Pastor Chang Kwon Kim was born in Tokyo, Japan on March 20, 1938, the fourth child amongst three sisters and five brothers. At the age of seven, his family moved back to Korea and lived in Boseong and Jeollanamdo. He later attended Korean Union College to study agriculture. He married In Ja Hong in 1969 and would become the father to Young (1970), Judy (1971), and Jenny (1975).
After immigrating to the United States in 1970, he would go on to study at Pacific Union College and Southern Adventist University, eventually earning a B.A. in Theology. Afterwards, he served as a pastor to a couple of congregations and was ordained to the gospel ministry. After retirement from the Knoxville Korean SDA Church, he moved to Southern California in 2016.
Pastor Kim is survived by his wife In Ja Kim, his three children—Young, Judy, and Jenny—and six grandchildren—Jocelyn (13), Arden (7), Alexander (5); and Kaleb (6); and Ethan (10), Gavin (6).