Bill MajorsThe long version
About Bill
Bill R. Majors — 매죠스빌리래이 — D.Min. Missionary, pastor, interpreter, author. In Korea since 1 June 1982.
I was born in Oklahoma on 8 November 1960, the year Korea threw out its first president. At thirteen, at a youth camp on the Texas–Oklahoma border that a church member quietly paid for, I told God I would be a missionary. I said it again at fourteen and fifteen and sixteen, the way you tell someone your name.
I landed at Gimpo on 1 June 1982, twenty-one years old, with nine hundred dollars and a one-way ticket. I was in Gwangju the next day and could not speak a word of Korean. Forty-four years later I have not left. I was not placed in a mission compound; I was placed in a Korean family, and then in an orphanage in Uijeongbu where I spent three years and learned to plant rice.
What followed was mostly other people. Nine years interpreting between Korean and English — Sunday mornings at Youngnak Church and the National Prayer Breakfast. A marriage to Ja-kyung ‘Niki’ Lyu on 31 October 1987. Fourteen years founding and pastoring International Worship in English at Youngnak, then Somang, then Sinchon. Fourteen years on the board and foundation of Seoul Foreign School. Six years teaching at Hanyang University. A year as a chaplain at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, sitting with Korean patients in the hardest week of their lives. Korean citizenship in 2012; Honorary Citizen of Seoul in 2005.
On my sixty-fifth birthday, 8 November 2025, I completed an eight-year plan and returned to full-time missionary work through CrossCulture Community Foundation. I am finishing an autobiography, working toward a permanent Bible museum in Korea, and still playing tennis — doubles.
Education
- D.Min. — leadership, counselling, narrative preaching · Talbot School of Theology, Biola University · 2015
- Clinical Pastoral Education, 4 units · MD Anderson Cancer Center · 2013
- Ordination track · Korean Presbyterian Theological Seminary · 1997
- M.A. Missiology — intercultural ministry · Dallas Theological Seminary · 1995
- B.R.E. Missions · Tennessee Temple University · 1982
- Korean Language Institute · Yonsei University · 1983
Ministry and service
- Founder and missionary · CrossCulture Community Foundation · 1982 – present
- Pastor · Sinchon Church International Congregation · 2017 – 2025
- Pastor · Somang Church English Worship Service · 2015 – 2017
- Founding pastor · International Worship in English, Youngnak Church · 1998 – 2012
- Chair, Seoul Foreign School Foundation · 2014 – 2022 · Trustee and secretary · 2007 – 2013
- Adjunct professor · Hanyang University Graduate School of Education · 1996 – 2002
- Simultaneous interpreter · Youngnak Church and the National Prayer Breakfast · 1988 – 1997
- Asia Regional Director · CBMC International · 1988 – 1989
- Missionary · Hwarang and Soongsin orphanages, Uijeongbu · 1984 – 1987
- Co-founder · AIM, Association of International Ministries · 2004 – present
Recognition
- Dual citizen — United States and Republic of Korea · 2012
- Honorary Citizen of Seoul · 2005
- National senior doubles tennis champion, Daejeon and Wonju · Gold League · 2025
- Student Missions Fellowship service award · Dallas Theological Seminary · 1994
Languages
- English (native) · Korean (fluent) · American Sign Language (fluent)
Writing
- The Half Apple / 반쪽 사과 — memoir, 2026 · English paperback and ebook, Korean ebook
The full curriculum vitae is available on request.