INTERVIEWER 1: THE church—Just the Church. The church our community absolutely needs. The church the Lord still longs to see and is searching for. A church where all the believers can live out their faith with joy. A church recognized and praised by the local community. This is the time when we introduce that very church. 

Hello, listeners. I’m Yeon-a Kang. 

INTERVIEWER 2: Hello. I’m Pastor Chan-young Kim, serving at Washington Vision Church. 

INTERVIEWER 1: Today we’ve invited a very special guest. When we look around us, we can really sense that the next generation—our youth—are living through so many challenges. The pressure of school, difficulties in relationships, and even the unseen pain in their hearts. Amid all that, there’s someone doing a precious ministry today: bringing the light of the gospel to the youth and helping them find a new direction for life in Jesus. So, Pastor Kim Chan-young has invited him to join us today. Pastor, could you introduce him for us?

INTERVIEWER 2: Yes. There is a wonderful church or organization called InterHigh. We have with us today InterHigh Director Peter Kim, who is based in Virginia, with its hub in Fairfax, serving second-generation and multiethnic youth throughout Northern Virginia.

INTERVIEWER 1: Before we went on air, Pastor Kim Chan-young was saying how thankful he is and praising this director so much. I would really like to hear through today’s program what led you to feel that way. Joining us here is InterHigh Director Peter Kim. Hello!

PETER KIM: Hello, I’m Peter Kim, and I serve as the Director of InterHigh. I have been serving in the InterHigh youth ministry at Acts2 Network since 2014. Our church is part of the Southern Baptist Convention, and we do ministry by planting local churches centered around university campuses across the United States.

INTERVIEWER 2: Yes, actually I saw your wife last time and she seems like such a gracious and precious person. Could you introduce your wife and kids as well?

PETER KIM: Sure. My wife’s name is Jina, and she serves together with me as an InterHigh director. And my daughter is now a freshman in college. My son is here in the Fairfax area, and he is currently in 9th grade.

INTERVIEWER 2: Wow—when I first saw your daughter, she was so young, and now she’s already a college student?

PETER KIM: Yes, yes. When we first moved to Virginia, she was in sixth grade back then. 

INTERVIEWER 2: That’s right. 

PETER KIM: Time has flown—now she’s a college student.

INTERVIEWER 1: Yes—when you’re doing ministry like this, it’s honestly very hard without your wife’s support and partnership. But your wife has been serving alongside you as well. 

PETER KIM: Right, and I’m so grateful to my wife. She covers for me in so many ways where I’m lacking, and she helps me with patience and encouragement—so I’m truly thankful to her. 

INTERVIEWER 1: You’re sharing that gratitude through this broadcast, and I’m sure your wife knows how you feel in everyday life! 

Listening to you, it really sounds like your wife, and your two children are doing this together with you. But usually, when people think of someone doing such a meaningful ministry, they assume you grew up in a strong Christian family, supported by your parents’ prayers. Was that the case for you?

PETER KIM: No, not really. When I was in middle and high school in Korea, I followed my parents to the Buddhist temple, so I didn’t go to church at all. So, after I became a Christian and started ministry, I thought I probably wouldn’t be able to do youth ministry. But God’s plan, I think, was completely different from what I had in mind. When I look back and realize that I—who used to be a Buddhist youth—am now serving as a Christian teacher with InterHigh youth, I truly believe this is God’s great miracle and His amazing grace. 

INTERVIEWER 1: I have so many questions about the InterHigh ministry. But listening to you, Director, I’m also really curious—since you were born into a Buddhist family, how did you end up doing youth ministry like this?

May I ask something personal? How did you end up getting involved in ministry like this?

PETER KIM: When I was in middle and high school, I was really devoted to Buddhism and went to the temple faithfully. In Korea there’s a Buddhist order called Cheontae, and its main temple is Guinsa in Jecheon. And in each city there were small churches, I mean temples. My parents started going, so I went along too, and when I was in middle and high school I even attended retreats hosted by the temple. Even now I can still recite some Buddhist scriptures—if I were to demonstrate, I could recite parts like the Maha Prajna sutra. That’s how I grew up, but when we came to the U.S., that’s when I first started going to church.

