SEOUL, South Korea (ABP) — Korean megachurch pastor and evangelist Billy Kim, outgoing president of the Baptist World Alliance, retired Dec. 19 after 45 years as senior pastor of Suwon Central Baptist Church near Seoul, South Korea.
Since becoming pastor of the congregation Jan. 1, 1960, Kim has led the church to grow from 10 members to more than 15,000. Participating in his retirement celebration were the former president of Korea and current mayor of Seoul.
Kim also is director of the Far East Broadcasting Company, a Christian radio network that broadcasts to 150 language groups in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He graduated from the conservative Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., with bachelor's and master's degrees.
Kim has served for the past five years as president of the Baptist World Alliance, a fellowship of 211 Baptist unions and conventions worldwide, and led BWA through the withdrawal of its largest member and fund-provider, the Southern Baptist Convention, last year.
In July, Kim will preside over the Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England, during which BWA will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. Afterward, David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, will succeed Kim as president for the next five years if elected by the congress.