Equipping Korean Laypersons to Serve with Joy

Equipping Korean Laypersons to Serve with Joy
EAST-Elim Center Christian Counselling Certificate Program

An interview with Dr Hee Sun Jackie Kim, educator and professional counsellor and crisis coach with over two decades of experience in the United States, on her vision to equip lay leaders in the Korean community through structured counselling training.

At the EAST 32nd Commencement Service in May 2026, a significant milestone was reached: the completion of the inaugural one-year Christian Counselling Certificate program. Twenty-two lay leaders graduated, most of them women ministry leaders from three Korean churches in Singapore.

Led by Dr Hee Sun Jackie Kim, the program was designed to strengthen pastoral care within the Korean Christian community by equipping laypersons with biblically grounded counselling skills. Drs Raymond Song and Justine Song, both EAST Resident Faculty, contributed to one of the four modules, enriching the curriculum with academic depth. Ms Ahn Kyung Mi ministered as the course Mentor for everyone in the program and met with them as a group regularly during the term.

Throughout the interview, Dr Kim speaks with conviction about her calling as educator and counsellor. With over twenty years of counselling and crisis intervention experience, she recognises the urgent need for accessible, Christ-centred care within faith communities. Responding to the growing desire among Korean churches in Singapore for structured counselling education in their heart language, she prayerfully initiated the Korean Track of the Christian Counselling Certificate program at EAST.

“It has been deeply rewarding to see these women grow in confidence and serve their churches, families, and the wider Korean community with renewed joy,” Dr Kim shares. “The transformation is not only in knowledge, but in posture.”

Two of these ladies were Ms Hyung Eun Hee and Ms Park Naree, who share that the training has equipped them to be better people-helpers in their small group ministries at church.

“For me, the starting point was in understanding myself better,” says Naree. “That has helped me to understand the people I minister to.”

For Eun Hee, God used the training to heal her of a past loss. “With a restored heart, I can now serve others with full joy,” she says.

Four years ago, Dr Jackie’s family relocated to Singapore following her husband’s transfer from GIC’s New York office to its Singapore headquarters. Alongside the certificate program, Dr Kim founded the Elim Center in Singapore, providing Christian education seminars and workshops for local churches, counselling and crisis coaching for individuals and families, and community-based faith formation parenting programs.

“Yes, parents, too, need to learn how to listen better and counsel their children,” Dr Jackie notes. “We are their incubators before they enter the world.”

Ms Sharon Kim, one of the course participants, shares the great joy of “witnessing a change in my relationship with my eldest son in 8th grade” through a family sculpting exercise from the course.

Sharon’s classmate, Ms Hwang Hye Yoon, shares her realization that “acknowledging my own limitations and establishing healthy boundaries within my family is not a weakness, but rather a way to protect and truly strengthen both my family and my community.”

 

Application for 2nd cohort (October 2026 – May 2027) of the EAST-Elim Center Christian Counselling Certificate program is now open. For more information, visit www.east.edu.sg/cert-cc_en/.