The biggest turning point for me was this: when our family immigrated to the U.S.—we came in 1991—my father was in the terminal stage of lung cancer. We didn’t know that when we came to America, but once we were here, he went to the hospital and got diagnosed, and it honestly felt like the sky was falling.

Now, my grandmother had come to faith through a Methodist missionary, and she was always praying for us. So, when we were suddenly faced with that kind of crisis, she said to me and my mother, “You went to the temple back in Korea, but in the center of your faith, there is God.”

She told us for the first time, “Even if it feels like grabbing at straws, why don’t we all pray together?” So, we held on to those words and our whole family prayed earnestly, and my father truly got so much better—like an answer to prayer. Experiencing that for the first time made me think, “Wow… there really is a Supreme Being in this world, a God who hears our prayers when we pray.” At least that much, I came to understand. 

Then I went off to college, and at first, I kind of wandered—got a bit lost in the world—and by the end of my sophomore year, I went through a really aimless, drifting season in my life. 

As I was going through that, I kept wrestling with questions like, “What is the purpose of life?” and “Is there really such a thing as true joy in life?” With all of that on my mind, I transferred and went to UC Berkeley in California. And that’s when, at the church I attend now, I did my first Bible study on the Gospel of John. The deacon who taught me then explained what sin is, what the cross means, and the message that Jesus died for our sins and came into this world to forgive our sins through the cross. I learned all of that for the first time through this one-on-one Bible study in John. But because I had always thought of myself as a pretty good person, when I first heard that I was a sinner, it felt burdensome—it really weighed on me.

INTERVIEWER 1: You must have felt pressure. 

PETER KIM: Yes—and honestly, I couldn’t agree with it. But when I first started living with a roommate in college, his dad was a pastor, and this friend was tall, good-looking, and really smart. We studied together and lived as roommates, and as I watched him, I used to think I was a good person—but I started to feel competitive, and jealousy and envy started rising up in my heart. And later I even found myself thinking, “Man, why did this guy—excuse my language—why did this jerk come into my life and turn me into such a bad person?” That’s what was going through my mind.

Right at that time, as I was reading God’s Word, I realized how our sin really begins in the heart—and for the first time, the Bible hit me deep inside. As I came to understand that, I admitted before God that I truly was a sinner. And as I grasped the way of the cross more deeply, my senior year of college, I repented and gave my life to Jesus for the first time, saying, “I will truly follow God. I will follow Jesus.” That’s the decision I made, and I became a Christian. 

After that, I went on to do many different kinds of ministry, but what I want to tell you today is this: a life of following Jesus is the happiest life there is—and out of any life I could imagine, it’s the very best.

INTERVIEWER 2: Since we’re hearing this from someone who used to practice Buddhism, what you say carries more weight—and there must be a clear reason behind it. 

INTERVIEWER 1: No matter what religion someone has, there are people who are kind of born with a religious bent, you know. People who are spiritually inclined tend to end up choosing a religion. You studied Buddhism seriously and then came to Christianity. I think it can actually be harder for someone who lives such a good, upright life to confess, “I’m a sinner,” and to come to faith. But, it just might be that we may not have gone through circumstances that bring it out, but ultimately there is evil in everyone. 

Even if you started off with a different religion, you were able to acknowledge that and come before God—that became the turning point for you.

INTERVIEWER 2: A lot of people probably aren’t familiar with what this organization, InterHigh, actually is. So, could you introduce InterHigh for us? 

PETER KIM: InterHigh is one ministry organization within the Acts2 Network. We serve local churches that don’t have a youth pastor, and our vision is to provide Sunday worship services for middle school and high school students at every local church. So InterHigh first started in 2009, in Northern California.

