Building Bridges for the Next Generation and Multicultural Ministry

Rev. WonGeun Lee currently serves as the lead pastor of the Korean Evangelical Methodist Church of Minnesota and is passionate about discipleship, multicultural ministry, and building bridges for the next generation.

His ministry journey has stretched across Korea, China, Kyrgyzstan, and the United States.  

Since 2014, he has served as a missionary in Kyrgyzstan, ministering among local Kyrgyz and Chinese communities and planting Nazareth Church as a gospel-centered community. He also founded KCMA (Kyrgyzstan China Mission Association) to support and train Chinese missionaries serving throughout Central Asia.

Rev. Lee continues to partner with local leaders raised up in Kyrgyzstan through online mission ministry. Through biblical teaching, prayer, discipleship, and practical support, he seeks to bring spiritual and practical restoration to people’s lives. Though borders are far apart, the connection of the gospel continues.

He studied video production at a community college in Beijing, China, and earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Methodist Theological University in Seoul, Korea. He later received his Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from United Theological Seminary. His doctoral project, “Biblical Stewardship and Financial Management Education for Nazareth Church in Kyrgyzstan,” was recognized as the 2024 Outstanding Project in Church Renewal. He is committed to a ministry where the gospel is deeply connected to everyday life.

In Minnesota, Rev. Lee serves alongside Rev. Eric Shin to build a community where first-generation Korean immigrants, the next generation, and people from diverse cultural backgrounds can experience God’s kingdom together through the gospel. He especially hopes that the Korean Ministry (KM) and the English Ministry (EM) will move forward together as two wheels advancing toward God’s kingdom, beyond differences in language and culture. He is passionate about helping the next generation personally encounter Jesus and live out their faith as disciples in the world.

Rev. Lee is also committed to building relationships and partnerships with diverse churches throughout the Upper Midwest Annual Conference and the GMC. He hopes churches from different cultures and generations will work together in unity, reflecting the diversity and reconciliation of God’s kingdom.

His ministry is not simply about running programs, but about walking alongside wounded hearts, immigrant loneliness, and the struggles of the next generation. Through the Word, prayer, community, and service, he hopes to become a channel of God’s restoring grace.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that KM and EM would grow together in unity as a healing and restoring community.

• Pray for God’s wisdom as the church transitions to a new worship location.

• Pray for spiritual fruit and provision for the Kyrgyzstan online mission ministry.

• Pray for renewed strength, wisdom, and health for Rev. Lee and his family, and for God’s healing grace over his wife’s emotional and mental restoration.