Episode Overview

Episode Title: How Can Church Members Help Create Greater Unity in the Life of a Congregation?
Podcast: Ask Ligonier
Host: Nathan W. Bingham
Guest: Rev. Joel Kim, President and Assistant Professor of New Testament, Westminster Seminary California
Date: September 18, 2025

Main Theme:
This episode explores how everyday church members can actively foster unity within their congregation. Rev. Joel Kim draws on personal experience, scriptural insight, and practical wisdom to answer the question: "How can church members help create greater unity in the life of a congregation?"

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Ministry as Relationship (00:34)

• Teaching & Preaching: Rev. Kim acknowledges the centrality of teaching and preaching for unity, but emphasizes that ministry goes beyond sharing information:

  "Ministry is a relationship... there is an interesting description of ministry foundation in the writings of Paul in 1st Thessalonians, chapter 2." — Rev. Joel Kim (00:34)

• Pauline Analogies: Drawing from Paul’s letter, ministry is likened both to a father figure (teaching, admonishing, modeling) and a mother figure (nurturing with selfless love).

The Mother’s Love Analogy (00:55–02:09)

• Personal Story: Rev. Kim recounts a memory with his wife just after their daughter’s birth:

  "She turns to me like 4 o'clock in the morning and she said, 'Joel, isn't Anna beautiful?'... I turned to my wife and perhaps this is not the most encouraging, but simply said 'No, actually not at 4 o'clock in the morning, maybe 6 o'clock.'" — Rev. Joel Kim (01:18)

• Underlying Point: Such unconditional, persistent love characterizes the attitude church members should have toward one another—difficult to cultivate, but foundational for unity.

Practical Ways to Foster Unity

1. Praying for Others (02:10–02:42)

• Practical Step:

  "We should pray for others... I know many people who have a list and catalog of names of church people, whether well known to him or her, or not, simply praying for them, just recounting them in your prayers and remembering their names goes a long way in drawing out affection..." — Rev. Joel Kim (02:11)

2. Memorizing Names and Stories (02:43–03:29)

• Intentional Connection:

  "Making every effort to memorize their names... For many who are especially on the periphery of the congregation, to be known and seen is an amazing thing." — Rev. Joel Kim (02:43)

• Advice from Upbringing:

  "What I was encouraged to do was not to mingle right after service with the people we know, but search out the people we haven’t met." — Rev. Joel Kim (03:17)

• Metaphor:

  "I think the phrase is slow walk through the parking lot, simply meaning your intention there is not to get to your car or to meet friends, but to meet those that Lord brings into your life during that time." — Rev. Joel Kim (03:23)

3. Hospitality (03:30–04:30)

• Power of Invitation:

  "My mother's gift as a pastor's wife was hospitality... bringing people into our spaces and homes... Ministry is about sharing one's life with one another because the Lord has saved us into a community that's referred to as not only the body but also the family." — Rev. Joel Kim (03:30)

• Community as Family:

  "Family gathering is an important part of how we encourage [and] stretch love one another..." — Rev. Joel Kim (04:20)

• Low Barriers:
  Rev. Kim stresses that these actions—prayer, hospitality, intentional interaction—are accessible for everyone and do not require extraordinary effort.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Unconditional Love:

  "There is a unique love that Paul is trying to tap into when he talks about how ministry among people is like a nursing mother ministering to her child. That element oftentimes is very difficult to find in churches."
  — Rev. Joel Kim (01:58)

• On Being Seen:

  "For us to make that extra effort to know their name and their history and past is a wonderful way of ministering to one another."
  — Rev. Joel Kim (02:51)

• On Everyday Unity:

  "These are some things that many of us can do without too many efforts or difficulties."
  — Rev. Joel Kim (04:35)

Important Timestamps

• 00:04–00:34: Introduction and posing of the central question
• 00:34–01:54: Father and mother analogies in ministry, personal story on a mother’s love
• 02:09–02:42: The importance of prayer for members
• 02:43–03:29: Memorizing names and slow-walking to meet new people
• 03:30–04:30: The gift of hospitality and sharing life as a family

Summary

Rev. Joel Kim encourages church members to actively foster unity by embracing a nurturing, familial approach to ministry—practicing intentional prayer, learning names, connecting with those on the fringes, and embodying hospitality. Through biblical analogy, personal anecdote, and practical wisdom, he emphasizes that genuine relationship, consistent prayer, and welcoming community are at the heart of congregational unity. These are accessible acts that not only strengthen communal bonds but also reflect the love of Christ within the church.