CHICAGO, IL (January 9, 2015) — Bob and Grace Shim have been named the new Asia Regional Coordinators for Covenant World Mission. Curt Peterson, executive minister of Serve Globally announced the decision today. They will begin their assignment on September 1.

The Shims currently serve as long-term missionaries in Thailand. Bob is the country coordinator for Covenant mission in Thailand. A physician, he has worked in public health and recently has been involved in multiple agriculture and livestock projects with the Sustainable Development Research Foundation.

Grace is the co-director of Cornerstone Counseling Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and involved in member care ministries for missionaries throughout Asia. She will continue her work with Cornerstone in addition to responsibilities as regional coordinator.

Peterson praised their approach to ministry, saying, “Bob and Grace are constant learners and receive gladly what God is revealing through the many cultures in which Christ is made known. They are encouragers, and they empower and release others in ministry and service.”

The Shims moved to Central Asia in 2003 and worked for six years to share the gospel among Muslims.

Bob’s desire to be a missionary was stoked when he was a young boy. His family moved from post-war Korea to South America when he was five years old, and he began attending a Korean immigrant church. At the age of eight, having been impacted by the testimony of missionaries, he made a commitment to someday be a missionary himself.

Grace grew up in a Christian home, and her father was a pastor. During college, she attended a conference for Korean leaders and later recalled, “My eyes were opened to the need for the gospel beyond my sheltered college walls. I began to see God’s heart to reach the lost, and the lack of resources available to accomplish this task. I heard missionaries whose testimonies gripped me and began to ask if God would have me on the mission field someday.”

The Shims will continue to live in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They will be on home assignment from June through August prior to assuming their new responsibilities.

Nancy Jo Hoover will continue to serve as Asia Regional Coordinator until the end of August.