Our Purpose
- To provide a communication network through the website, social media, and through regional, national, and global conferencing.
- To provide mutual support and ministry
- To provide a community of fellowship
- To develop innovative ministerial models
- To provide resources for ministry
- To build bridges (intergenerational, socioeconomic, gender, and theological) among those of Korean heritage and/or those connected to Korean-American ministries
- To nurture the calling, to recruit and to enlist leaders for the ordained and lay ministries of the United Methodist Church
Our History
The formation of Nexus was made possible because of the work and ministry of both the Transgeneration Ministry (TG), and the Center for Korean-American English Ministries (CKAEM). Whatever fruit our ministry will bear has its beginnings in these two former ministries of the Korean United Methodist Church (KUMC). The vision and work of the saints who contributed to TG and CKAEM over the last 30 years have set an example for those of us who are in Nexus.
Both, TG (est, 1981) and CKAEM (est. 1989) were organizations that sought to support the English-speaking members of the KUMC, and the ministries that served them. Their combined ministry has helped to raise up many current leaders in the church, and has improved the overall environment for English ministries within our denomination.
Over the last few years, there was a sense among the leaders of both organizations that something “new” was needed to enhance their respective visions. It was over the course of those discussions that the idea of forming a entirely new organization combining the strengths of both TG and CKAEM while also laying a new foundation and infrastructure for this “Next Generation” ministry. These discussions laid the groundwork for the formation of Nexus Ministry.
In 2011, something remarkable happened. Two, long-standing, ministries with their own respective histories and accomplishments, unanimously voted to dissolve in order to support the new Nexus Ministry initiative. Nexus seeks to continue to pursue the missions of TG and CKAEM, but do so with support primarily from the leaders and congregations themselves. Nexus is a ministry for the “Next Generation” run by the Next Generation. The first Nexus Convocation was held in 2013 in Chicago, and met every two years. In 2021 the convocation was held remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, many of our Korean American leaders are serving throughout the United Methodist Church, in diverse settings, including denominational boards and agencies, as missionaries, in cross-racial cross-cultural appointments, and in Korean American congregations. We also see an expansion of Nexus Ministry beyond the 1.5 and 2nd generation – our community includes leaders from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation!