Report on the CMI International Summer Conference 2025

[Stephan Choe]

Report on the CMI International Summer Conference

Location: Hohegrete Retreat Center, Germany;

Dates: July 24–27, 2025

The Hohegrete Conference Center is nestled in a beautiful forest, about 40 kilometers east of Bonn.

Approximately 260 participants from 17 countries (Austria, Argentina, Malaysia, Korea, USA, Bangladesh, India, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Greece, China, and Australia) attended the retreat.

At the opening ceremony, missionaries Stephen Kang (European Representative) and Thomas Hwang (German Representative) welcomed the participants with a verse from Ezekiel 36:26-27:

"I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

"Heart of Flesh" – that was the theme of the conference.

On Thursday evening, Pastor Mike Lee delivered his first sermon on Isaiah 1:1-7. When Isaiah was called to be a prophet, he received the Holy God and experienced forgiveness of sins (Isaiah 6:1-8). He preached repentance to people, which leads to forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

On Friday evening, Pastor Mike Lee preached on Colossians 3:1-17, entitled "Our Life Hidden with Jesus." Believing that Jesus died for our sins, we must live according to His will and in the Spirit of Christ. This means laying aside our old self and revealing Christ Jesus.

On Saturday morning, Pastor Mike Lee delivered his third sermon on John 20:19-29, entitled "Resurrection and Our Mission." Thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy joyful fellowship with God and share the gospel with others because Jesus has sent us as messengers of the gospel.

Early Friday morning, Daniel Kim from Argentina preached on Isaiah 1:10-18, explaining that we can receive God's forgiveness through repentance.

Early Saturday morning, Himang Choi from Bulgaria preached on Genesis 32:22-28, explaining that as God's people, we must engage in spiritual warfare with God to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and receive a new heart.

Early Sunday morning, Scott Würschun from Germany preached on Psalm 51:17, "A Broken Heart Before God."

On Saturday evening, Pastor Jeong-Gon Park from Korea preached a sermon in Korean on the Great Commission, based on Acts 1:4-5, 8. We must receive the Holy Spirit anew every day, pray, and spread the gospel in the world in the power of the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday morning, Josh Kim from the USA preached on Matthew 28:16-20. We must go into the world and preach the gospel to all nations.

At this conference, one person usually shared their testimony before each sermon. These included Dasom Kim (Korea, Friday morning), Scarlett Hwang (Australia, Friday evening), Esther Bang (Australia, Friday evening), Elizabeth Bang (Australia, Friday evening), Sharon Desai (USA, Saturday morning), Pastor P. Farhin (Bangladesh, Saturday evening), Brisbane (Australia, Saturday evening), Paul Kim (Hungary, Saturday evening), and Shanky Mission Report (I, Saturday evening).

Every morning after the sermon, we met as a group to read the Bible passage and share our thoughts.

On Saturday afternoon, three people— (  ), Ji-na Baek, and Nguyen Hien—were baptized. Previously, three people had shared their testimony on Friday evening. All three testified that they had clearly accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and found great joy in Him. The baptism was a source of great joy for everyone.

Friday and Saturday afternoons also included games, coffee, and entertainment.

I would like to summarize the grace God has given us during this conference as follows:

First, Jesus Christ is the center of our fellowship. Through sermons, testimonies, baptisms, and fellowship, He has given us great joy in Christ.

Second, Jesus has ignited the fire of world mission. I felt God spreading the gospel throughout the world, redeeming people from sin and blessing them.

Third, God has awakened the younger generation. Young people, in particular, have led this conference with much grace, making it a joyful conference for all.

Praise and glory be to God!