Scavenger Hunt Blog

The Dongshin English Service June 2012 Scavenger Hunt (by Leana Wion)

This year’s Scavenger Hunt led it’s participants to downtown Daegu. With roughly 30 people we were divided into 6 teams.  Then we were required to complete as many of the 24 tasks as possible in 3 hours. The tasks involved very RANDOM requirements. Such as having your group find and take a picture with a Korean with facial hair, or riding the Tambourine (the ride that spins you in circles and bounces you around until you’re sick). For three hours, my group (사 친구 Sah Chingu or The 4 Friends) ran around approaching random people and completing all of the tasks. In the end, we all met back at the stage to share our pictures and videos with the judges and also share our experiences with the other groups.

I only knew one person in my group before this event started, but by the end I am happy to say that I have now developed a friendship with the other two people! This event was great in giving us the opportunity to meet new people and act a little sillier than normal! I really enjoyed the whole experience!
Here are some comments from some of my fellow ‘Sah Chingu’ people!

” I had so much fun with my team doing a lot of really interesting tasks… I loved taking random photos with different items/kinds of people. I also got my hair cut as part of it as well (and our group won for most EXTREME haircut)!!! I definitely had a great time, and want to thank Dongshin for organizing it!! It was a great time had by all!” ~Jodi

“It was a fun day filled with adventure and well spent with new and old Chingus …The highlight was doing the Macarena on the side of the stage (during someone’s concert) and having a bigger audience than the people performing in the actual stage. ~Afia

“I think my favorite moment was the photo booth. Doing all the poses and making all the faces was just way too much fun!” ~Joe

Another successful hunt and memories made, thanks to all the people that helped to organise the clues and tally the points at the end.

Leader’s Retreat June 16th (by Eric Jimenez)

A 30 minute drive into the deep country side of Daegu is Chimsan Village where the 2012 Dongshin Leader’s Retreat was held. The month of July is bringing in a big change as many people are heading back home. Many of these people have served faithfully at the church for years. Pastor Andy Gilman will be leaving with his family and Pastor Leon will take the torch. Because of this transition of leadership, including many other leaders in other ministries, the church leadership came together to determine it’s future vision. Each ministry came together as a team to discuss things that they should continue and change. Afterwards each ministry spoke to the group on these continuations and changes. Pastor Leon also spoke giving his thoughts for the next year which were summarized in this one-liner:

“To see English speaking people in Daegu connected to Christ, built up in His ways, and equipped for service in His kingdom.”

We are so thankful for the people that have stepped up into new ministries and it’s obvious that God always provides for his church. We even had hamburgers for lunch! It was a memorable occasion and everyone there got a chance to have their say so that the way forward would be shared.  It is an opportunity like this for the Dongshin community to connect more, pour into each others lives and build the church for God and also enhance  the future leaders that will come to Korea as English teachers but leave as laborers for the kingdom.

June and July Update – Leadership transition

Well, the Annual Dongshin picnic was held at Yulha Sports Park for the first time and was a great day in the sun. Around 40 people enjoyed Subway sandwiches, played some team games like kickball and sat around on the grass. The morning had some traditional relay activities like the 3-legged race, water balloon toss and challenges like a human pyramid. After lunch, we also had a tug-of-war which was a hit with the participants (see photos on the Facebook group ‘Dongshin past and present’).

On June 16th we held the Leader’s Retreat at Chimsan Village. This was a great opportunity for the members of each ministry to get together and unify with a clear vision. Pastor Leon who will be taking over from Pastor Andy next month delivered his thoughts for the year ahead and outlined the goals for our church summing it up with the Dongshin One-liner:

“To see English speaking people in Daegu connected to Christ, built up in His ways, and equipped for service in His kingdom.”

