That is how I got to know Sarah Matthews from Kansas. I was privileged to have her in two of my Bible classes \u2013 Life, Literature and Community (Spring 2012) and Message of the Old Testament (Fall 2012). She is a twin, and her twin sister attends Baylor. She wants to be a pediatrician and care for children going through hardship so early in their lives. This goal is very personal for Sarah because she and her twin sister were born three months prematurely via an emergency C-section due to their mother\u2019s complicated pregnancy. Sarah\u2019s mother was put on bed-rest for the last few months of her pregnancy, and their vitals signs were checked every four hours to monitor their condition. I know that the road to medical school is very challenging. During my tenure at Baylor University, I saw many students who declared pre-med as a freshman, only to change their major later, and I am beginning to see the same pattern here at ACU. Due to this awareness I kept a close eye on Sarah because she was an exceptional student, and I wanted her to be successful not only in my classes but also in her vocation. Thankfully, she went beyond my expectations, actively engaging in class lecture and discussions. I conclude each lecture with a One-Point Essay as a means for my students to sum up my lecture and start a group discussion. Students are to come up with what they think is the most important point of the lecture in their own words and discuss that as a group. Sarah often had very insightful points and easily earned an \u201cA\u201d in both of my classes \u2013 I can still vividly picture her actively discussing points with her group members. In fact, she was one of the best students in multiple sections, large general education Bible courses for freshmen and sophomores. Two years ago I wrote a letter of recommendation for her medical school application, and she made it! She was accepted into three medical schools. I am so proud of her and happy for her.<\/p>\n
One day I found an invitation in my mailbox. It was from somebody I did not know \u2013 Jackie and John Matthews. I was wondering who they were until I opened the envelope. They were Sarah\u2019s parents. Why didn\u2019t I think of that? They wrote:<\/p>\n
Having our daughter Sarah attend college thousands of miles away from home was a big faith journey for Sarah\u2026and for her parents<\/em> . During her college years, we watched God work in Sarah\u2019s life in huge ways. We have thanked God hundreds of times over the past 4 years, often with tears rolling down our cheeks, for blessing our precious daughter by surrounding her with His people and providing her with such an amazing education. We asked Sarah to give us a list of the people who have played an instrumental role in her life while at ACU and she gave us your name. So before the excitement of Graduation Day, we want to take a moment to meet you and thank you for being such a blessing to our daughter \u2013 for loving her, for encouraging her, for teaching her, for mentoring her, for helping her prepare to answer God\u2019s call on her life to become a doctor. You have helped make her dream come true. The words \u201cthank you\u201d can\u2019t begin to express how much we appreciate all you have done for Sarah. We hope to see you on the 8th<\/sup>.\u00a0<\/em>Jackie and John Matthews<\/em><\/p>\n It is always great to hear stories like that of Sarah. She is a great example of numerous success stories. I want to see more Sarahs, answering God\u2019s call to their vocations to be a source of blessing to people around them. That is why I start and end each semester with a pep talk, telling my students to bring me their sacrifices, challenging my students to work hard to answer God\u2019s call for them, and burn the sacrifices at the altar, i.e. assigning a grade!\u00a0Vocational Essay Samples<\/a><\/p>\n I am very grateful for this opportunity to get to know my classmates and professor better;\u00a0I always enjoy having the opportunity to meet with professors on a more casual basis;\u00a0Thank you for cooking! Food was amazing, so nice to have a home cooked meal! Good getting to know everyone.\u201d\u00a0Some Student Remarks on Our Guest Book<\/a><\/p>\n Sharing a meal together provides an opportunity to get to know each other better and a possibility to build a more meaningful relationship. For example, Heidi Heath, Richie Elmore, Will Head, Bobbie-Jean West, Cannon Spears, Janie Smiley, Kyndal Coleman, Zach Beggs, Stephen Hansen, George Wang, and Michelle Dulock came to my house so many times, I got to know them well, and even took them to Korea and China for one month-long summer mission trips to deepen our relationships with each other and with God. As Kendall Marler above mentioned, meeting professors on a more casual basis provides ample opportunity to mentor them. All four of my Cornerstone peer leaders were chosen from those students, who came to my house multiple times because I got to know them well as responsible and faithful leaders.<\/p>\n I remember Wes Scott from my Cascade days. He wanted to do mission. I remember him talking about it often, but he had no idea how to do it. He could not even raise funds because he did not have a home church that he attended regularly. I took him to my home church to do the fundraising with me. Thankfully, my home church funded him fully. Of course, that would have been impossible without my help. Wes, two other students, and I spent 30 days in Korea visiting various churches and organizing youth English Bible camps at those churches. One day he told me, \u201cDr. Cha. Thank you so much for bringing me to Korea. Koreans are not like Americans. Koreans are so attentive when I speak. I know now what to do with my life.