The city of Cheongju comes alive in preparing a welcoming procession and Sunday Service for Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and its founder, Chairman Lee.
CHEONGJU, KOREA, September 11, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — On the morning of September 8, 2024, Cheongju, in the North Chungcheong Province was bustling with activity as over 80,000 people (one-tenth of Cheongju’s population) gathered for a Sunday service at Cheongju Church of the Matthias Tribe. The 80,000 congregation, including local residents, visitors from across different cities in South Korea, key church figures and over 100 protestant-based pastors all came to hear the sermon by Chairman Lee Man-hee. The event coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Cheongju Church’s founding, making it particularly significant.
From early morning, multitudes of Shincheonji members lined up along a 4km route from the Cheongju IC to the church to welcome Chairman Lee, in order to hear his revered, clear explanations of biblical prophecies, including the Book of Revelation, which many theologians struggle to understand.
“I am grateful for Chairman Lee’s clear explanations of the prophecies and their fulfillment because this is something I had never experienced in my life as a believer”, one member had expressed. “I came to express my gratitude to him for teaching Revelation”.
In similar thought, Chairman Lee mentioned in his sermon “how thankful are we that God gave us the understanding of this Book of Revelation, that no one knew for 6,000 years”, and adding on that “this Word is life”. Chairman Lee emphasized the importance of a faith that completely aligns with the Word, describing that this is how we can become in unity with God.
“The biggest difference that we have is that we are able give the physical fulfillment [of the prophecy of Revelation]. In the past, we were the same as the people who did not know. This is why we must become humble before all people and explain what is right and help them to understand,” Chairman Lee added.
Lee consistently emphasizes the importance of scripture-based teachings since the founding of Shincheonji Church. In 2024, he visited more than 40 churches domestically and internationally, preaching the Bible and Revelation.
Many people who had felt spiritually unsatisfied prior, have now since turned to Shincheonji.
Recent data supports the growing trend of individuals seeking deeper spiritual guidance. A survey conducted on 1,000 churchgoers over the age of 18 in September 2023 by the Pastoral Data Research Institute showed that 65% of churchgoers in South Korea feel a spiritual thirst, and 55% expressed a desire for more structured biblical education from their pastors.
The greatest concern in the Korean Christian churches is the consistent decrease in the number of youth (20s to 30s) as they choose to leave religion. Shincheonji Church has seen increasing numbers of young adult members and, over 100,000 people completing an eight-month educational course every year. Shincheonji Church of Jesus explains the growth attributed from the “word-centered faith” and “uniqueness of the revealed Word”. This became the reason 100,000 graduations take place every year for Shincheonji, as many not just in Korea, but worldwide share a similar sentiment.
A Shincheonji Church of Jesus staff member stated, “the main takeaways from Chairman Lee’s revealed word is that the Book of Revelation that we thought as a fairytale is actually being fulfilled with its reality. In regards to this, Shincheonji Church of Jesus has a strong evidential proof and a structured curriculum, which becomes the reason why many people despite their background are accepting this”.
“Because this originates from the pastor who has seen and heard the physical fulfillment of the prophecies, we hope that believers would check and decide with a mature attitude,” he added.
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