If you are interested, you can read the vision statement https://dongshinenglishservice.com/vision-statement/

(or click on English Service from the home page / you can also read about our new pastor here https://dongshinenglishservice.com/ministries/)

In the month of July, we say goodbye to our pastor Andy Gilman and his family (HyunJin, Sienna & Shane) as he is heading to Covenant University to finish his Masters of Divinity in USA. His leadership and stewardship as the first fulltime pastor was outstanding and he put structures in place to create a church organisation that was much needed. His attention to the different ministries has created many areas for people to serve and also has produced a sustainable model as English teachers are traditionally employed for 1 year (so there are less long-term congregants). His preaching was backed up with countless hours of study and prayer. He could explain bible passages easily and then provide some practical application to our current situation which is important for glorifying the kingdom of God. We thank Andy for his dedication and commitment and will be having a special farewell ceremony of June 24th.

Also, we will say farewell to another longterm family “the Prodger’s” who have been serving here for the past 6 years. Karl along with his wife Narina and their girls (Grace, Lily and Isabella) will be moving to Australia in July and their presence will also be missed. Karl has been responsible for co-ordinating the service as well as running the events. He is currently a Deacon along with Ben Trowbridge and these two have always shown a willingness to help as well as connect people in the service. We thank Karl for his dedication and can-do attitude.

Finally, this month we are having the Annual Duckboat Race at Suseong Lake @ 4pm on July 15th. This has been an epic challenge each year and we hope you can join us for some thigh-busting / energy sapping / fun-loving time (watch out for the rowboat pirates). See the events page for further details and we would like you to sign up yourself and friends before the 15th to help with catering. Cost is 10,000 for boats and refreshments.

Annual Dongshin Duckboat Race 2012 (July 15th)

Summer is here and spending an afternoon by the lakeside sounds like a pretty neat idea, don’t you agree?

Invite your friends and colleagues to join us for an afternoon at Suseong Lake from 4pm, for Duck boat racing.
Food and refreshments will be provided

Cost (10,000 for boats and food)

Dongshin Church Summer Duck Boat Race
Fellowship and Fun
Dongshin Events Team

Matthew 18 vs 20
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

June 10th Scavenger Hunt

It’s that time of the year for the Dongshin Church Scavenger Hunt and it is going to be epic this year.  You will regret it if you miss it.

Participants are divided into groups and sent on a mad hunt for different items and places in the city of Daegu and need to take pictures for proof. It’s a race with the other teams to see who can complete their checklist. Different points are awarded for the various tasks, the harder or more embarrassing the task, the more points your team will get 🙂

Please invite your friends and colleagues to join in the fun. We will have our regular service at 2pm and begin the scavenger hunt soon after the service.

There is no sign up cost but you will need to be armed with 10 000 won for something to eat and a transport card on the day to get around the city.

Please sign up after the service this Sunday (3rd June 2012) or come on the day.
Many blessings…
Events Team

If you are interested in helping facilitate the event instead of participating, please email [email protected] directly. We just need a few hands to help tally the points at the end of the race.

April 2012 Dinner Deal “It’s a big D.E.A.L” (Dongshin Eating at Locations)

To round up the community of Dongshin into smaller groups, last Sunday, April 22, was Dongshin’s Dinner Deal. After the Korean service people went to a host’s house. Depending on their location whether they lived near DongDaegu, Gyeongsan, Chilgok or anywhere else in between there was a host ready to break bread with them.

The host could be anyone who was willing to open their house for others and prepare a home cooked meal. Some hosts were married couples or families with kids living in nice sized space or a single person living in a one room. Either way it was a great time of fellowship and food at every location.

To share my experience I signed up for Gyeongsan. In Gyeongsan the Prodger family hosted. Before the meal was ready our group went to the nearby park and threw some ball. As we finished our activity we went back in, blessed the meal and enjoyed a three course meal. The first round was a handed-down family recipe of carrot soup that did not disappoint. Second was the bulk of the meal consisting of roast chicken, roast potatoes and pumpkin and cous cous salad. And for the finale was a large apple pie served along with ice cream. Not only was the evening full of great food and activities, but enjoying the time of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Daegu. (by Eric Jimenez)

March 18th 2012 Dongshin Bowling Challenge coming to an alley near you

How hard is it to get a strike or a spare? Why not try your God-given talent at something that words cannot explain especially when you knock over all the pins or find yourself in the gutter!
After our 2pm service, we will make our way to the Suseong Bowling alley opposite the Suseong office subway stop for fun, exercise and snacks/pizza for a small investment of 10,000won per person.
Please invite your friends and signup at church or just come on the day.