\u201d His short stay in Korea was sufficient enough for him to find out that as a young American it is very easy to do mission work in Korea and other Asian countries where learning English from a native English speaker has become phenomenally popular. He does not even have to raise funds for doing mission work in Asia. He knew teaching English would provide him income, open doors to meet attentive people whom he can influence greatly. After graduation he went back to Korea and taught English for a couple of years in an island city. Then he went on to do mission work in Cambodia. All I did was invest my time by ta Why Should I Go to China?<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/ix17UEkfUQU<\/a><\/p>\n Richie is another student whose interest is specifically in Korea. I found out about his interest through reading his Vocational Essay he had written for me as a freshman. He was an International Studies major, and he specified that he may go to a graduate school at Yeonsei University in Seoul, Korea. I kept that in mind, and I had him again in my Abrahamic Faiths class where we discussed Judaism, Islam and different expressions of Christianity. Some experts on comparative religions argue, if anybody knows one religion only, s\/he knows none. Of course, it may be a very generalized overstatement. Yet I find it to be helpful because it holds much truth. As iron sharpens iron, an academic exploration of three major religions of the world helps us to sharpen our understanding of Christianity better. In Abrahamic Faiths course we study about different religions and their effect on society, visit Temple Mizpah and other faith traditions in Abilene, and broaden our understanding of religions. I invited Richie, Will, Bobbie-Jean and Janie to go to Korea and China with me during summer so that they can personally experience global Christianity as we discussed in class. Christianity may be in a sharp decline in the Western world, particularly in Europe, but our God is a God on the move. He goes wherever he is wanted, as Philip Yancey and Philip Jenkins noted. We went to two HIT English classes, and some students invited us for Chinese style BBQ dinner. We shared the meal, talked about various things, and visited a famous upscale park in the city. We, of course, invited them to the English speaking church. Five of them came! Daryl Parker, their American English professor, was pleasantly surprised that they came to the church. During the free discussion time, the prompt was \u201cHow did God work in your life last week?\u201d Bruce (yes, they all have American names!) responded by saying, \u201cLast week my American friend Will introduced me to Jesus,\u201d and showing his right thumb and index fingers so close to each other he continued, \u201cI am this close in becoming a Christian.\u201d I could not believe what I heard at a so-called government church! Unfortunately, I was not recording their conversation at the time. Exchanging emails with Will, Bruce now claims to be a \u201chalf-Christian.\u201d God is clearly on the move in his heart as well as numerous others in China. We have been blessed not only to witness the God on the move but also be part of that movement by sharing the Gospel with Chinese students we came in contact with.<\/p>\n Bobbie-Jean and Janie with Bruce at Nangang 3-Self (or alternatively called Government) Church English Fellowship right after Bruce made his half-way confession\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/nvN5B-W1cG4<\/a><\/p>\n Will is an engineering major, but he is now planning to join GST in Spring of 2017. In 2014 Will and I had a long talk during our five-hour bullet train ride from Harbin to Beijing, China. He said what he wants to do most is to serve God and an engineering degree is a means for him to do what he likes to do. Almost two years after the trip he decided on his own to go to a graduate school so that he can be a Navy Chaplain. He will be my GA in the Spring because I want to continue mentoring him. Seeing my students\u2019 growth as a person and as a Christian is rewarding that makes my investment of time and effort worthwhile.\u00a0Will Head’s China Mission Trip Reflection<\/a><\/p>\n Mentoring takes places in many forms, formal and informal, in class and outside class, academic and non-academic, etc. ACU-FIFA was born during my new faculty orientation week in the Fall of 2011. I was in a group with Ryan Jessup and Matthew Garver. Jessup and Garver were the most athletic of the group and enthusiastic about starting a soccer fellowship. I went along with the group for fellowship for the most part. Five years of playing and fellowship with other faculty, staff and students have been a source of great blessings for us in more than one ways. Even though I am not able to play for the moment due to my knee injury that took place last semester, I\u2019ve invited quite a few students of my own and enjoyed playing soccer with them. The inclusion of undergraduate students extends student-teacher relationships far beyond classroom setting, where I became their soccer body and stood up for what was right by defending the rights of voiceless undergraduates when a faculty member and a couple of graduate students wanted to kick them out when we had too many players. Kyle Tippens wrote about my effort:<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a strong sense of inclusiveness and camaraderie. I know of some instances in the past when ACU-FIFA had more players show up than usual, others in the group tried to turn away newer students who showed up to play. Dr. Cha disagrees with that approach and does not go along with it. He endeavors to make sure everyone in a group or a team has a chance to participate and have fun.