Dear NCTC Partners,

Warm greetings in Christ as I share our August Partner Letter with you.

Throughout this year, the Lord has repeatedly impressed one truth upon my heart during my personal prayer time, meditation on the Word, and throughout the process of preparing for healing meetings and teaching ministry in Korea and the United States. From July 30 through August 2, we held our 2026 NCTC Korean Conference here in Dallas. Because the conference was conducted in Korean, many of our English-speaking partners were not able to receive the message that the Lord had placed on my heart. I wanted to take this opportunity to share it with you through this month's Partner Letter. It is a message the Lord has been speaking to me throughout this year, and I pray it will encourage and strengthen you as it has me.

We all desire to know the will of God. We want to discover the plan and purpose He has for each of our lives. We want to fulfill the calling He has given us and live in a way that expands His Kingdom. We desire that God would use us to bring life to many people and that our lives would become channels through which His glory is revealed. These are precious desires that God Himself has placed within us. However, this year the Lord reminded me again of something very important.

Our first calling is not to accomplish God’s purpose, but to love God Himself.

At times, we can become so focused on accomplishing God’s will that we lose sight of God Himself, the One who gave us that will. We can do many things for God while our love relationship with Him gradually grows cold. We may be diligent in seeking His plan, while our hunger for God Himself becomes weaker. But God always looks at our hearts before He looks at our works. He does not first look at how much we are accomplishing. He first looks at how much we love Him.

When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He did not say, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” He did not say, “Heal the sick,” “Cast out demons,” or “Preach the Gospel.” He first said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. God desires that our calling and ministry flow out of our love for Him. Ministry that is carried out without love for God will eventually have to be sustained by our own strength, but ministry that begins from a heart that loves God becomes a channel through which His life and power can flow.

We all confess that we love God, and we sincerely desire to love Him. Yet this year, as the Lord examined my heart, He asked me one question.

“Do you really want Me, or do you want what I can give you?”

That question caused me to examine my heart again. When we look more deeply within ourselves, there are times when our hearts are drawn more toward what we can receive from God than toward God Himself. We want our problems to be solved. We want breakthrough in our lives. We want healing, provision, and prosperity. We want to know God’s will, fulfill our calling, and be greatly used for His Kingdom. Of course, these are all things that please God, and they are things He desires to give us. But the Lord asked me again,

“Do you love Me more than all of these?”

That question changed the direction of my prayers this year. Recently, the prayer I have been praying most often is not a prayer for greater power or greater fruit in ministry.

“Father, at this very moment, I desire to love Jesus more than at any other time in my life.”

I believe the Lord desires not only me, but every believer, to pray this prayer. Even today, God is not looking for people who come to Him only to receive something from Him. He is looking for people who love God Himself above everything else. Upon such people, He pours out His holy fire and shapes them into vessels that carry His glory.

God First Purifies Those He Loves Through His Fire

If the first thing God desires from us is our love for Him, what does He do next? He brings us before His holy fire. The Bible declares, "Our God is a consuming fire." God is not merely a God who sends fire; His very presence is revealed as fire. Throughout Scripture, wherever God's presence was manifested, fire was always present. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. He led the Israelites through the wilderness with a pillar of fire. Fire came down from heaven on Mount Carmel. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of fire. Whenever God draws His people near, His holy fire accompanies His presence.

However, God's purpose in sending His fire is not simply to give us a powerful spiritual experience. We often think of the fire of God only as a symbol of power, but throughout the Scriptures, His fire first appears as a fire that purifies. Before God entrusts us with His work, He prepares us to become vessels that can carry His glory. Isaiah chapter 6 beautifully illustrates this truth.

In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord seated upon His throne, high and lifted up. The seraphim continually cried, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts," and the temple was filled with His glory. What is remarkable is that when Isaiah encountered God's glory, he did not first see his calling—he first saw his own condition.

"Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips..." (Isaiah 6:5)

In the presence of God's holiness, we can no longer hide behind ourselves. The brighter His light shines, the more we begin to see—not the faults of others—but the places within our own hearts that have not yet been conformed to Him. This is the first work God's presence accomplishes within us. Then one of the seraphim took a live coal from the altar and touched Isaiah's lips, saying,

"Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged."

What is important here is the order. Only after Isaiah was cleansed did God say, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"

God purified him first. Then He sent him. He made him holy before He entrusted him with His assignment. Throughout this year, the Lord has continually brought me back to this passage. We often pray for greater ministry, greater influence, or greater opportunities to be used by God. Yet before God enlarges our assignment, He first enlarges our hearts. He is more concerned with our holiness than our gifts, more concerned with our love for Him than our accomplishments.

That is why God's fire is not a fire of condemnation. It is a fire of transformation. It burns away everything that competes with our love for Him. It consumes our pride, our self-dependence, our fear, and every selfish ambition that keeps us from fully reflecting Christ. Those who pass through God's holy fire no longer live for their own glory. They become vessels that carry the glory of God.

After experiencing God's cleansing fire, Isaiah was finally able to respond, "Here am I! Send me."

God still works in the same way today. He calls those who love Him, purifies them through His holy fire, and then sends them to accomplish His purpose.

How Can We Keep the Fire Burning?

Many believers have experienced the presence of God. Some encounter Him during a conference, others during a prayer meeting, and still others while reading His Word or spending time in worship. Yet as time passes, that first passion often begins to fade. Why does this happen? This year, the Lord asked me a question that I have continued to meditate on.