We started serving churches in the San Francisco and San Jose areas. At first, we began on a small scale, helping just three or four churches—mainly Korean and Chinese immigrant churches. And it’s already been 17 years now. Over those 17 years of ministry, God has really poured out so much grace on us. Now it’s not only here on the East Coast, but also in the West, the Midwest, Texas—we’re supporting more than 100 local churches. 

Every week, more than about 1,000 youth students are hearing God’s Word and worshiping in Sunday youth services. The churches we support aren’t only Korean churches—we help youth ministries in many ethnic churches, like Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Mexican churches. 

INTERVIEWER 2: You started with just two or three—no, about three or four churches, but now it’s grown to around a hundred churches. Over 1,000 youth—that’s really incredible. Even though there are big churches out there, it’s not easy to have around 1,000 youth like this. Still, the fact that InterHigh can share the true gospel—can proclaim Jesus—to about 1,000 young people every single week feels like an enormous work of God.

INTERVIEWER 1: How is InterHigh able to serve more than 1,000 students every week? Isn’t space a limitation?

PETER KIM: I see, so how this happens is that each of the churches we work with are very small. Some small churches have just one or two students. And then there are churches with a bit larger youth group—maybe fifteen or twenty students.

And in our organization, the ministry is bivocational—so lay ministers are doing the work. The teachers have full-time jobs, and then in the evenings and on weekends they prepare the messages and the programs for the students.

On Sundays we go and lead the youth service. Our church has truly been greatly blessed by God in that we have so many young brothers and sisters who have a strong vision for youth ministry. And we also have many youth teachers who grew up through difficult circumstances, so they have a real passion to help. We’ve planted a number of branches across the United States, and when local churches in those areas want to partner with us, we go and form a team of about two to four teachers and send them out to each church to lead the Sunday service.

INTERVIEWER 2: So you’re serving about a hundred churches across the U.S., and here in the Washington area, thirty-six churches—each week you’re sending out teams of two to four people to go there and teach the kids, right?

PETER KIM: For the Washington area, those thirty-six churches are the total number of churches we’ve served over the past eight years—thirty-six in all. And among the churches we started with, a lot of the students have grown up now and gone off to college, so there are churches that we have stopped serving as well. And in the process of helping, some churches have become well established, and for churches that have the capacity to invite a pastor—like Pastor Lee Hye, an English-ministry pastor— we bless them, and then their ministry becomes independent. That’s how it’s grown to a total of thirty-six churches. Right now, we’re actively serving about ten churches. 

INTERVIEWER 1: You train teachers who can teach the youth, and then you send those teachers out so they can serve in each church, right? 

PETER KIM: Yes, that’s correct. 

INTERVIEWER 1: I see. Then did you personally found InterHigh? 

PETER KIM: Ah, not exactly. It started in our church in California. Our senior pastor and the other leaders are generally 1.5- and second-generation folks who grew up in L.A. or Northern California.

A lot of them grew up in small churches and never really had the chance to receive proper Bible study or training like that. So as we were meeting and talking, we started wondering, “Aren’t there probably many people around us who are struggling? Aren’t there churches that need help?” 

So at that time we actually got cars and drove around, and wherever we saw a church sign, we would stop in and visit and ask, “Pastor, do you need any help?” 

At first only a small number of churches responded, so we began by helping those churches. And what I’m truly grateful for—especially to our teachers—is that, like I mentioned, all our teachers are lay ministers.

They all have jobs, and they have kids. Even in the middle of that busy life—sometimes even with a newborn at home, staying up at night taking care of the children—they serve God faithfully. And even though at each church there may be only a few students—some small churches have two, some have four—they still go every single week, consistently, and minister to those students with real love and devotion. And over time, the students truly change a lot. I’ve seen so many different students, and for some of them, their parents got divorced. They were in that middle-school, early-teen stage—if you have to go through your parents’ divorce at that age, how heartbreaking would that be?

