Rev. Jae Duk Lew is a multi-cultural community-builder, scholar, and an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church since 2000. Jae has served as the Pastor of four churches in the Southern California area – serving Korean-speaking and English-speaking ministries. He is proud to have served the board of the California Pacific Conference for 8 years (2003-10). Overall, Jae’s approach to ministry is driven by a fundamental belief that God created each individual with honor and dignity.

Energized by his passion for local church ministry, Jae started his 25+ year career in ministry at Los Feliz UMC serving as a Youth Pastor, and then was commissioned to serve as the Associate Pastor at Riverside First UMC (2000-2003).  Since then, he has served as the Senior Pastor at Grace UMC (2003-2005), Covenant UMC (2005-2011), and Valley Korean UMC (2011-2022).  Most recently, Jae served as the Korean National Caucus President of the UMC (2019-2021). The throughline of Jae’s ministry has been and is his profound respect for people’s personal history and cultural backgrounds – always seeking to honor the experiences of others with compassion, sincere curiosity, and open-mindedness. 

Academically trained with a focus in the New Testament, Jae studies in the doctoral program at Claremont Graduate University with a focus in Christian Origin and New Testament studies. Through ministry, Jae also developed a deep appreciation and understanding of the Old Testament, Hebrew geography, and Hebrew culture. He began his higher education in South Korea, receiving a Bachelors in Economics from Seoul National University and a Masters in Theology from Yonsei University. In his free time, Jae enjoys traveling, particularly the land of the Bible and National Parks. When he’s not traveling, one might find Jae gardening and planting, worshipping and singing, keeping up with updates in English Premier League Football, and sharing with others his interest in spirituality and culture, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Greco-Roman culture and so on.

The spiritual journey of Jae’s life has been accompanied by his wife Yang. She loves God, enjoys singing praises, and plays the piano. Yang and Jae have three daughters. Whitney (30) is married to Jake Kim, living at Boston, serving the community as a mental therapist. Karen (26) is a consultant in corporate arena, living in South Pasadena. Shirley (23), the youngest, is finishing her one-year internship after college this summer at Boston as an assistant teacher, serving elementary school children in a low-income community. This summer Shirley will come back to her home in Sierra Madre, as she continues to explore her vocation and profession for her life.

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Sierra Madre United Methodist Church

695 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

Sierra Madre, CA  91024

626-355-0629 (Church Office)

sm_umc@verizon.net (Administrative Assistant)