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| On 12th October 2022, Cheonji Ilbo (Cheonji Daily) published an article in Korean, entitled, “'The 66 books of the Bible capture the hearts of pastors in Korea': 100 pastors this year sign MOU with Shincheonji to teach their congregations the Bible”. This is a translation of that report (Photo) Shincheonji Church of Jesus' Ki-won Lee, head of John tribe, is signing a memorandum of understanding with other churches to share the Word |
[Cheonji Ilbo = Reporter Hyeji Lim] The number of MOUs, signed with pastors in South Korea in the first year after Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Chairman Man-hee Lee) began to promote its MOU for the purpose of sharing the Word with other churches, has exceeded 120. Findings from a survey carried out on pastors of other churches have found that more than 90% of pastors were experiencing difficulties in ministry due to a lack of biblical teaching.
According to Shincheonji Church of Jesus, as of the 11th October, a total of 125 pastors in Korea have signed an MOU with Shincheonji Church of Jesus to teach the word of Shincheonji to their congregations.
Although this is a low number compared to the number of MOUs signed with overseas pastors that has already exceeded 3,000, the fact that about 10 pastors every month have signed an MOU with Shincheonji Church of Jesus in a religious climate where scepticism of Shincheonji Church of Jesus prevails, is being evaluated as of great significance.
Through signing the MOU, churches are confirming the validity of the Word with videos and materials provided by Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
The MOU signing between churches and Shincheonji Church of Jesus began with the proposal of 40 African pastors who attended the online seminar for pastors held in August 2021 under the vision, 'We Are One in GOD'. With this as an opportunity, on September 26 of the same year, an MOU was signed for the first time with the Uganda Pentecostal Church of God's Presence Worship. Since then, more than 3,000 agreements have been signed in 67 countries, confirming the high overseas interest in the message taught from Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
In religious circles in Korea, the atmosphere of “Let’s check” began to spread as pastors naturally encountered the online seminar series of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which were released through YouTube in 2021.
A pastor in Gyeonggi province, who has signed an MOU to teach this word, said, “I contacted Shincheonji Church of Jesus while listening to the Shincheonji Revelation seminar series on YouTube. The videos on the lectures of Revelation were so impressive that I listened to each chapter three times.”
The results of a survey carried out on pastors of other churches found that more than 90% of pastors were experiencing difficulties in ministry due to a lack of biblical teaching.
They evaluated the teaching of Shincheonji Church of Jesus as 'excellent' and 'systematic', and expressed their intention to deliver Shincheonji Church of Jesus' biblical teaching and receive help understanding the word in its entirety.
Among the sermons of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the overwhelming majority answered 'Revelation' as their favourite content. Moreover, after learning the Word from Shincheonji, they said that the biggest advantage was gaining a clear understanding of the entire Bible.
A pastor who is pastoring in Incheon said, “This is a logical and very accurate teaching of the Bible.” “The Bible knowledge we had learnt before now was like a frog in a well.”
A pastor in Seoul said, “God’s work differs in each era of the Bible, but in the end, what was best to understand is that God has been working as the Alpha and Omega from Genesis to Revelation. This is clear to see, and after listening to the Word, it was wonderful to be able to understand the 66 books of the Bible and the 6,000 years of its history at a glance.”
They also said that they would like to invite Shincheonji Church of Jesus lecturers to their church to preach the word to their congregations.
A pastor in Busan said, “I am planning to deliver sermons using the word of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, about which I am very hopeful.” Another pastor said, “When I preach, I often feel frustrated and find it very difficult to deliver the word as I don’t always understand it, but after hearing these words (of Shincheonji), I am overflowing with hope and joy. I want to pass this word on to my congregation members as well.”
An official from Shincheonji Church of Jesus said, “When the era of online evangelism began, what was certain is that many pastors were interested in the words of Shincheonji Church of Jesus. We hope that this will continue to be the case. The Word is God (John 1), and if we go into the Word, God and us can become one, and we can become one with the Word.”
Wow, it is amazing.
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