Faithful Servant Award Recipient 2014

1. Rev. Dr. Young Jun Son
Missionary and Pastor
Music by Wookyung Kim, Psalm 23

2. Young Jun Son was born in Tokyo in 1930. He grew
up under Japanese occupation in South Korea and
found Christ at an early age.

3. The influence of Bruce Hunt and
other early missionaries to Korea
inspired him to serve the Lord.

4. When Korean Communists invaded South Korea, he was forcibly taken to the
North, but by God's grace he managed to escape with his life.
He met a US doctor on a medical ship who sponsored him to come to America
to finish school.

5. He left Korea in 1955 with only a Bible and five dollars in his pocket.
He worked hard taking
many part-time jobs to
support himself while at
San Diego State University
then later at Geneva College,
RPTS and Westminster
Seminary.

6. Young and Mary Lou married in 1964 and
went straight to work. Young pastored
White Lake Presbyterian Church, ran a
summer camp for at-risk youth and
mentored young men in New York state.
.

7. Young and Mary Lou founded Philadelphia
House in 1970, a ministry and home for
international students.
Many came to hear the Gospel and it is still
running after 44 years.

8. Young and Mary Lou along with
their six children joined other OPC
missionaries to Korea in 1977.

9. Missionary Training Institute
was founded in 1982 with a
budget of $1000.

10. Dr. Son said, “We started with nothing…but the good hand of the
LORD who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, watches over us.”
Courses began on a cold winter day at Pauline
House in Suwon, South Korea in January of 1983.

11. After two weeks, MTI ran out of
money. Classes resumed in an
empty classroom at Chongshin
Seminary in Seoul.
There was no heat or hot water
and many of the trainees slept on
pieces of styrofoam.

12. Many of MTI’s first
missionaries were single
women. They were
competent and capable
with strong language skills.

13. In its first 10 years, MTI was held in
various seminaries and church
buildings until 1993, when it was
able to purchase two floors in a new
building in Seoul.

14. Volunteers from the USA, Canada, and Australia
help with language training and cross-cultural
communication.
MTI is always looking for willing hearts to serve
the Lord.

15. 2100 missionaries have participated at MTI and are serving Christ all over the world.

16. Dr. Son spent many years visiting missionaries around the world in need of support.

17. What makes MTI unique is its
intensive schedule of cross-cultural
training and the requirement that
English be spoken at all times by
staff and students.

18. Dr. Son felt that “total immersion’ in the
English language for many of these Korean
seminary graduates was essential for
successful mission work around the world.

19. The torch was passed to Youngshin and Mihyang Yoon in 2003.

20. In 2009, a new building in Yeosu,
South Korea, was built specifically
for the training of cross-cultural
missionaries.

21. MTI is still going strong.
Many veteran missionaries from MTI’s
early days return to Korea to mentor
younger mission candidates.

22. Dr. Son still serves the Lord at Murdock
Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bancroft,
South Dakota.
He prays daily and has fellowship and bible
study with his congregation.

23. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1