“To the Reformers, transparent glass allowed the illumination of what God has made plain in His Word,” said Sung. His design for the sanctuary included the silhouette of a cross created by a “shadow box” placed above and behind the dais. “The cross is incorporated, rather than applied, into the architecture. Symbolically, all of our worship is in the shadow of the cross of Christ.”

Sung also has a personal commitment to serving cross-culturally. “I went into architecture as a way of using my gifts to serve people,” he said. He and his wife, Nancy, lived and worked two years in China, and he has returned to Asia several times to provide professional and design services. Recently, he encouraged an employee to travel to Peru in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, to serve the local church as part of a design relief team. Team members proposed resettlement housing plans and evaluated structural damage to churches and community centers in the area. Another architect employee has just returned from a design trip to the Middle East to serve the indigenous church.

“Being an architect is satisfying because you get to see the fruition of your labor,” said Sung. “It’s tangible—you can skin your knee on it.”

He believes that God cares about our work. “Any work offered back to him is kingdom-building. It’s satisfying to be able to put expression to the enterprise of worshiping Christ and making the gospel known.”