Hundreds of people packed the rooftop venue of the new Source Mall and Entertainment Center this week as they anxiously waited for famed Gospel singer Hyung Jin Shim to perform a summer concert. The three-hour long performance had people jumping out of their seats and dancing through the aisles. Dedicated fans and Christian worshipers threw their hands into the air and waved their lit-up cell phones in unison, shining across the city’s skyline .
“Seeing Jesus Christ’s people come here to worship Him is amazing,” said Don Yang with a smile, as he tried to speak over the rock and roll rifts. “And it is not even just South Korean people. Look at the crowd. It is every kind of believer from many different cultures. We are all coming together as one body for Christ.”
Shim is a worship leader at Yang’s home-church in Irvine. The church is called Onnuri and Yang has attended their services for two years.
The weather was amazing as the concert commenced outdoors under the night sky. Shim’s crew handed out free drinks to the crowd as he stopped briefly to say a few prayers. Shim then got the crowd rallied up as he shouted for them to all jump up and down and to throw their hands up to the sky once more. The spectators screamed with excitement and joy. The crowd soon went wild again as Shim started to hit some more hardcore rifts and played more songs.
“As you can see, Shim has a passion for praising the lord Jesus Christ,” Yang said. “He expresses his love for God in every song. Jesus Christ is very important to him, and praising Christ is a divine experience that he wants to share with everyone here tonight.”
Yang said that praising Jesus is not just about church because church is just a building. One can praise, give thanks, or call upon the name of the Lord from any venue, anywhere, and at any time. According to Yang, Christ is omnipresent and is always with those who do right and who love him.
Mothers, fathers, and their babies stormed the dance floor of the Gospel concert and started teaching their children to dance and praise. One of the mothers who took her children to hit the dance floor was Jennifer Choi, who is also a member of Onnuri Christian Church in Irvine.
“I was raised as a Christian and it is very important to learn to worship him,” Choi said. “This is what I am teaching my babies now. I want my babies to know that our purpose in life is not this life itself. We are part of something bigger and far more important. When we believe in Jesus Christ, our life will be better. Through him, we have hope for a future. When we have struggles in this life, all that we need to do is pray. Christ always finds a way to answer us through the Holy Bible. For me, Christ is my strength and hope. He provides me with love.”
Choi sees Shim as a very inspiring and charismatic singer. She has heard him sing before in her church’s Sunday worship team, and is now visiting different venues and seeing him in concert.
“I believe that events like this will bring people to know Jesus Christ,” Choi said. “People will learn to feel Him in their hearts, to feel His love, and will maybe gather the courage and curiosity to finally come to church. People need to realize that Jesus Christ has a very important plan for all of you.”
Shim explained that finding one’s true purpose and Christ-given calling is not something that God reveals overnight. He said that it is a lifelong process that takes time.
“Jesus is my Lord and Savior,” Shim said. “He is the sole reason as to why I worship. I also give thanks to my parents, because they are the ones who [raised] me up in a Christian household. It was 20 years ago while I was in high school that Christ gradually revealed this journey to be my true calling.”
Shim said that he was inspired by contemporary Christian artists when he was growing up and learning how to play instruments.
“My biggest influences growing up as a child were Chris Tomlin, Bethel Music, and Korean Christian Group Y-WAM,” he said.
Shim first found out about The Source Mall and Event Center about a month ago when the Source’s manager contacted his crew about a possible concert at the venue.
“The manager here contacted my agent, and sent me an email,” Shim said. “He told me that he, too, was a Christian believer, and had been interesting in my music for a long time. We came together to make this event happen.”
Shim said that he loves the city of Buena Park and plans on doing many more concerts in the city in the future.
“I love your town,” he said. “I can see how good of a place it really is. I love the weather, the people are friendly and know a lot about music, and you have incredible food here. There is so much variety. I already asked my agent and team to plan a second concert here in the future. We already have a setup for an outdoor Christian praise event in August of this year. I am excited to come back and to perform for all of you. I want people to know who Jesus Christ is, and I want for others to worship him together in unity.”
“Hopefully, concerts like this will open people’s hearts,” Yang said. “Maybe just by hearing Shim sing people with decide to come to church, open up the Holy Bible, and will let Jesus Christ into their life. Christ can work through something as simple as a rock star’s concert to reach new people. It can open people’s hearts.”
Shim is set to make a return to The Source Mall and Entertainment Center in August. He invites all Southern California residents to come on down, enjoy some music, and have some fun for the whole family.