Some of those students have wild behavior and can be pretty rough. Others are insecure, struggling because they want recognition from their parents. And as we’re doing ministry, there are students who want to join a gang and start heading in a bad direction. But in Fairfax there are also a lot of students who study hard—many Korean and Chinese students. Still, even in that environment they’re under a lot of stress, and a lot of rebellion builds up. But when the teachers stay with them consistently over time and pour into them with real love and devotion, the students start to trust them, and as time goes by, little by little, they truly begin to change.

And as that kind of change starts happening in the students—when you see them really being transformed in God in a good direction—parents and pastors see it and end up supporting our ministry, and they speak well of it. So over the past seventeen years or so, I think God has grown this ministry in that way. 

INTERVIEWER 2: What shocked me at the beginning was that the teachers are all laypeople, all with full-time jobs, and yet they moved all the way from L.A. to here just to do this ministry. I remember thinking, “How can they do that?”

It’s hard enough for young people just to build their own families, and this is the season of life when they’re the busiest. So seeing them take this thing called the gospel and come all the way from L.A. to here—nearly 3,000 miles—changing jobs and sacrificing things for their families just to make that move, I was so thankful and so grateful. And you came with them too. You all pioneered the work here, serving in a ministry that has supported thirty-six churches here, and they’re still going out every week to help more than ten churches. How do they make sacrifices like that?

There are quite a lot of churches in this area—many large ones too—and there are also many missionaries. But they find it overwhelming just to serve their own church’s Sunday school or their middle and high school ministry.

But these folks come all the way here from L.A. with that one purpose—what is it that’s different for them that allows them do that? 

PETER KIM: Perhaps because our teachers have deeply experienced the gospel — and I shared my testimony briefly already as well—because they themselves have truly felt the deep worth of the gospel, and because the grace of Jesus, His suffering and death on the cross is just so immense, within that they’ve discovered a real purpose and the truth. Many of the teachers resonate with that, and because they hold that conviction, they feel, “We need to pursue this gospel to the ends of the earth and proclaim it.” It’s their biggest goal.

When I moved to the East Coast in 2018 and started this InterHigh ministry here, I spent a lot of time meditating on John 12:24–25. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

I kept reflecting on this passage when I was first moving out here. As I mentioned, I went to school in California, at Berkeley, and I met my wife at my church there, got married, and our kids all grew up there too, in Northern California.

Coming out here, we started by planting a church—beginning with the college ministry. I felt a calling to this area, but at the time I was also working at a big pharmaceutical company called Novartis. Letting go of all of that and moving three thousand miles away to the East Coast wasn’t an easy thing to do. So I prayed a lot to the Lord, and as I kept thinking about His mission—His command to take the gospel to the ends of the earth—after prayers of commitment and tears, we came to the East Coast and began ministry here. And once I arrived here on the East Coast, I met so many pastors, and the needs were just enormous.

A lot of them were really struggling because of the lack of ministry workers, and for smaller churches, hiring an EM pastor or staff member was a huge financial burden. So, when we first came and started having meetings, the pastors asked us again and again. They wanted us to come alongside them through a partnership and help out. 

When we came, it was me and my family, and three other couples—three families—so four families total. But as soon as we arrived, more than ten churches were already asking us to come and help. And when I looked at it, we were nowhere near sufficient. So, all I could do was pray, wondering what to do. 

Then I had our church make a ministry video—about the work InterHigh was doing on the East Coast—and we put together prayer requests and sent it out.

But, wow, that ministry video—even now our brothers and sisters still remember it and refer to it as “the Macedonian call to the East Coast.” What’s amazing is how powerfully God worked through it. So many brothers and sisters were blessed by that video, deeply moved and stirred by the Holy Spirit, and—just like me—many of the brothers gave up good jobs. You know, there are plenty of great jobs in California—Apple, Google, and all that—but they laid those down and moved out in large numbers to serve small churches. About fifteen families came, bringing their kids, and started going out to each church and serving there.

