On Sunday, 12th November 2023, more than 108,000 students from around the world participated in the third of its kind record-breaking graduation ceremony after successfully completing a theological course presented by Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

The main ceremony was held at Daegu Stadium in South Korea and broadcasted live to hundreds of locations worldwide where thousands more graduates joined and participated.

In Southern Africa just under 3000 students graduated with 2322 from South Africa, 228 from Namibia, 67 from Zimbabwe, and numerous others from Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini. Local ceremonies were held in Cape Town, Gqeberha, Durban, Johannesburg, Windhoek, Harare, and many other Southern African metropolitan municipalities.

According to Shincheonji Church officials, this marks the third occasion in which more than 100,000 students graduate from the church’s Bible courses. Previously 103,764 in 2019 and 106,186 in 2022 graduated during similar ceremonies.

Amongst the students graduating were 6274 former and current Christian pastors and leaders from different denominational backgrounds. “My experience was so marvellous, because before I thought I knew the whole Bible, but now I came to know the revealed Word of God (Bible), which is the one that gives salvation,” said Pastor Philip Mathebula from Gqeberha.

Pastor Tjaheja Meroro added that, “It was a great honour to be among 108,084 students graduating today. It was well-organised and well-planned. I will invite lots of people to come and join this, because it’s a great event. But most importantly we study the book of God (Bible) to have peace in the world. If we don’t know the word of God then we have war in this world, but I don’t want that. I want peace. So here we are learning to have peace.”

To celebrate the ceremony, important figures from different fields of different countries, including a regional governor, a former Constitutional Court judge, a chairperson of a Buddhist council, an Imam, a vice chief monk of a royal temple, and a chief monk of a Buddhist temple.

In his congratulatory speech, ManHee Lee, the chairman of Shincheonji Church said, “God will witness our gathering. Let's strive to make a better world according to the will of God.”

The director of Shincheonji’s theological centre, Young-Jin Tan, urged graduates to take what they had learned and put it into practice to have a positive impact on their local community, saying, “Now, let us take the lead in healing the nations and achieving global peace.”

Jessica De Leuw, a graduate from Cape Town said, “Shincheonji is the only church where more than 100,000 saints gather annually to celebrate such a glorious occasion. This is truly a beacon of hope, especially in a world faced with so much turmoil, conflicts, wars, and disasters. So many people studied because the true Word is here, and God and Jesus are present. I sincerely hope that everyone will verify the Word and strive to become one within the Bible.”

During the graduation ceremony a 15-minute card section performance entitled “The New Testament Revelation testified by Shincheonji: The Events of Betrayal, Destruction, and Salvation” uniquely told the story of the entire chapters of Revelation in the Bible in a compressed form. Over 10,000 individuals took part in this card section receiving enthusiastic cheers and applause from the crowds.

Due to the large-scale nature of the event, great focus was placed on safety, security, and order. “We also placed significant emphasis on emergency response training, deployment of medical personnel, and the establishment of a medical system to prepare for cold weather and unforeseen circumstances,” the church said in a statement.