Until recently, Angela Jun, a 20-year-old second generation Korean, could be found sitting on the pews of the Korean American Church of Love, a church in Flushing, Queens of about 100 congregants. She had gone to the church with her grandmother and brother for a number of years and actively served as an officer of the Young Adult Ministry.

Despite being involved at church and trying to make things work, the fact that the sermons, praise, and discussions were all in Korean was too much for Jun. She decided that it was time to call it quits. “I did think and pray about it for a long time and I tried my best, but it didn’t seem to be working,” says Jun. She wanted to attend a church that understood her situation as an Americanized daughter of first generation Korean parents.

While many consider the idea of millennials leaving the church as a norm, it has been increasing at an alarming rate amongst second generation Koreans, especially in New York City, according to Pastor Ezra Sohn. Currently serving as the head pastor of Disciples NYC, a second generation Korean church in Bayside, Queens, Pastor Sohn is studying the role of Asian Americans Christians in New York City through a doctorate program at the Alliance Theological Seminary. He states that while only 20 percent of Koreans in Korea claim to be Christian, 70 percent of Koreans in New York City claim to be Christian. However, the most alarming percentage is that second generation Korean Christians leaving the church as they reach adulthood is estimated to be a whopping 90 percent.

First generation Korean churches, also referred to as immigrant churches, cater to a very specific audience; those who have come from Korea and are in need of community and help. Immigrant churches do a great job helping families obtain legal documentation, providing a form of spiritual community, and welcoming them with a sense of belonging.

However, as second generation Koreans are now growing up to be adults in New York City, they increasingly do not resonate with the same cultural expressions of the first generation Korean church. In response to this issue, a new breed of churches started by second generation Korean pastors have come to existence. These churches are now targeting a new group of people, the dechurched.

The difference between the first and second generation Korean church lies behind two main factors, the language and the culture. For starters, first generation Korean churches have services in Korean, while second generation Korean churches have services in English. However, cultural differences can get more complicated. For instance, organizational structure or social interaction.

To put one cultural difference into perspective, Pastor Sohn, who has worked at a first generation Korean church for 11 years, states, “[First generation] Korean churches are very hierarchical, almost to the point of being authoritarian,” as opposed to a more egalitarian approach from second generation Korean churches. While many first generation Koreans are used to position determining influence, second generation Koreans value democracy and the idea of everyone having a voice. Thus, the two sides clash in terms of organizational structure of a church hierarchy.

Churches like Disciples NYC found the need to reach out to second generation Koreans who struggled to find a church they could call home. Despite the fact that there is a seemingly overabundance of Korean churches in New York City, only recently have pastors found the need to focus on those who have left the church.

Wesley Han, 23, currently serves as the Director of Music at Disciples NYC. Han was invited to join Disciples NYC in March of 2014. He used to be an active member at the church, First United Methodist Church in Flushing (FUMC), a church in Flushing, Queens with over 200 congregants. FUMC used to have over 70 kids in the youth group (Grades 6-12) alone, up until around 2011. Many of the seniors who graduated from high school and the church youth group never made their way back into the church.

Han, a second-generation Korean Christians successfully transitioned into Disciples NYC, a church that he can comfortably call home. Filled with other second-generation Korean Christians, congregants of Disciples NYC gather every Sunday for their service. Disciples NYC’s mission statement states, “Disciples NYC is a church committed to cultivating discipleship pathways for Asian Americans to discover faith. Our community provides an alternative pathway to pursuing Jesus for those who have left the church.” The focus of Disciples NYC is to build lasting relationships and community amongst Christians.

A typical Disciples NYC service starts off with a worship session led by Han. Congregants gather in a circle and sing along with Han who leads the session with his guitar. Pastor Ezra then comes up and gives a message, although it is not uncommon to have guest speakers. Pastor Ezra often invites other pastors or Christian politicians like SJ Jung to come and bless the congregation. The service ends with a time of small group discussion and prayer. After the service is over, everyone makes their way towards the kitchen and enjoy the meals prepped by congregants before the service.

This is the kind of community and relationship Pastor Sohn wants to build and invite others to join. Despite the abundance of Korean churches in Queens, especially in the Bayside area, he finds that planting a church can only do good and help to reach more people. He explains, “I think church planting is the best way to spread the Gospel. When you start doing something new, you start to reach different types of networks and social circles.”