So, like I mentioned earlier, the brothers and sisters really devoted themselves—making those sacrifices—and the students talk about it a lot. They’ll say things like, “In the church we grew up at, I didn’t even have a youth pastor, and there weren’t really teachers either. And then—wow—these InterHigh teachers gave up their jobs and came all the way from California, three thousand miles away. They prayed to God and moved those three thousand miles to the East Coast, just to come to my small church and bring me God’s Word.” When they think about that, the students receive so much grace. And in that, they realize, “Wow, the teachers came here thinking about me like this—God really is thinking about me.”

Through the teachers, we’ve heard of many students sharing their testimonies like this. When brothers and sisters truly live a genuine life of following Jesus with confidence in the gospel, what I’ve realized is that the people we minister to—and the people around us whom we love—really do change. That’s why what Jesus says, what the Bible says, is so precious. What God and Jesus speaks to us becomes the word of truth that makes our lives whole and upright, enables us to show love in God, and allows us to testify that Jesus and God are truly alive.

I think our InterHigh teachers really become that “grain of wheat,” just like the Bible says—when they truly die to themselves for Jesus, when they make that sacrifice and lay everything down, the Lord gives grace so that much fruit can be harvested.

INTERVIEWER 1: I wonder if the wandering and confusion of adolescence is really a struggle to find the truth. If good teachers come into that open field and provide good nourishment so the kids can grow well, then their future changes too—so it must feel incredibly worthwhile.

And honestly, there are so many good, small churches in this area as well. A lot of parents want to go to these churches but can’t because of their kids. But if you come and care for their children like this, then the parents can live out their faith well in a local church with peace of mind. And because of their children, I think they can build a happier home together as a family. It’s really wonderful. 

INTERVIEWER 2: Our church has also received—and is still receiving—so much grace through InterHigh. When we first planted the church, it was really hard. Then someone came and visited and asked, “Pastor, do you need help?” Of course we did. But watching them come and devote themselves like that, I thought, “How can someone be that surrendered?”

And the wife even gave up a great job. She said she didn’t have enough time to serve at church. I remember thinking, “How can someone do that?” At her age, with such a good position—if she kept working and saved a lot of money, her children and her own life could be even more secure and comfortable. But she wasn’t even a pastor—just a lay sister—and she said, “I need to quit my job.” So I asked, “Why would you quit?” And she told me, “I’m so short on time right now for the work of the church. I need to serve,” and that’s why she was letting it go. I couldn’t believe it. It was such a huge grace to witness. And I also think about one of our youth students who went to an InterHigh retreat, met Jesus, and was so overwhelmed with joy that they shared their testimony in tears. So, I’m truly grateful that InterHigh has done such a great work in this area. 

INTERVIEWER 1: You have a favorite hymn, don’t you? I’m sure you have many, but shall we listen to just one together and talk about it? 

PETER KIM: For me, hymn number 405, “Amazing Grace” is my absolute favorite. Recently, as we went through the season of the Passion and Easter, I was reminded again, and came to realize deeply, just how much of a sinner I am before the Lord. And I found myself giving deep thanks for the love and grace of Jesus, who bore the cross to save a sinner like me. Even now, I can’t fully express how honored and grateful I am that God would use someone like me, still a sinner, in His work and ministry.

INTERVIEWER 1: People say that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. And hearing you say that while living such an admirable life really makes me think about how, and with what kind of heart, we should listen to this hymn. So let’s listen together to “Amazing Grace,” and then we’ll continue our conversation with you.

Hymn: “Amazing Grace”

INTERVIEWER 1: We’re back after listening to that hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Right now, I’m talking with Peter Kim, who serves as the Director of InterHigh. InterHigh is doing work that brings our teenagers life—offering hope, healing, and restoration. 

But when you’re doing ministry like this, I imagine there are parts that are really hard to handle with just one organization. Do you carry everything entirely within InterHigh, or do you also collaborate with other organizations? 

PETER KIM: Yes—since we have our limitations too, we do partner and serve alongside a number of other youth ministry organizations here in the U.S. as well.

In particular, there’s an organization called Word of Life. I’m sure many pastors know Word of Life well. They’ve produced a lot of curriculum materials for students, and since they’re a youth missions organization that has been doing youth ministry in the U.S. for decades, they have a lot of know-how and a tremendous amount of resources. So as we partner with them, we’re learning a lot.

