Yoido Full Gospel Church (hereafter YFGC) began with a makeshift tent church with five members on the suburban area of Seoul in 1958, and grew as the largest church in the world with the membership of 780,000 as of May, 2008 in fifty years. In the year of 2008, there had been a transition in the leadership of the church when its founder Rev. Yonggi Cho retired from his fifty-year ministry as the senior pastor of the church. Since Rev. Young-hoon Lee was elected and inaugurated as the new senior pastor of the church, twenty satellite churches of the church around the Great metropolitan area of Seoul?or Pastor Cho’s “disciple churches”?had become gradually independent from YFGC with 360,000 church members, and their full independence was granted to them in January 2011. Nevertheless, YFGC has continuously accommodated new church members so that the number of its congregation reaches over 480, 000 as of January, 2013.

01 The History of the Growth of YFGC

YFGC’s 50 years and more history may be divided into three periods. The first is the Pioneering Period of Daejodong Tent Church (1958-1961). Pastor Cho, then a fresh graduate from Full Gospel Theological Seminary, planted a church by raising a tent in a sesame field in Daejodong, a slum area in Seoul in May 18, 1958. The revival of the tent church was possible because of Pastor Cho’s Pentecostal ministry. As church members received the Holy Spirit and are healed from their illness, and the blessing was present in their life, more new members rushed into the church. In 1961, when the tent became too small to accommodate the increased members of the church, Pastor Cho moved the location into Seodaemun, which was not far from Daejodong and was closer to the downtown of Seoul.

The second is the Developing Period of Seodaemun Full Gospel Central Church (1961-1973). Pastor Cho established the Full Gospel Central Revival Center in Seodaemun (renamed as the Full Gospel Central Church in May, 1962) in October, 1961. Many incidents of healing, deliverance, signs and wonders appeared in Seodaemun Church just as in Daejodong. Such a powerful move of the Holy Spirit led to church growth. Church membership reached 8,000 in 1968, the tenth year after the planting of the church. Seodaemun church began to introduce an organizational system for a continual growth. Pastor Cho made cell organizations, which combine several families according to the residential place of all church members and organized cell leaders among laymen. Such cell organizations are still playing a role of basic organizations today. The Seodaemun period was the time when the rapid growth of the church was made in the combination of dynamic and stable care ministry with the Pentecostal movement through cell groups.

The third is the Expanding Period (1973-Present). Seodaemun Full Gospel Central Church decided to move to Yoido to accommodate the increasing church members in 1968. In 1985, YFGC’s membership reached 500,000. Around that time, YFGC built 20 campuses on the outskirts of Seoul as well as in its surrounding cities and equip them with satellite systems for simultaneous worship service. When Pastor Cho retired in 2008, YFGC had 780,000 members. After Young-hoon Lee elected the second senior pastor of YFGC in 2008, he made the campuses, or “disciple churches” as they are called at YFGC independent. This was approved of by the Church Steering Committee. It was a very peaceful process, although it decreased the membership of YFGC to 430,000. However, putting priority on evangelism as well as events like new life evangelical festival gave YFGC another momentum for growth. YFGC membership began to grow again and reached 480,000.

02 The Features of the Ministry of YFGC

The ministries of YFGC comprehend the works of the personal, individual salvation of the souls at home and abroad, of the training and education for the spiritual experience and maturity of the church members, and of the missions on the social dimension. Through the message of the holistic salvation, prayer movement, cell system, education for lay believers, it consistently conveys the gospel of the eternal life to the people in the world and to encourage the church members to have the consistent spiritual experience and to go forward to the spiritual maturity. Furthermore, it performs missions on the social dimension with the activities of diverse services and sharing.

2-1 Declaration of the full gospel message of the holistic salvation: The distinguishing elements of the Holy Spirit movement of YFGC are salvation of the spirit, faith centered on the word of God, experience of the Holy Spirit, and world evangelization. These are supported by the message of the holistic salvation of the fivefold gospel and the threefold blessing. The fivefold gospel consists of the gospel of salvation, the gospel of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the gospel of divine healing, the gospel of blessing, and the gospel of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The threefold blessing is based on 3 John 2 and describes the blessing that Christians receive by the work of the cross of Jesus Christ.

