Why did we start this School? We began this program to facilitate a turning point—a transition from the posture of a ‘Church Consumer,’ whose faith life remains confined to Sunday worship attendance, to that of a ‘Kingdom Pioneer.’

The church must not merely be a comfortable ‘Refuge’ for its members. We believe the church must be an ‘Outpost for the World,’ commissioning every single believer into every sphere of life. Through this Pioneer School, we pursued a journey that transcends mere knowledge transfer, aiming to ignite a fundamental heart change and practical living: moving from building ‘My Kingdom’ to building ‘The Kingdom of God.’ Every Christian is a missionary.

The 10-Week Journey: From Settled Consumers to Sent Pioneers

Over the past 10 weeks, we have faithfully advanced step-by-step to establish the identity of a ‘Kingdom Pioneer.’

• We realized that the fruit of ministry depends more on ‘who we are (BEING)’ than ‘what we do (DOING),’ and we examined our calling and spiritual health together. (Week 2)
• We learned the essence of a ‘Missional Life,’ which means we don’t just call people ‘into’ the church, but we go ‘into’ the world and become the church. (Week 3)
• Just as the Apostle Paul discerned the culture of Athens, we learned how to deeply ‘exegete’ our communities, understanding their genuine needs and spiritual longing. (Week 4)
• We developed principles for establishing a clear vision for the church (Week 5), sharing the Gospel within relationships (Week 6), and forming genuine community that causes people to stay (Week 7).
• Furthermore, we drew concrete plans for the engine of the church: ‘Reproducing Discipleship’ (Week 8) and ‘Leadership for Multiplication Growth’ (Week 9).

We Are Not a Harbor; We Are a Shipyard

And finally, in our last session, we concluded this journey with the theme of ‘Multiplication and Sending’ (Week 10). Just as a healthy organism reproduces, a healthy church gives birth to other churches. Called by God to be His Church, we must fulfill the Great Commission by ensuring that other souls are established as the Church and are sent out.

We are not called to be a church that merely ‘settles down successfully’ on this earth. We are called to be a ‘Sending Church,’ expanding the Kingdom of God by dedicating our most valuable people and resources to plant other churches.

One sentence from the Week 10 curriculum captures the heartbeat of our calling:

“We are not called to be a harbor; we are called to be a shipyard, constantly sending out vessels.”

A harbor is where ships are safely docked and protected. However, the purpose of a shipyard is not to keep its vessels in comfortable harbor, but to build and launch them powerfully into the vast, sometimes turbulent, waters of the world.

Pioneer School, Class 1, is finished. But this is not an end; it is a true beginning. The 10 weeks of training are not merely classroom knowledge, but a new identity we must live out in the midst of life’s sea: our homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

The church will one day pass away, but the Kingdom of God is eternal.

No matter how beautiful a sanctuary we build or how many members we gather, every local church—like the churches in Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, and the Seven Churches of Asia Minor—will eventually fade into history. But the Kingdom of God is eternal. We do not exist for the sake of this earthly church, but for the sake of the never-failing Kingdom of God. We must remember that our current progress, carried out with faith and obedience as “Pioneers” before God, is not “for my church only,” but for sowing the seeds of the eternal Kingdom.

To the graduates of Class 1, we are the glorious first Pioneers being sent out by The Blessing Church into the world. I bless you that every place you step will become an Outpost where the Kingdom of God comes!

All of us are missionaries sent by God. We earnestly hope that through the upcoming Classes 2 and 3, all members of our church will embrace the vision of this ‘Shipyard’ and the DNA of a ‘Sending Church.’

We pray that our church will not be a settling harbor on this earth, but a Shipyard of God’s Kingdom—constantly giving birth to life and commissioning leaders—until the end, so that the Kingdom of God may be powerfully expanded through us. We pray this in the name of Jesus.

October 29, 2025

Dr. Jaeyun Lee