Ep. 38 / God Never Loses a Generation: Insights in Finishing the Task ► Lisa Pak

What happens when heritage, calling and global vision converge in one leader's life? Dr. Lisa Pak's story offers a compelling answer.

Born in Toronto to Korean immigrant parents, Lisa's journey defies conventional paths. Though academically driven toward medicine, a teenage encounter with Ecclesiastes sparked an existential question that redirected her life: "What lasts longer than the body? The soul." This realization set her on an unexpected path to ministry—one that would eventually lead her around the world.

Her perspective on Korean Christianity provides fascinating insights into one of modern history's most remarkable church growth stories. The prayer-driven fervor that transformed Korea from a devastated post-war nation to the world's second-largest missionary-sending country reveals something profound about faith born of desperation. "I believe it was out of those seeds sown by foreign missionaries who literally gave their lives," Lisa explains, noting how those buried in Korean soil never witnessed the fruit their sacrifice would yield.

Now leading Finishing the Task alongside Pastor Rick Warren, Lisa works to unite churches globally around the Great Commission. Using 2033—marking 2,000 years since Christ's ministry—as what she calls an "Ebenezer moment," this initiative fosters collaboration across denominational and cultural lines. "I believe the Great Commission was designed to be done by a unified body of Christ," she states, suggesting that division itself may be our greatest obstacle to fulfilling Jesus' command.

Perhaps most compelling is Lisa's candid reflection on being a woman in leadership. The journey from never imagining ordination to her current global role, involved both personal wrestling and the intervention of unexpected allies—men who broke glass ceilings she couldn't break herself. "For women who feel called to lead, it's not just a struggle of calling, it's an existential struggle," she explains, offering hope to those navigating similar paths.

As global Christianity's center shifts toward younger nations in the Global South, Lisa remains unwaveringly optimistic: "I believe in a God who has never lost a generation and He will not start now." Her story reminds us that faith transcends cultural boundaries, generational divisions, and traditional limitations when anchored in timeless biblical narratives.

You can learn more about Finishing the Task through their website, Facebook and Instagram. 

And you can share this episode using hashtag #Evangelical360 and join the conversation online! 

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