During the month of October, Midwestern Seminary expressed their gratitude to the many pastors who faithfully serve their local church by providing encouraging resources, daily prayer guides, and a $10,000 giveaway package to one pastor, half of which was dedicated to a family vacation and the other half to a church need.
Throughout the month, church members from across the country completed interest forms to refer their pastors for the giveaway. Over 5,000 pastors and church members participated.
Midwestern Seminary recently announced the winner of the giveaway – Pastor McYoung Yang who serves Covenant City Church in the Twin Cities area. Yang received over 200 referrals from church members, each including notes sharing their love and appreciation for their pastor.
President Jason Allen said, “Pastoral ministry has its fair share of challenges. Pastor appreciation month can serve as a source of great joy and encouragement in the lives of pastors who are in the throes of ministry. That is why I am very thankful that we decided to offer this giveaway this year. I want to congratulate Pastor Yang! My prayer is that the vacation and church funds will serve him, his family, and his church well as they continue to make much of Jesus in the Twin Cities.”
Yang first heard about the giveaway on social media. He shared, “My wife and I are connected to Midwestern Seminary’s social media outlet on Facebook. It has been a great resource for us and our church family. Upon seeing the giveaway, our church family definitely got behind us. We are truly blessed!”
Covenant City Church is a church plant in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The church publicly launched in February 2021 and, by God’s grace, has experienced consistent growth.
Yang commented on his time at Covenant City, “As a newly formed church plant, we believe that God’s primary means for expanding his kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel is the local church. We want to dedicate ourselves to the building up of disciples who disciple for the sake of God’s glory.”
Covenant City Church is well connected to the Midwestern Seminary community as well. Not only is Yang a graduate and current Ph.D. student, but several staff members are also current students. Yang commented on the seminary’s influence in the life of the their church, stating, “We, Covenant City Church, are indebted to the vision, work, and ministry of Midwestern Seminary.”
Yang hopes the financial gift from the pastor appreciation giveaway will be used to extend God’s kingdom through their church.
“By God’s grace, Covenant City Church has shown tremendous faithfulness to the financial support of our vision and mission. With the consistent growth that we have seen comes the responsibility to shepherd the flock of Christ,” he said.
“Though there may not necessarily be one thing that the giveaway will be going toward, it will assist us in resourcing the church toward greater faithfulness. We have a few upcoming hurdles to clear as we move toward the next season of church planting. The giveaway will be a substantial support to the advancement of Covenant City Church.”
Regarding his hopes for a family vacation, Yang said, “It is our conviction that God’s primary means in advancing the gospel is through the local church. Our family’s desire is to sacrifice our lives toward that end. We would have never considered a vacation in this way without the support of the pastor appreciation giveaway. We are truly blessed!”
“We are not sure where we will go, but one thing is for sure – we will be leaving cold Minnesota to find ourselves somewhere warm and on a beach. It would be my delight to see my wife and children enjoy this gift; that alone would truly satisfy my heart. My only other wish would be to take our church family with us!”
As noted above, Covenant City Church submitted over 200 referrals for McYoung Yang in this year’s pastor appreciation giveaway. Each referral submitted a note expressing their love and appreciation for their pastor. A portion of the submitted comments are included below.
“Pastor McYoung has been vital to the growth and discipleship of the church through his preaching and teaching. He is truly a pastor at heart who loves God and His people.”
“As his pastoral colleague at Covenant City Church, I can testify to his selfless commitment to his family and church, his character that reflects our Lord’s heart, and his tenacious pursuit and love of the truth of God’s Word. Our church community and many others have benefited tremendously from his tireless and faithful work! This man deserves a getaway!”
“My husband McYoung is a diligent and faithful husband, father, student, pastor, and mentor. As his wife, I have seen him sacrifice, toil, and persevere all these 17 years of life together! We would love to see McYoung receive this personal renewal appreciation package. It would be a great financial resource in our new church plant of 2 years and also give our family a time together amidst the daily grind of life.”
To see more of Midwestern Seminary’s efforts to bless pastors in October, you can read through 31 Prayers for Pastors and the Pastoral Ministry Collection.
