Christy Hyun is the pastor’s wife at Gospel Mission Project Church in Santa Clarita, CA, a mom of four kids, and a licensed marriage-family therapist in private practice.  Born in Korea and raised in southern California, she received her BA at Boston University and attended Fuller Theological Seminary and Western Seminary.  She loves meeting new people and helping God’s people to become not what people tell them to be, but what God intended them to be.  Her favorite activity is hanging out with her favorite people — her kids and her husband.

What are your ministry passions? 

I have always had a heart for women and equipping them in all aspects of womanhood. My ministry passion is to translate into our daily lives the idea of knowing God and being known by God.  I enjoy seeing everything brought back to the gospel — seeing myself as I am in order to see the truth of how big God is.  I hope that bleeds into every aspect of my life.

For instance, speaking as a mom, we can trick ourselves to believe that there’s a perfect way to be a mother.  (I speak as one who struggles with this myself.)  You’ve got to do this and you’ve got to do that.  The temptation is to take our academic drivenness and super-focus it onto our kids.  But the truth is at the end of the day, we’re not in control – it’s God who is.  We have to raise them the way God called them to be — to be Christ-centered, touched by the grace, compassion and empathy of Christ. Everyday I struggle with the fear of damaging them with my sinfulness, but I am reassured and strengthened by the fact that Christ has overcome my sin.

Who have been key and influential role models for you?

In the Bible, I have always been drawn to Jochebed, the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. She knew about the majesty of God and His plans. I’m inspired when people remind me, “Christy, God doesn’t need you to do anything.  It’s a privilege that God is letting you walk through this.  So either embrace it or step out, but God doesn’t need you.  Remember how big God is, and you’re just a part of it.”  This kind of reminder liberates me from self-imposed burdens and stimulates me to even greater works, since the focus is brought back to the cross, not to me.  I get wary when I hear things like, “Well I think this is what God has planned for your life, so you should do this, do that…” because then it becomes very human-driven and controlling.

What is a word of advice that you would offer to other evangelical Asian American women?

I once heard from one of the professors at Western Seminary that our default sin is self-righteousness. Man, woman, or child, we all have a tendency to try to prove we are good no matter what the cost is, sometimes at the cost of hurting someone or even destroying someone. Our goodness comes from Jesus and what He has done for us. What I would really like to see is women working together to help one another. Sometimes there is such an ugly spirit of competition among us, and I wish to see that broken. It grieves me when, as sisters in Christ, we are incapable of building one another up, but rather tear each other down to prove how more “right” one is. When we take an honest look, no one person is above any other. I hope and pray we can work to help one another to be used for God and in God’s plan to be a blessing to our world.

Interviewed by Joy Wong