2-2 Prayer movement: One of the most emphases in YFGC is praying. YFGC has the time of praying with a cry in all services. Especially, the service on Wednesday and the prayer meeting on Friday night has the time of praying with a cry for 20 minutes and more with the laying on of hands in prayer by the pastors. Each large section of parish goes to the prayer mountain every month to hold the prayer meeting for the fullness of the Holy Spirit and concentrates on praying. This earnest prayer movement of YFGC operates as the channel of the power of the Holy Spirit, which gives a challenge to many churches in the world whose passion of praying cools down and whose time of praying is not as much long and enthusiastic as the time of praising.

2-3 Educational activities for lay people: YFGC has the systematic educational programs for the lay people and operates them. The Bible study programs are being operated by levels with the length of one year each level. Besides, diverse spiritual training programs with the length of short or medium term are prepared and conducted for the development of the lay people’s spiritual maturity.

2-4 Overseas Mission: YFGC has performed the mission of global evangelism based on the faith of the second coming of Jesus Christ. YFGC became the missionary country in support of numerous missionary societies aiming at missionary work targeting all continents and nations around the world. Currently, YFGC has 703 missionaries who are dispatched to nations around the world, and runs seven Theological Seminaries and one University.

2-5 Diverse activities of social services and sharing: YFGC’s mission engagement has always included social activities. YFGC concentrates on the reinforcement of the social service by complementing the social dimension to the teaching of the holistic salvation. Rev. Young-hoon Lee takes precedence of the enforcement of the budget of relief expenses most primarily since proceeding to his post as a senior pastor of YFGC.

1 Setting social agenda and raising Christian leaders:

YFGC founded The Kukmin Ilbo Daily in 1988 for the purpose of setting social agenda from the Christian worldview. This is one of the most conspicuous projects YFGC initiated for social salvation. The Kukmin Ilbo Daily has cooperated with various NGOs in its eorts for social transformation as well as been active in raising funds to help disaster areas in Korea and abroad. Another aspect of YFGC’s social involvement is education. YFGC contributes to raising Christian leaders for the 21st century through Hansei University, Full Gospel Youngsan Theological 30 Seminary, and Bethesda Christian University (California, U.S.A.).

2 Social welfare project:

YFGC established Elim Welfare Town in Gunpo-city, Gyeonggi-do in 1988, which is the largest welfare facility in Asia and began to implement the outreach program for the poor youth, and the elderly person with no one to rely on. YFGC has served the hungry neighbors by transcending borders, religions and ideologies through the UN aliated International NGO named “Good People” since 1999. The projects such as a medical clinic for children, health care through medical service corps, child protection through the aliation with a local center for children and the support programs for senior citizens who live alone, the handicapped and the child heads of household are performed in the domestic area. YFGC began to do surgery support business for the children with heart disease free of charge in 1984. In 1982, it established the Movement Headquarters for Sharing, and delivered the necessities to orphanages, nursing homes, urban slums, rural churches, and Sorokdo (a facility for Hansen’s Disease victims) across the nation. In 2003, it opened the Full Gospel Medical Center and carried out medical services to villages without doctors as well as foreign workers, the handicapped, rural churches. Besides these works, Free Civic College was established for helping the successful settlement of North Korean refugees. Currently, there are 15 convenience stores, which are run by North Korean refugees under the help of Free Civic College. Meanwhile, the footings of missionary work has been solidified through the support of educational facilities, drinking water, environmental amelioration, medical service and the establishment of hospitals towards the third world at abroad.

3 The support for North Korea for humanitarian reasons and the establishment of infrastructure in preparation for reunification:

YFGC has developed the support projects for North Koreans through Good People such as sending of corn seeds and fertilizers, meals for children, roasted and ground grains, and tuberculosis medicine. In 2007, Yonggi Cho Cardiologist Hospital was constructed in in Pyongyang for the treatment of children with heart disease. This can be the basis of reunification of Korea, going beyond the economic support in simple humanitarian dimension.