As a person who loves growing vegetables, Pastor Myounghun Stephen Yun understands pastoral ministry as a life-giving and life-changing process like gardening. Following his call to ministry, Pastor Stephen hopes to be a spiritual gardener who equips and empowers the congregation (co-gardeners) for healing, sustaining, guiding, reconciling, and liberating ministry of Christ in this world. Pastor Stephen has served in ministry for 10 years, and before arriving here at Succasunna UMC in July 2017, he served at Asbury United Methodist Church in Woodstown, NJ. He has also worked at a hospice, hospitals, and a domestic violence shelter.
Pastor Stephen grew up in a Christian family in South Korea. Even though faith always played a central role in his life, he had never thought about becoming an ordained minister until his senior college year. Studying Christian theology taught him how to think critically and prayerfully and motivated him to wrestle with some challenging questions about life and faith: “What do Christian beliefs have to do with real life? How should Christian faith respond to human needs in this world of brokenness?” Pastor Stephen is willing and eager to continually search for answers to these questions in fellowship with the people of God.
Pastor Stephen earned his M.Div from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He continued his study in the area of pastoral care and theology at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT. After completing his Ph.D in Religion, Psychology, and Culture at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, he has taught courses at New Brunswick Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is currently serving as a circuit elder and a candidacy mentor in the Skylands District.
Pastor Stephen and wife Soyoun have three children: Emma, Nathan, and Wesley. Soyoun worked as a music therapist in South Korea. She plays the cello and the piano. Emma loves writing and reading books. Nathan is an enthusiastic soccer player and a puzzle master. Pastor Stephen loves watching movies, sports, fishing, and playing indigenous musical instruments, such as the ocarinas and tin whistles.