And there’s another organization as well—Dare 2 Share. It’s not very well known among Korean pastors yet. This organization is led by a pastor named Greg Stier, based in Denver, Colorado.

They’re very specialized in evangelism training for teenagers, and they’re doing youth missions work. Through connecting like this with various youth ministries across the U.S., we’re learning a lot—practical information about youth ministry and effective ways to do ministry.

INTERVIEWER 1: As you serve together, that’s probably what makes it even richer.

INTERVIEWER 2: You’re doing such valuable ministry—so what are the main things InterHigh is doing?

PETER KIM: Like I mentioned, our primary ministry is that our youth teachers lead the main youth worship service and the sermon message, and then they also facilitate small-group discussions.

And after that, we spend some bonding time with the students—playing games and doing sports together—just having fellowship with them. And about twice a year, we set aside a Sunday we call “Go Share Day,” to help students receive evangelism training. At that time, we teach them how to explain the gospel easily using the acronym “GOSPEL.” And we take the students out to nearby malls or grocery stores and help them get some real, on-the-street sharing experience.

On Fridays, we also run a ministry hub called Area Youth Ministry, or AYM. InterHigh is responsible for leading the youth worship service on Sundays, and AYM runs Friday Bible study and other outreach activities from Monday through Saturday. At AYM, we offer our Friday “Recharge” Bible study youth group by splitting students into middle school and high school. Especially on Fridays, we teach discipleship training, Christian apologetics, and a Christian worldview. Through the Friday Bible study in particular, we’re creating opportunities for students to connect with other Christian friends their age and grow within a faith community in the Lord.

We also offer retreats twice a year—once in the summer and once in the winter. For the students, these are the biggest highlights of the year. Our youth leaders run all kinds of fun games and sports activities, and through gospel-centered messages and energetic worship, they help students experience God in a deeper way. And under the careful care and guidance of our youth leaders, we plan healthy, enjoyable, and meaningful times of fellowship as well. Many students take part enthusiastically and receive a lot of grace through it.

When our students come to the retreat, we collect all their cell phones! And even so, they still love the retreat so much. Our winter and summer retreats always have a really high attendance rate, and we’re always thankful to God for that. Through all of these ministries, InterHigh is focusing on helping the next generation build a personal relationship with Jesus and grow into God’s workers—His servants and ministers—in the world. 

INTERVIEWER 1: I think our teens would really love it. I actually still cherish my own memories of going to retreats when I was a teenager—they’re happy memories I’ve held onto. I think these kids will be able to carry those good memories with them and live healthy lives going forward. 

When you’re doing this much ministry, are there disciples, people you especially remember? There must be many who helped you and many who’ve partnered with you, but there are probably some you’d really like to share about. 

PETER KIM: For me, the people I remember most while doing InterHigh youth ministry are the co-laborers serving alongside me—Pastor Kim here as well—and also the pastors from various local churches. When we first arrived on the East Coast, I came not really knowing anything. So, when I moved from the West Coast to the East Coast, everything was so different—the climate, the culture here, the students’ mindset, their schedules—there was just so much that was different, and so much I didn’t know.

Back then, the pastors partnering with InterHigh—including Pastor Kim—gave us so much advice and support. We learned a lot from them, and they supported us in so many ways so that we could settle into the ministry well and share the gospel effectively with the students. We’re truly deeply grateful.

When we came to the East Coast, we experienced God’s guidance in so many ways that felt nothing short of miraculous. We have so many testimonies, but to share one: when I visited a Vietnamese church, I had a meeting with one of the church leaders, an ordained deacon.

When we first arrived on the East Coast and started ministry, our InterHigh ministry was, understandably, unfamiliar to a lot of pastors and church leaders. So, the deacon at that Vietnamese church asked us to provide references from the churches we serve in California. I contacted our home church out West and got the contact information for three Vietnamese churches we work with, and I gave it to the deacon. And what the deacon did was this: he divided the list up among himself, the senior pastor, and another leader—very biblical, right?

