06/03/2023

“The Word is amazing”, 280 churches in 15 countries replace church name with 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus'

[Cheonji Ilbo = Correspondent Hye-ji Lim] “If you do not know God's will and what is hidden in the Bible, how can you go to heaven? The Bible is being clearly testified through Shincheonji Church of Jesus...Where the Word is testified, many people will gather, and that is where we must learn the Word.”

The overseas growth of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Chairman Man-hee Lee, Shincheonji Church of Jesus), which is attracting attention for its special lectures on the prophecies and fulfilment of the Book of Revelation, is continuing despite the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

In particular, recently, 280 churches in 15 countries have changed their signboards to 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus'. Shincheonji Church of Jesus has continuously signed MOUs with churches outside South Korea, but this is the first time that an overseas church has requested a name transfer to 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus'.

According to Shincheonji Church of Jesus on the 6th, churches in 15 countries, including the Philippines, India, Madagascar, South Africa, Guatemala, Mexico, and Argentina, put the name 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus' on their signboards and requested further education from Shincheonji Church of Jesus. 

A total of 427 pastors belong to these churches, and the membership reaches 24,000.

The movement to put the name of another denomination on one's church signboard and teach the words of Shincheonji Church of Jesus began early this year upon the request of the head of a main church of a certain denomination in Madagascar.

“This denomination has no heart to care for its members and the church. I wish to revive the wounded souls of believers and the church.”

A delegation from the southern branch of a church denomination in Madagascar who visited Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Madagascar in January spoke these words and asked Shincheonji Church of Jesus for a name change of the church.

Then, they proposed to teach the Word to 5,000 members in 33 local churches.

In addition, it is reported that 33 churches in Uganda and 151 churches in India also replaced the signboards with the name 'Shincheonji Church of Jesus' engraved on them.

Overseas local pastors who pushed for the signboard replacement voiced their trust in Shincheonji Church of Jesus' interpretation of the Book of Revelation and its sincere teachings. 

“There is no one in Tanzania who testifies to the Book of Revelation and has never studied it at a seminary,” said a Tanzanian pastor. “I am truly grateful to be able to take classes at the Zion Christian Mission Center,” he said.

A pastor in India who replaced the signboard said, “No one told us to change the name of the church, but as we learned the Word, we learned that the Word of God comes from Zion and that God will also come to Zion. As this is the case, we (realised) must also become people of the new heaven and new earth.”

A pastor from Mexico exclaimed, “I came across the Shincheonji Church of Jesus seminar and felt the greatness of the Word.” At the same time, he said, “I emphasised to the members of my church that they must know this Word, and now we are learning the Word together. I am praying that the church I serve at will become Shincheonji Church of Jesus.”

Shincheonji Church of Jesus achieved exponential growth last year, producing a total of 106,186 graduates from the Zion Christian Mission Center. This is in stark contrast to major denominations that have suffered from a drop in membership since the pandemic.

After the pandemic, it was analysed that various seminars conducted 'online' and the operation of mission centers increased accessibility to the Word and interest increased.

In fact, the online seminar of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which was released on YouTube last year, including eight seminars by Chairman Man-hee Lee, was broadcast all over the world in 24 languages and recorded a total cumulative viewcount of about 20.98 million.

In particular, after the 100,000 graduation ceremony last year, interest in Shincheonji Church of Jesus has increased in overseas religious circles.

A person in charge of the overseas missions department at Shincheonji Church of Jesus predicts, “Not only Madagascar, but also requests for educational support and transfers from other countries have been on the increase since the 100,000 graduation ceremony of Shincheonji Zion Christian Mission Center held last year.” “This trend is expected to continue to accelerate.”

“The church in question is requesting that instructors be dispatched to teach directly, so they are selecting overseas dispatchers from South Korea and sending them overseas,” the official added.

Currently, the number of MOUs signed between Shincheonji Church of Jesus and churches has been 5,830 in 78 countries, of which 3,700 pastors are learning the words of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the church said.

2 comments: