Looking for a new home to worship, Charlie and Jong Cho turned to one of their loyal customers.
Pastor Pat O’Leary was willing to extend a helping hand.
The recent arrangement among friends has brought the Cho-led congregation to O’Leary’s Lifegate Auburn Foursquare Church on East Main Street. The Immanuel Korean Baptist Church, previously located in north Auburn, will hold the congregation’s first service at its new spiritual hamlet Sunday.
“It’s a good fit,” said O’Leary, one of the local faith community’s leading pastors. “We are thrilled to have them because they are such wonderful people.”
For years, O’Leary has taken his clothes to Cho’s business, Frontier Cleaners, located near Lifegate’s downtown location.
“I always talked to them,” O’Leary said. “I knew they started a church in Auburn, but wasn’t sure where.”
The Chos previously were part of a north-end Baptist community, but changes brought on by a church merger left the small Korean faith community looking for a more suitable spot. With the departure of its Spanish congregation, Lifegate presented an opening.
“I told Charlie, ‘If you ever need a place, I have space available,’ ” said O’Leary, whose church is receptive to other community-related groups compatible to Lifegate’s mission. “I was always thinking of them.”
The Chos appreciate the opportunity.
“I didn’t ask him, he asked me,” Charlie Cho said of his friend. “We cannot thank Pastor O’Leary enough for his graciousness. I think this is God’s way.”
For Charlie Cho, an Auburn businessman for 17 years and an ordained minister for 20 years, it marks a new beginning. It will be the fifth church he has started in the area since he first arrived in the Puget Sound more than 30 years ago from Seoul, South Korea, where he was a high school teacher. His wife, Jong, also came from Seoul, where she was a nurse.
The Chos are recognized personalities in the Korean faith community, leaders who have helped provide Bible studies and other ministries.
While other nearby cities have established Korean Baptist churches, Auburn has yet to permanently support one – until now.
“Our members are not just from Auburn,” Jong Cho said. “They are coming from Puyallup, Renton and Federal Way.”
Having a central location to work from makes their efforts a bit easier.
“We want to grow and reach others,” said Charlie Cho, whose congregation is about 25 strong. “Right now, it’s very hard for churches to grow. They are struggling. But we want to do our best. We want to spread our message.”
The Immanuel Korean Baptist Church will serve as a support missionary for Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Thailand immigrant communities.
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Immanuel Korean Baptist Church
• Venue:
• Services: 1:30 p.m., Sundays (beginning Jan. 3); 7 p.m., Friday prayer meetings
• Staff: Charlie Cho (pastor); Stephen Lee (assistant pastor); Jessica Hong (youth pastor)
• Information: 253-529-3346, 253-249-3117, 253-571-8649
