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TechnoratiCho's family, described as hardworking, quiet and nice, did not regularly attend church, according to The Los Angeles Times, and they seemed unusually reclusive.
When Cho's parents turned to the church for help with Cho's emotional problems, he was bullied in his Christian youth group, especially by rich kids, according to Newsweek magazine.
Pastor Sang Mok Park of California Christ Community Church in La Habra says the confusion of the 1.5 generation identity is more serious than we think and that even churches do not offer them a place where they can fit in. The 1.5 generation kids either have to join the second generation ministry (English-speaking Korean Americans) or the first generation group (Korean-speaking immigrants).
As more Christian leaders are expressing concern that no one had seriously reached out to Cho, who committed suicide last week after killing 32 people, Lee from Bayside said he one day had discovered life was fair. It was the day he met Jesus. Someone had shared the Gospel with him and at that moment, Lee laid everything down before the Lord, he said. He discarded the complaints and hatred he had felt and began to live diligently.
He is now pastor of Bayside Presbyterian Church which draws some 1,000 members.
To Lee, Cho is not just a stranger or a madman, as some reports have described him. He is merely a rough reflection of the 1.5 generation kids who have not found true value. Churches, he indicates, need to reach out to them more.