Feb 2012 Board Game Evening Roundup

“Are you ready to ‘risk’ it all for the ‘game of life’? Do you have a ‘clue’ what is going on in your rival’s ‘cranium’ or are you just ‘boogle’d by the options? Remember there can only be ‘uno’ and you have the chance to create a ‘monopoly’ while on your ‘trivial pursuits’. If you’re hungry, you can compare ‘apples to apples’ with your friends while enjoying other snacks and drinks.” ~ the original invite from Karl Prodger.

This past weekend, February 19, the Dongshin English Service held a board game event in Room 302. For only 5,000 won anyone could enjoy pizza, chicken, chips, drinks and friendly competition. To start off the festivities Phumi, Christine and Jessica led a three secrets challenge. Each person wrote three things about themselves that most people didn’t know about them… until now. Mixing these secret papers three were read at a time and the group had to guess from the description who that person was. From the game we learned some very bizarre things such as Greg’s one foot being bigger than his other and Alyssa living in a teepee for a whole summer! Strange but we still love them anyways!

Afterwards people played whichever board game they felt like competing victory for. Unfortunately many were not victorious. On one table the island of Catan was being settled. On another table Life was bringing in all its drama and money was being made by large Monopolies. While a large group spoke in code trying to avoid the taboo words to help their team win. All in all it was a great night whether you were on the winning side or losing side. Cooked pizza, chicken, chocolate and chips all correlated to a contented group. A big thanks to the Events team for a successful afternoon and remember we are all victorious in Christ! Authored by ‘guess who’. (by Eric Jimenez)

February 25th Live Concert “The Ineloquent” @ 7pm Main Hall, Dongshin Church

Coming to Daegu at Dongshin church (main auditorium) on Feb 25th for one night only, the sensational talent of ‘The Ineloquent’ www.theineloquent.com
Invite your friends to this free concert starting at 7pm.
We also have our very own Dongshin member ‘Brad Henry’ who will be opening for the Ineloquent.
This band travels around the world to share the hope of God’s love through music. Come for a casual night of music as the band shares scriptures, stories and songs that will encourage, challenge and inspire.


The Ineloquent exists to give glory to God, to encourage and challenge the universal church and to share the Gospel of God’s love with a world in need. The Ineloquent believes that any abilities they have or messages they bring forth are not their own, but come from God and are to be used for His glory. Without God in their lives, they have nothing to say. That is why they call themselves Ineloquent. The name was inspired by the story of Moses and his encounter with God in Exodus 3-4, especially 4:10-12.

Feb 19th Board games at Dongshin English Service Rm 302 (2pm – onwards)

Are you ready to ‘risk’ it all for the ‘game of life’? Do you have a ‘clue’ what is going on in your rival’s ‘cranium’ or are you just ‘boogle’d by the options? Remember there can only be ‘uno’ and you have the chance to create a ‘monopoly’ while on your ‘trivial pursuits’. If you’re hungry, you can compare ‘apples to apples’ with your friends while enjoying other snacks and drinks.

Dongshin English Service would like to invite you to a board game afternoon on Sunday Feb 19th after the main service at 2pm in Room 302. Cost is 5,000 won for food and drink.

If you have any games, you are welcome to bring them

Is life just a game? While you thinking about, why not play around with a few ideas and enjoy the fun and frivolity with us! (Romans 8:18-39)

Christmas Party 2011 – Dongshin Style

On December 25th the Dongshin English church service celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.  After the service there was some fun with Christmas jeopardy presented by Nate Tipton. Topics ranged from ‘What’s in the Manger?’ ‘Name that Bible verse’ to ‘Guess that song’. The winning team was awarded small yummy chocolates which are ideal at Christmas.