They started making calls, and he managed to get in touch with one of them. But as they were talking, he said the voice sounded so familiar. So, while the pastor was speaking at first, he asked the pastor in California, “By any chance, have you ever lived in Pennsylvania?” And the pastor said he had. Then he asked, “Did you live in a small town in Pennsylvania called Lancaster?” And he said yes. Then he asked, “Back in Lancaster—did you ever serve as a youth teacher?”

And he said yes. So here’s how it all connected: when this Vietnamese deacon was a youth student in Pennsylvania forty years ago, he had a youth leader in charge of him. 

What happened was that the youth leader received a calling into ministry, went off to seminary, studied theology, and after graduating served in the Midwest for a while. Later, he was invited to the Vietnamese church in San Jose, California, and he’s been serving there. And we had helped that church as well.

But through that phone call, the two of them were able to reconnect after 40 years. And this Vietnamese deacon said to me, “Peter, this is truly God’s guidance.” So, he moved forward with confidence and began partnering with us in ministry. And as I served the students, I saw so many of them change, and it became such a deeply thankful time before God.

INTERVIEWER 2: I also heard there was a story about a Chinese student. What kind of student was he?

PETER KIM: Oh, yes. We serve a Chinese church, and that student was very spiritually open—someone who genuinely wanted to grow in God.

On Sundays we share the sermon message with the students, and we teach them how to pray as well. And as we taught them different things—like evangelism—this student just soaked it all up like a sponge, really receiving God’s Word so deeply. So whenever we were preparing outreach events to reach the students, this Chinese student would bring friends—like ten to fifteen at a time. And he kept sharing the gospel with his friends, too. So we teachers were watching him and just thanking God so much. And now he’s graduated from high school and has gone on to college.

But even after going off to college, he’s really thriving. Spiritually, he’s growing so well, and at the same time he keeps sharing the gospel with friends around him who don’t believe. That’s how he’s living his college life right now. And as we watch this Chinese student, we think, “Wow—our hope and our prayer is that every student we reach with the gospel would be like him: standing firmly in God’s Word, going on to college, and continuing to stand strong in their faith even after that.” 

INTERVIEWER 1: Yes, when we think about our teenagers growing like this—becoming adults and living such full, abundant lives—

I think a lot of parents—and students too—would want to join InterHigh. I feel that way myself. So, could you tell us how we can participate in InterHigh, what the process is?

PETER KIM: Yes. We have an InterHigh website. Specifically for the Washington area, it’s dmvinterhigh.org. Washington, D.C.—D and M are Maryland, V is Virginia, so DMV. And it’s “inter” plus “high” as in high school. If you go to dmvinterhigh.org, you can learn more about our InterHigh ministry, and there’s a button there that says “Get More Info.”

 If you click there and enter your name and contact information, we’ll reach out to you right away and share details on how students can attend, and how your church can partner with us as well. 

And we’re praying specifically about how we can expand God’s Kingdom and strengthen even more churches. Specifically, many local youth pastors and teachers have told us that while they’re leading retreats, there’s still a real lack of training for youth ministry. 

So, what we’re planning is not only summer and winter retreats, but also launching retreats in the spring and fall, so that even more students in the Washington area can receive grace and transformation in the Lord and grow in their faith. We’re praying and making plans toward that.

Also, during the retreat we’re planning to offer seminars and workshops that are needed for youth ministry, so that youth pastors and teachers at local churches can be equipped to respond to the rapidly changing youth culture. And parents can come as well—parents tell us this a lot: these days, once kids enter middle school and then high school, they are all into social media, communication breaks down, and students often respond in a very rebellious way, so it becomes hard to connect with them. So, we’re preparing special seminars and workshops like that specifically for parents, too. So that as their kids enter the teenage years, they can learn how to build a deeper relationship with them within their faith, and really strengthen that relationship. We’re in the process of getting everything ready, and as things come together, we’ll post the information on our website, so you can check it there. 

