'Grand Prize for the New Korean', 'The True Minister Award', '21st Century True Shepherd' The titles of the press release covering Pastor Ock Soo Park all show that they are focused on his inner features instead of outer features. Hyo Jin Oh of the Monthly Chosun, a former government spokesperson and an expert interviewer that only interviews people at the top of their field, ended his interview with a request to Pastor Park—"Someone like you, Pastor, should become known to the world. Many ministers in Korea are rotten, but you, Pastor, should not become corrupt".
"Pastor, if we are all like Jesus, what fun will there be in this world?"
"No. If we live with the heart of Jesus Christ, life will truly be fun!"
Unless it is the will of God, the heart will not budge! This is one aspect of faith at the core of Pastor Ock Soo Park's heart. This is the heart that led his life, and with the grace of God he was able to place the Good News Mission as the frontrunner in reform of the corrupt churches. The training in the mission school run by missionaries focused only on faith (The Shield of Faith Mission / President: Missionary Dick York), and it became the foundation of his faith. Even after his training, God grinded down his heart through many different processes. Looking at the life that Pastor Ock Soo Park walked even before the beginning of the Good News Mission, we can find this heart.
More than anything else, Pastor Ock Soo Park gave a lot of emphasis of the formation and the management of the church. He himself suffered in a church without the gospel, and many believers still suffer due to the problem of sin. In the three years he spent in the military, he saw the young Christians wandering in conflict, in doubt of faith, and grieved over the question, 'What is the most evangelical and the true church in this era?' In the reality of Korea, such churches are seldom found, and he had a strong aspiration of establishing a truly evangelical church in front of God. He poured his heart in preventing any aspects not based on faith, artificial or secular, from infiltrating in the church.
More than anything else, Pastor Ock Soo Park gave a lot of emphasis of the formation and the management of the church. He himself suffered in a church without the gospel, and many believers still suffer due to the problem of sin. In the three years he spent in the military, he saw the young Christians wandering in conflict, in doubt of faith, and grieved over the question, 'What is the most evangelical and the true church in this era?' In the reality of Korea, such churches are seldom found, and he had a strong aspiration of establishing a truly evangelical church in front of God. He poured his heart in preventing any aspects not based on faith, artificial or secular, from infiltrating in the church.
Afterwards, Minister Ock Soo Park began the children's mission work with invitations from five churches in the Kyungbuk province. Through this conference tour, he saw over a thousand children receive salvation and rejoice. This experience gave him the heart of wanting to live for this gospel for his whole life. Then with invitations from 25 churches, he continued the children's mission work and experienced the great works of God by receiving over 10,000 written testimonies of salvation.
In May of 1969, he began the work of the gospel in Kimcheon through the guidance of God. At the time Minister Park did not have any money to get a room, but he kept searching for a room as he waited for the grace of God. Then by chance he met a British missionary, John Anderson, on a bus. After spending a week with co-pastor Park at his place, John Anderson confessed,
"Since I came to Korea, I met countless numbers of ministers, but I haven't met anyone like you. Although we were only together for a week, I was able to see God living inside of you, so I want to live with you for a year."
Pastor Ock Soo Park's faith and the anticipation for the true church became the foundation of the Good News Mission. The Good News Mission became distinct and independent from the previous missions that were not based on the gospel. The Good News Mission is now the frontrunner on the road of reform that the past servants of God walked. Even now, Pastor Ock Soo Park fights endlessly and makes no concessions toward the reform of the Korean church, toward himself, or toward anything different from the will of God among the ministers and the saints of the Good News Mission.
"I am a fighter. I fight with myself, with ministers, with the saints of our church. People do not easily accept it when someone points out that this is not faith. So I fight again" (Pastor Ock Soo Par, April 2002, "Hyo Jin Oh's Human Expedition"
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