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kyle Tippens’s Letter<\/a><\/p>\n A recent graduate Daniel Sancho expressed his appreciation in his email to ACU-FIFA: \u201cThank you for educators who, for years, have considered themselves equal to students when they share the field, showing leadership in humility that is Christ-like.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Yes, we can definitely mentor our students even on a soccer field by displaying Christ-like attitudes and behaviors while being fiercely competitive. He is the only one whose email I saved, but numerous other students expressed their appreciation for being able to play with their professors over the years.\u00a0Daniel Sancho and ACUFIFA<\/a><\/p>\n The last area of my mentoring effort comes from unsolicited student appreciations. The ACU Stewardship Office asks scholarship recipients to complete a statement that reads, \u201cAn ACU Professor who has impacted my life in extraordinary way is<\/em>\u2026\u201d The following students mentioned about my impact on their lives:<\/p>\n Dr. Kilnam Cha. He is an extraordinary professor that pushes his students to extend their knowledge and to reach for excellence. He is a great Christian role model and leads by example. He exemplifies what a great Christian teacher is and enthusiastic about the classes he teaches.\u00a0Lexi<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n One ACU professor that impacted me personally was Dr. Kilnam Cha, who teaches Bible. I needed an extra class one semester to reach the number of credit hours I needed to obtain my financial aid. I picked one of Dr. Cha\u2019s Bible classes because I enjoyed my other Bible class earlier in my freshman year. I enjoyed his class enough to where I took an extra Bible class on top of my other one. He just seemed to embody what a good Christian to be and was very inspiring for me to watch and listen to. His life encouraged me that no matter what, it is important to stay faithful to God, and that everything will fall into place.\u00a0Jared Hardgrove<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Kilnam Cha. His main book is the Bible. There are other classes that focus on commentaries and the opinions of other people, but professor Cha\u2019s class is focused mainly around the Bible. We read passages of the Bible for every class period and elaborated during class. The personal readings have taught me a lot about God and have strengthened my relationship with Him.\u00a0Kendra<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Kilnam Cha worked diligently to come to know his students on a personal basis and welcomed his students into his home to share in community. Professor Cha gave me great insights into Biblical text and encouraged me to dive deeper into the Word. His influence on me was very beneficial.\u00a0Brandon Reed<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Kilnam Cha in his Old Testament class where he showed me what it really means to walk the walk. I loved his class.<\/em>\u00a0Brett<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n This summer I had the chance to travel to Korea and China with Dr. Kilnam Cha from the Bible Department on a mission trip. His guidance and experience as a native of Korea was such an awesome asset to our experience. We taught English and spent time supporting local churches during our five-week stay in Asia. My eyes were opened to so many new experiences and I am so thrilled to have been able to walk alongside a wonderful ACU professor for the entire trip!\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/kyndalcoleman.blogspot.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Professor Kilnam Cha was my Bible professor last spring. He always came to class with a positive attitude and showed a real passion for why he did. His dedication encouraged me to become more involved.\u00a0Jonathan Parker<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Jeff Childers’ Letter_Mentoring Students<\/a><\/p>\n I can\u2019t think of a higher compliment than these students\u2019 heartfelt, unsolicited words of appreciation for my effort to mentor them in and outside the classroom. Their appreciation and growth make my investment of time and effort on behalf of my students completely worthwhile. Furthermore, it is very gratifying to witness as my students experience different cultures, interact with people on the other side of the world, broaden their perspectives, and become competent and well-rounded people of God. Students\u2019 appreciative words like that of Cannon below inspire me to continue to invest my time and effort on their behalf:<\/p>\n All in all, my college career has been shaped dramatically by the great experiences I took away from my trip to China and Korea. My cultural understanding and worldview has been expanded dramatically, allowing me to empathize with people of other nationalities much more. I have developed an interest in the language, studying Mandarin these last three years and intend to continue my studies in the future. I attribute much of my personal and spiritual growth to this time abroad and am very thankful to Dr. Cha for facilitating and always being there for me.