Byeongchea Seo Chancellor
SungKyul University, Korea (B.A)
McMaster University, Canada (M.Div)
Methodist Graduate School, Korea (Th.M)
Graduate Theological Foundation, USA (Ph.D)
Yale University, USA (Divinity, postdoc., 2006)
Oxford University, UK (Wycliffe, postdoc., 2012)
Cambridge University, UK (ICE, 2018)
Founding President of PACE Int’l Seminary, Nagaland India (2015-2020)
Founding President of Melvin University, Kenya (since 2021)
Board of Blue Nile Melvin (Incorporation, 2024-)
email) presidentmelvinuniversity@gmail.com
Role of the University’s President
Naver.blog/Byeong
(KENYA) Melvin University
LECTURE on the Leadership (English)
(KOREA) Christian Newspaper (since January 2022)
WEEKLY Column (PDF, Korean)
Christianity Daily (CD, Korean)
WEEKLY Column (PDF, English)
(CANADA) Toronto Newspaper (since September 2023)
WEEKLY Column (PDF, Korean)
Toronto Daily (TD, Korean)
Toronto Column (PDF, English)
Publications of Dr. Melvin & Byeong
Byeong was a National director of Lay Pastors Ministry in Korea (1999-2014). He opened the Institute in 1999, and was working for Korean churches for the last 15 years with staff members. He was the founding president of PACE International Seminary (PIS), Nagaland India. Among his credentials are: CPE, Oxford Regional Center(ORC, Wookstock, 1990) CPE, Whitby Psychiatric Hospital (WPH, Whitby, 1991). Adjunct professor at Sungkyul University (2002). Vice chair of Lay Pastors Ministry Theology Association (2008). Leader of PACE International Fellowship (2013). General Editor of Internet Encyclopedia of LPM (IELPM, since 2016)
Dictionary of Lay Pastors Ministry
Lay Pastors Ministry Expands Internationally
Meet our Director of the Lay Pastors Ministry in Korea, Rev. Byeong Chea, Seo.
On July 1, 1999, Mr. Seo opened his Lay Pastors Ministry office in Seoul, Korea.
Byeong Chea translated my book, Can The Pastor Do It Alone?, into Korean a few years ago and has been teaching it at Sungkyul Theological University in Seoul. He earned his M.Div. at McMaster University in Canada and is presently a Ph.D. candidate, Graduate Theological Foundation, USA which is conjunction with Oxford University, England.
Mr. Seo has divided Korea into six regions, appointing a Regional Director for each region. They are on a dated schedule for translating and printing many of our LPMI resources. Byeong Chea plans to attend our 11th conference on Pastoral Care of the Congregation by Lay People in St. Louis, Missouri, April 28-30, 2000.
October 1999
Melvin J. Steinbron
Byeong met Rev. Melvin through his first book, Can The Pastor Do It Alone? Once he came back to Korea from Canada, his home seminary asked him to teach pastoral care, especially with an English book. So he was looking for an English book on pastoral care. He tried to get it from many bookstores in Korea, but could not find it. Then he was looking at web-sites of theological schools and found one professor of pastoral care in Seoul then he went to the school, Asian Center for Theological Studies (ACTS), now it became a university. So he met Professor Ruth Elsner. He could not remember her name’s spelling exactly, because it was almost twenty-five years ago, in the year of 1995. Even though she is not there anymore. He tried to meet the professor again afterward, but not there. Anyway, she gave him the book, Can The Pastor Do It Again? (Copyright ⓒ 1987) once they meet each other, and said to him, “Korean church needs this book sooner or later.” He found this to be true much later. He assumed that she had been teaching with this book for many years in Korea, so she understood the weak-points of Korean churches even when they were grown up. Dr. Byeong has translated Rev. Melvin’s two books (1987 & 1997) into Korean and published (2001 & 2004)
Byeong had taught students with the book, and they gave me feedback surprisingly, “Korean churches need this book and this ministry, so please translate it right away into Korean language. We feel the urgency of this concept in Korean churches.” It was a shock to him, and some sense God’s calling toward him what to do for the rest of his life. Then he contacted Dr. Melvin, the author of the books, to get permission to translate and also to copy the English book itself. He had no idea at all about him and what he was doing. Just thought, he is a pastor at a local church. But soon he realized Rev. Melvin started this ministry at one local church many years ago, and now he is doing this ministry nationally and internationally already, which means for the entire of the United States as a founding president of LPM Incorporated. He was gladly permitted to translate and to copy original books as well, agreeing with what Dr. Byeong said, “Future of Korean churches is the present of seminarians’ hands.” So he has translated it also along with his second book, Lay Driven Church (Copyright ⓒ 1997). Both books were translated in 4 years and published thousands copies successfully, also copied 1,000 books on each English book itself, so used very well for nearly 20 years.
Facebook.com/melvin university
While Byeong was teaching with that book, he got feeling strongly and challenged for doing this ministry for churches in Korea, so he opened small Institute of LPM Korea at corner-room of one church where he belonged to, and he was working for this ministry as part-time because he was associated pastor so has to work for church ministry as well, and soon later he jumped into full-time ministry because too much demanded from many local churches so heI could not confine at one local church anymore.
He has determined to do this ministry as my life-ministry. So he helped approximately 200 churches with this ministry for nearly 20 years. He almost copied what and how the LPMI UAS were doing, so started easily and moved smoothly and was successful in my view-pint. You can look at more in detail how he has done this ministry in his first book, “Reflection of the Lay Pastors Ministry” which will be published in Kenya Africa in 2020.
As he worked for this ministry, it happened naturally to meet foreign students those who came to Korea for theological studies, so he has shared, studied one another of this ministry and trained them especially with PACE Equipping Manual which is developed by Dr. Melvin, and they agreed to its concept, philosophy, and training process, so they invited me to visit their countries, and thus he traveled many countries, equip them (pastors and laity as well) with this ministry. Through those opportunities he became accustomed to other countries, and finally he had helped to begin two Seminaries; one in Nagaland, India in 2015, another one in Kenya Africa in 2017. Both seminaries are running okay and doing their own tasks. Especially Seminary in Kenya is now shifted into university.
(Byeong’s Ministry Travels)
2000: St. Louis USA.
2001: Minneasota USA
2002: Pennsylvia USA. Romania. Thailand. Paskistan. Japan.
2004: Alabama USA
2005: New Jersey USA. OMSC New Haven
2006: Yale Divinity School. Houston Texas. Toronto Canada
2008: Kentucky USA. Calgary Canada.
2009: Yangon Myanmar.
2010: St. Louis USA.
2011: Cambridge University, and Oxford University
2012: Wycliffe College in Oxford
2015: Nagaland India
2019: Nagaland India
2020: Kenya Africa (December 23, 2020-April 25, 2021) GROUND BREAKING
2021: Kenya Africa (July 28 – August 25) INAUGURATION
2021: Kenya Africa (November 26, 2021-February 10, 2022) GRADUATION
2024: Kenya Africa (May 31-June 18) GRADUATION
