Rev. Dr. Walter Kim: Outcomes Conference 25 Highlight

Dr. Walter Kim and the Call ot be a Leader of Leaders

Dr. Walter Kim will take the main stage for the opening session on Wednesday, April 30th, at the Outcomes Conference 2025. We are grateful for his leadership and wise perspectives. We value and celebrate our shared passion for thriving Christian leaders.

A Faithful Journey

Dr. Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020. He has also served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church, churches in Vancouver, Canada, and Charlottesville, Virginia, and as a campus chaplain at Yale University.

He preaches, writes, and engages in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day. Dr. Kim regularly teaches at conferences and in classrooms. He actively addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions. Dr. Kim provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief and consults with various organizations.

Dr. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University.

Advancing God’s Work

Dr. Kim recently celebrated his fifth year of service at NAE. He remains dedicated to a call to advance the mission and vision.

• The NAE’s mission is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelical Christians.
• The NAE vision is a thriving evangelical community equipped to navigate complexity with biblical clarity.

As evangelicals, NAE believes the gospel should transform every aspect of our world, but it takes coming together to make that happen. That is why the NAE exists. It strives to strengthen its members, influence society for justice and righteousness, and gather the many voices of evangelicals together to be more effective for Jesus Christ and his cause.

The core conviction that NAE is to be an Influence for Good is central to everything we do at the NAE. Since 1942, the association has been uniting and mobilizing evangelicals in a common cause for the common good. Today, NAE represents 40 denominations and thousands of churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations that understand that we can do much more than alone together.

Christian Leadership Alliance President and CEO Tami Heim, CCNL, recently interviewed Dr. Walter Kim, President of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Here are highlights from this interview.

What guides your approach to leadership influence as NAE president?

It is very easy and often tempting to begin with the ‘what’ of leadership. Christian nonprofit leaders know the fundamentals of the role: funds must be raised, staff teams must be constructed, and strategic plans must be developed. While these concerns are vital, the most fundamental questions of influence for me are not what but who. Who is Christ to me, and who am I in Christ?

After healing of a man crippled from birth, Peter preaches a sermon that plunges him into deep trouble. The authorities imprison him and John, interrogating them: 

“By what power or what name did you do this?”

 Acts 4:7

Why were the disciples so bold, unashamed, and transparently confident? As the adage goes, ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know.’ The passage proceeds to recount, 

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” 

Acts 4:13

It was not the disciples’ pedigree or education that stood out. It was their association with Jesus. They had been with Jesus, and it showed.

To me, the most conspicuous characteristic of Christian leadership should be Christ. Of course, our leadership context (church, business, media, etc.) will determine how we will manifest Christ, but the who remains more enduring than the what.

How can evangelicals winsonely influence today’s culture?

In The Gospel and our Culture, Lesslie Newbigin proposed that “to affirm the gospel as public truth is to invite acceptance of a new starting point for thought, the truth of which will be proved only in the course of a life of reflection and action which proves itself more adequate to the totality of human experience than its rivals.” This effort is not a matter of bludgeoning others into acquiescence but of building a life together with a deep loyalty to others created in the image of God.

In a time of easy offense and angry tweets, sometimes evangelicals attack the very people we are called to evangelize. While the gospel as public truth must prophetically challenge society, the critiques should be tied to the command to love our neighbor. Even within a pagan culture, God called his people to 

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 

Jer. 29:7

This response is not a marketing ploy to improve the sullied image of evangelicals. It reflects a fundamental conviction about the way of Christ to persuade rather than bludgeon people into the kingdom (2 Cor. 5:11-21). 

How would you encourage Christian leaders pursuing Christ-honoring influence?

There will always be temptations to take shortcuts, but tenacity of Christ-honoring influence needs to be sustained over time. By this, I don’t mean stubborn, mulish inability to change our minds or adapt to our moment. We need godly grit, as encouraged by Paul: 

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” 

Gal. 6:9

Unfortunately, for an impatient, results-oriented culture, the proper time from God’s perspective may not be before the following report, within our five-year strategic plan, or even within our lifetime. But Scripture assures us that service in his name, by his Spirit, for the good of others and the glory of God will reap a harvest.

You can read this entire interview in Outcomes magazine.

A Special Invitation for You

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Today We Remember

When Jesus received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:30