\u00a0Cannon Spears<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Next Page:\u00a0Curriculum Evolution<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All mentors may be teachers, but not all teachers may be mentors. What makes the difference between the two? There may be other factors involved, but I believe intentionality and investment in students\u2019 lives make the most difference between the … Continue reading ![\"Dinner](\"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/kilnamcha\/files\/2015\/03\/Dinner-at-the-Chas-490x368.jpg\")
<\/a>I have the most supportive wife in the whole wide world, and I am very grateful for her. I invite students to my house all the time. With the exception of Spring of 2016 when my wife Kyung was a full-time nurse and also a full-time student to further her nursing degree, I invited all my classes every semester. Of course, not all students come. Yet we have fed numerous students home cooked meals and gotten to know some of them well. My wife does most of the work, so she should receive all the credit. Sharing a meal together in Korean culture is very meaningful as the Korean term for family literally means, \u201ceating mouth.\u201d The implication is that family is someone who shares a meal together. For this reason I appreciate those students who take time to come to our house and share a meal with us. Understandably, the appreciation is mutual as some of my students\u2019 common remarks on our guest book indicate:<\/p>\n![\"Zach,](\"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/kilnamcha\/files\/2015\/03\/Zach-Michell-Heidi-Stephen-George-at-Ark-Underground-Church-490x368.jpg\")
<\/a>In Fall 2015 I started Ebed<\/em>, our small group chapel. Ebed<\/em> is a transliteration of a Hebrew term that means both service and worship. Our group consists of those who went on to Korea-China mission trips with me, those who are interested in going with me in the following Summer, and anybody else who wants to come, perhaps just for Spiritual Formation credit. We met for the entire year to worship together, shared our vision, and planned for our upcoming summer mission trip. Out of this group Zach Beggs, Heidi Heath, George Wang, Michelle Dulock, and Stephen Hansen went on to do mission work in Korea and China with me from May 10 to June 6, 2016. It is really gratifying to witness my students making a difference on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n![\"I](\"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/kilnamcha\/files\/2016\/08\/I-Called-Them-the-Fantastic-Four-490x368.jpg\")
<\/a>king him to Korea in order to guide him in the development of his own idea of mission and competence as a missionary. It was gratifying for me to see him grow as a person and as a faithful Christian.<\/p>\n![\"Largest](\"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/kilnamcha\/files\/2015\/03\/Largest-Church-in-the-World-490x368.jpg\")
<\/a>My students and I worshipped at Yeoido Full Gospel Church, the largest church in the world, which claims to have 700,000 members and has nine services each Sunday. Any description of the experience of worshipping with 50,000 young Christians does injustice to our experience. ![\"At](\"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/kilnamcha\/files\/2015\/03\/At-the-Lagest-Church-in-the-World-490x368.jpg\")
<\/a>Likewise, God is actively on the move in small Chinese underground, house churches where my students and I met our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world for the first time yet clicked immediately, and worshipped our Father together.<\/p>\n![\"3-Self](\"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/kilnamcha\/files\/2015\/03\/3-Self-Church-in-Harbin-China-490x368.jpg\")
<\/a>Even at Nangang Three-self Church (also known as Government Church) English Fellowship in Harbin we witnessed God on the move. As foreigners we cannot initiate a religious conversation with Chinese people. Yet students are students. Students at Harbin Institute of Technology, a Chinese equivalent of MIT, wanted to \u201chang out\u201d with my \u201ccool\u201d American students \u2013 Will, Bobbie-Jean, Richie and Janie. Janie Smiley<\/a>\u00a0After graduation Richie interned with Liberation North Korea<\/em>\u00a0organization for four months, went back to Korea, and teaches English in Korea now. He and I had numerous talks about finding a teaching position there. I recommended him to Deung-Chon Middle School (Church of Christ affiliated) in Seoul, Korea, but the school did not have enough funding to hire him. So he went with an agency, which located a teaching position for him. While I was in Korea with this year’s mission team, he came to see us and spent some time with us. He says he is happy there and plans to stay in Korea for a few more years. He has a small group of supporters who were my former students.\u00a0Richie Elmore’s Korea-China Mission Reflection<\/a><\/p>\n