Once kitchen preparations were finished, the Dongshin Korean leadership served a Korean Christmas dinner for the English service. The Christmas dinner included salad, kimbab, bulgogi, fruits and other fine delicacies. With over a hundred people in attendance there was still food to spare.

After dinner everyone made their way back up to the service room. Forming a large circle of chairs the Fruit Basket game commenced. One person would stand in the middle of the group and would have to say something like. For example, “I like people who are wearing blue jeans.” Everyone wearing blue jeans would have to leave their seat and find a new seat, although there was minus one chair from the number of people there. The one left standing would go to the middle and have to state something they liked.

To end the Christmas evening there was an optional white elephant gift exchange. Numbers were drawn to allow people to either open a gift on the table or to steal someone else’s gift. To prevent unfairness, items were only allowed to be stolen a maximum of three times before becoming ‘safe’. Regardless to say the hot items such as a huge container of peanut butter, home baked cinnamon rolls and fuzzy house slippers were quickly maxed out. It was a great time to celebrate the birth of our Savior with everyone and thank you to all who participated. Merry Christmas for He is born! Amen (by Eric Jimenez)

Thanksgiving Day Roundup 2011

Thanksgiving, is one of the hardest times to be away from home and the
familiar for any foreigner living abroad. Suddenly, having turkey and
cranberry sauce becomes the most important thing to have this week. I
know for myself, my mouth waters every single class I am in when I
teach about Thanksgiving and the traditional dishes we eat.

Dongshin Church celebrated Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday, and
it was truly something I am grateful for going to. There is something
special when people come together to celebrate an occasion – a warm
feeling washes over people and suddenly you feel really connected. The
effort and magnitude of people serving was beautiful to watch, whether
from the smallest ornament details to welcoming guests who were
first-time visitors.

I sat at a table of people who didn’t really know each other. It was
refreshing to get to know new faces and meet some non-teaching
foreigners for a change. Our table bonded over the ridiculously
addictive Bible riddle. The room was filled with new faces, old faces
and stuffed faces. I walked away from it glowing with having had a
good night of conversations and a full belly.

Acts 42 talks about the first community of believers, “Every day they
continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts (v. 46).” We
all long for a taste of that, and sitting amidst the roomful of church
members and new people sharing a holiday together, I could sense the
possibility to be more like that first community of believers.

(Written by Alex)

August 21st The excellencies of a straight path, Proverbs 3:6

The theme of this sermon is related to how we get from A to B. What is the quickest way – in a straight line of course!

From the Westminister Shorter Catechism

Question – What is the chief aim of man?   Answer – To glorify God and enjoy him forever.

1. Excellency of a straight path – because God is excellent, the path is excellent

John 14:6, Romans 11:36, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Exodus 15:11, Psalm 89:6

2. The trouble of a straight path (what we worship) – because of our sin, the path is difficult (our aim is God but we don’t always head in that direction)

1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Isaiah 29:13, Psalm 34:8

3. The hope of a straight path – because of Jesus, there is hope for a straight path (Jesus walked for 3 years with his disciples knowing fully that his path led to the cross and death but he never deviated)

Mark 1:2, Hebrews 12:2, Proverbs 3:5-6

An audio link of this sermon is available on the homepage and also check back regularly.

August weekly update 7th-13th

On the 7th, we had our communion service which is always a great time to reflect on what the Lord has done for us.  Pastor Andy Gilman spoke about the effect of grace:

The effect of grace on the life of Paul (Acts 21:1-36)

1 Cor 5:10 Grace has effects on the life of the believer

Effect 1 The courage to live and die for Christ (Acts 21:10-15)

a) Nothing to lose and everything to gain    (also Galatians 1:13)

Effect 2 The humility to submit to authority for the sake of loving others (Acts 21:20-25)

b) Nothing to prove but everything to give

Effect 3 The faith to rest on Jesus and nothing else

c) Nothing to hope in but everything that Jesus did

Grace gives you faith when you don’t have enough faith on your own

Next Sunday 14th, we have a guest speaker ‘Dash Watt’ who will be sharing the message.

