Lee, Jibeom

Jibeom Lee is an International Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service.

The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world.

A member of Podowon Korean Methodist Church in South Korea, Jibeom shares his faith as a Sunday school teacher and praise team leader. He also volunteers with single-parent families in the community.

Jibeom earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in distribution management from Hyupsung University in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea.

“I am applying for the Global Mission Fellows program to pursue a specific missionary vision,” he said. “I want to be used for the glory of God.”

Jibeom’s life is a work in progress.

“I first entered the Department of Theology, dreaming of becoming a missionary,” he recalled. “However, because of my fears and worries about the future, my missionary vision and the vow I made to God were fading.” Nevertheless, he longed to participate in missionary work, participating in every short-term mission trip organized by his church.

“Through missionary work,” Jibeom said, “I learned how to love and respect others, and by practicing love, I came to know that the joy of building the kingdom of God is more valuable and precious than anything else in the world.”

Time and environmental limitations prevented him from involvement in in-depth missionary activities. “I participated in countless short-term mission trips,” Jibeom said, “but my contributions had their limits.”

Meeting missionary Jaehyung Choi and being introduced to the Global Mission Fellows program proved providential.

“I became interested in the program,” Jibeom said, “propelled by the belief that it would give me an in-depth knowledge of the missionary activities that I had previously experienced in fragments. More than anything, I was compelled by the program’s vision of preaching the gospel and realizing social values.”

To prepare for the Global Mission Fellows program, he has been polishing his English-language skills. “I am currently learning grammar and conversational English.,” Jibeom said. “I will continue to pray, and I hope to grow in my spirituality.”