INTERVIEWER 1: Thank you. It’s really a shame we’re out of time. I think we need to wrap up now—Director, could you share a few final words with our listeners who are tuning in?

PETER KIM: Yes—thank you. I truly believe this is a time when revival is desperately needed among youth students in the Washington area. In the public schools in Fairfax and Centreville alone, there are about 30,000 students right now. And if you include Virginia, Maryland, and D.C., there are really so many youth students throughout the Washington region. But spiritually, the students are in an incredibly dark situation. In the past, we would just hear news stories about suicide here and there, but over the last few years, even in the Fairfax area alone, we’ve been confronted with the heartbreaking reality of many students at different schools taking their own lives and attempting suicide.

And those students aren’t just random strangers we don’t know—they’re the classmates of the InterHigh students we teach, their friends at school. And not long ago, over in Rockville, Maryland, at Wootton High School, where a lot of the students from our Bible study—students who come to church—attend, there was a school shooting on campus. Several students lost their lives. So, whenever I think about these young kids losing their lives like that, it just breaks my heart. And especially when I think about God’s heart—seeing these young souls—how much more must it grieve Him.

So please pray that our youth students can hear more of the gospel, and that in Jesus they can find true joy, and in the Lord discover true purpose and meaning. And please continue to support our InterHigh ministry, and especially pray that many youth students will be able to share the gospel.

Like I shared in my testimony earlier, to those of you listening—I haven’t lived a very long life, but as I’ve believed in Jesus for over nearly thirty years now, there’s one thing I’m sure of. I truly believe that a life of following Jesus is the best life you can live in this world.

We recently just went through Easter, but Jesus suffered as He hung on the cross and died for our sins. And through His devotion and sacrifice, He granted us the hope of the resurrection—now, the hope of heaven. And I’m convinced that this hope of heaven isn’t something that starts only far off after we wait a long time; if you believe in Jesus and follow Him right now, it begins today—it becomes something you live in starting today. 

When I was in college, even though I believed Jesus’ words, I wrestled with it so much. I kept thinking, “I’m pouring my whole life into this—what if I follow Jesus and it all turns out to be a total loss?” I had a lot of fear like that.

I trusted Jesus’ words back then, and I decided to follow Him. Now that a lot of time has passed and I look back on my life, I think that decision was the best decision I ever made. Now I’m over fifty, but even at this age, interacting with students like this is so enjoyable. Being with them also keeps me feeling young.

Like I mentioned, the world right now—with social media, AI, and so many bad people—there are a lot of things trying to prey on and take advantage of students. In the middle of all that, students end up getting really depressed and anxious. As I said earlier, there are even many cases of students taking their own lives.

For these students to truly live well in their lives, they need to believe in Jesus and live within that—living as students who are taught according to Jesus’ words. Because God has transformed the life I’ve lived into something so precious, I’m convinced that all the youth students here in the Washington area can also have that kind of valuable life. I really hope they will believe in Jesus.

INTERVIEWER 2: So not only teenagers who believe in Jesus can reach out, but if there are young people and teens who don’t believe in Jesus and are struggling, if their parents contact you here, that would be a big help.

PETER KIM: Yes, absolutely. 

INTERVIEWER 2: You know, people say God isn’t looking for someone with great ability—He’s looking for someone who’s willing to offer themselves. And when I see the teachers at InterHigh, it really seems like that’s the case.

INTERVIEWER 1: You shared with us that the very best life is a life of following Jesus. And as you serve and care for teenagers in so many ways, you’re putting that love of Jesus into practice and living it out.

It feels like we’re living in a world where we can’t protect our children’s safety merely by raising only our own kids well. We live in a time when we need to embrace and care for all our youth together.

Director Peter Kim of InterHigh, thank you so much for being with us today. We’ll be cheering you on and keeping you in our prayers as you move forward. And to all of you listening, thank you. We hope you have a peaceful and happy afternoon today as well. Thank you.