"Do you simply want to experience My fire, or do you desire to remain in My fire?"

God's desire is not for us to have only occasional encounters with His presence. His desire is that our entire lives remain in His presence. If that is true, then how do we continue to live in the fire of God? The Lord brought me back to Deuteronomy 30.

"...that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life..." (Deuteronomy 30:20, NKJV)

As I meditated on this passage, I realized that God Himself gives us the pattern for a life that continues to burn with His fire.

First, love the Lord your God.
Everything begins with love. When we truly love God, spending time with Him is no longer a duty—it becomes our greatest delight. Prayer is no longer something we feel obligated to do. Reading His Word is no longer another spiritual discipline to complete. We simply desire to be with the One we love. That is where the fire continues to burn.

Second, obey His voice.
Love is always expressed through obedience. We cannot say that we love God while ignoring His Word. As we listen to His voice and walk in obedience, His Word continually renews our minds, corrects our direction, and aligns our hearts with His heart. The fire of the Holy Spirit is sustained as we continue to walk in His Word.

Third, cling to Him. (depend on Him)
Every one of us depends on something. Sometimes we depend on our experience, our abilities, our finances, or even the people around us. But God calls us to depend on Him alone. To cling to God means choosing every day to remain connected to Him. Just as a branch receives its life by abiding in the vine, we continue to receive His life and His fire as we abide in Christ.

These three principles cannot be separated. The more we love God, the more we desire to hear His voice. The more we hear His voice, the more we walk in obedience. The more we obey Him, the more we learn to depend on Him. And the more we depend on Him, the deeper our love for Him becomes. I believe this is the spiritual cycle God has been restoring in my own life throughout this year. Because of this, my prayers have become much simpler than they used to be. Rather than asking God to enlarge my ministry or increase my influence, I find myself praying one simple prayer again and again.

"Father, at this very moment, I desire to love Jesus more than at any other time in my life."

This is not simply an emotional prayer. It is a decision. A decision not to love ministry more than Jesus. A decision not to love God's blessings more than God Himself. A decision to treasure the Giver above every gift. I believe God continually renews His holy fire upon those whose hearts are fully set on loving Him above everything else. God is not looking for people who burn brightly for a moment. He is looking for people who will love Him, walk with Him, and carry His holy fire for the rest of their lives.

God Is Still Sending People Who Carry His Fire

God has always chosen to accomplish His work through people. He calls those who love Him, purifies them through His holy fire, and sends them to fulfill His purpose. Throughout the Bible, every move of God began with men and women who first gave themselves completely to Him. Even today, God continues to reveal His life and power through those who love Him above everything else.

As I have prayed throughout this year, I have become convinced that this message is not only something the Lord has been speaking to me personally, but it is also one of the directions He is giving to our ministry. Our goal is not simply to hold larger conferences or expand our ministry activities. Above all, we desire to raise up men and women who truly love God and carry His holy fire wherever they go. When those people are raised up, healing will follow, lives will be transformed, the Gospel will be confirmed with power, and the Kingdom of God will continue to advance. I believe this is what the Lord desires to accomplish through NCTC.

Dear Partners,

we are able to continue this mission because of your faithful prayers and partnership. As I shared in one of our previous Partner Letters, the Bible teaches that those who participate in the work of the Gospel through prayer and giving are not simply supporters of a ministry. They become fellow partakers in the grace of this Gospel ministry. Paul told the believers in Philippi that they had become partners with him in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. Their giving was used to advance the Gospel, and they became partakers in the fruit that God produced through Paul's ministry.

I believe the same spiritual principle is still at work today. Every prayer you offer for this ministry, every seed you sow, every act of faithful partnership becomes part of what God is accomplishing through NCTC. When someone hears the Gospel, when someone is healed, when someone's life is transformed by the power of Jesus Christ, you also share in that eternal fruit. That is why I continually pray that your heavenly account will abound with fruit. May the Lord richly bless every seed you have sown, and may His grace continue to overflow in every area of your life.

From August 16 through August 29, I will be traveling to Brazil for our next mission trip. During those ten days, we will minister in seven churches, conducting healing services and leadership training. Please pray with us that many people will come to know Christ, that the sick will be healed, that leaders will be strengthened, and that each local church will be firmly established in God's Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit. We would also appreciate your prayers for God's protection throughout every part of our travels and for His wisdom and guidance in every meeting He has prepared.

Finally, I would like to pray for each one of you.

Father,

Thank You for restoring in us a heart that loves You above everything else.
Thank You for drawing us back to our first love.
Thank You that each of our partners is growing deeper in Your Word,
learning to depend on You more each day, and becoming a vessel that carries Your glory.
Thank You for continually renewing us through Your holy fire
and using our lives to reveal Jesus wherever we go.
I also thank You for every partner who faithfully stands with this ministry
through prayer and financial partnership.
I declare that abundant fruit will abound to their account,
that You will supply all their needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus,
and that Your grace will overflow in their spirit, soul, body, family, and work.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Pastor Paula and I remain committed to faithfully fulfilling the calling the Lord has entrusted to us. Thank you for standing with us in prayer and partnership as we continue to train New Creations, raise up soul winners, and proclaim the Gospel to the nations.

May the Lord richly bless you and your family.

Pastor John K. Cho & Paula Kim
New Creation Training Center (NCTC)
August 5, 2026