Also, we have our Prayer and Worship night on Saturday (13th) from 7-8:30 in Rm503.

On the 21st, plan to stick around after church (4pm) for a movie night and we will be screening

“The Encounter” so check out the events  page for the synopsis and trailer. Invite your friends and colleagues. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Finally, if you are involved in the organization of the Kurios Conference in October, we are having a meeting on the Sat 20th Aug at 1pm in church.

Movie Night August 21st 4pm

Title “The Encounter”
Stranded in the middle of nowhere five strangers find themselves at a deserted roadside restaurant. An arrogant businessman, a lonely single woman, a couple on the verge of divorce, and a youthful runaway all come face to face with a diner owner who serves them more than temporary nourishment. This hospitable host is a certain Nazarene, who knows all of their secrets and possesses the answers to all of their problems – if only they would trust him.

Snacks and drinks provided – all welcome

– Please invite your friends or work colleagues to church for this excellent story after the main service which will help you to share our faith and also give us a deeper understanding about Jesus.

DETAILS:
Place: Dongshin Church
Room: 302
Cost: Free

Dongshin 2011 Scavenger Hunt (downtown) May 15th

Next Sunday, we are going on a hunt of epic proportions using our keen senses and superior intelligence to complete tasks in downtown Daegu.
The investment is 10,000 won each and there will be prizes at the end.

There will be no small group meetings next week and we need to leave Room 302 promptly at the end of the service as another service is on following our English service.
You will be assigned to a group of 4 and at least one team member must have a digital camera (please bring a camera if you have it).
We will give your group some instructions and then it is up to you as to how you travel downtown either by bus/subway/taxi/helicoptor.

Remember to invite your friends to church and to join us on a fun adventure as we turn downtown Daegu upside-down.
May the holy spirit be with you!

Praise and Worship Evening Saturday 7th May 7:00-8:30

At Dongshin church, we want to tell you about our weekly prayer meeting. To continue our momentum of prayer and fasting, we are planning to have a prayer meeting every Saturday from 7pm-8:30.
For the second Saturday of every month, we are going to have a Praise and Worship night along with a prayer meeting just like what we had during the Passion Week.

Intent: It is our mandate to pray night and day to ask God to break in with power in everything we do. Without God’s intervention in our lives, we live powerless lives vulnerable to all kinds of attacks.
(Luke 18:7-8)

1. Purpose: We intend to live a life of prayer to do the following:
a. To prepare and position our hearts to be connected with the heart of God by awakening a hunger and thirst for God’s presence within us;
b. To live our lives in fullness of what God wants to give us (Isaiah 30:18-19);
c. To increase the ministerial impact on others through our lives, plans and activities.

2. Methods:
a. Prayer night—every Saturday 1900-2030
i. Focus: Pray for the impact of weekly services (praise and worship, sermon, activities)
b. Praise and worship night—every second Saturday 1900-2030 (Ephesians 5:18-19)
i. Focus: Prayer for the impact of monthly plans and activities
c. Fasting—weekly and monthly prayer and fasting (Isaiah 58:6-9)
i. Daily reminder and commitment to God’s work in Dongshin church

3. End state: We will usher in the Kingdom of God by bringing revival to Dongshin English ministry, Daegu, Korea and the world.

We come with the expectation of God meeting us while together and if you have any specific prayer requests then please let the leaders know (Dongshin team or small group leaders) or send an email to
[email protected]

Sunday 12 noon Services

Join us for a multi-cultural and vibrant Christian experience in English! See the Direction page for the step-by-step “how-to” on reaching us Sundays at 12 noon.