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40-709: In May 1977, the church was founded at the Santa Lucia neighborhood in Ilopango, El Salvador, by Sergio Daniel Solórzano Aldana. following an evangelistic campaign conducted on May 28, by Dr. Othoniel Rios Paredes, pastor of Elim Christian Mission in Guatemala. A total of nine people witnessed the founding of the Elim mission in El Salvador. In 1983, the mission in El Salvador separated from that of Guatemala over doctrinal disagreements. Due to

80-596: A Sunday church service was featured in a BBC documentary Around the World in 80 Faiths . In 2008, Young Hoon Lee became senior pastor. In 2020, the Church had 480,000 people in Seoul. Yoido Full Gospel Church has established many ministries as part of its outreach program, both locally and internationally. A representative sample of them follows: Yoido Full Gospel Church has sent missionaries to countries worldwide, spreading

120-402: A cell-based church, a Women's Fellowship was started in 1960, followed by a Men's Fellowship in 1963, to enable lay members to serve the church in a wide range of volunteer capacities. Membership continued to grow rapidly, reaching ten thousand in the early 1970s. Having outgrown its Seodaemun premises, the church began looking for a new place to build. Yeouido (Yoi Island), in the middle of

160-729: A choice of four occupations. In 1988, he founded newspaper company, Kukmin Ilbo . He was Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship from 1992 to 2000 and did not pursue another term, and had served as Chairman of the Korean Christian Leaders Association since November 1998. In February 1999, he began serving as Chairman of the Good People charity organization. In 2008, Cho retired, with Young Hoon Lee succeeding him as senior pastor. Cho died on 14 September 2021 at

200-495: A figure that doubled in only two years. A special worship service was held to celebrate this milestone, with Demos Shakarian , President of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International as the guest speaker. Beginning in the 1980s, Full Gospel Central Church decided to establish satellite churches throughout the city of Seoul and further afield, as it would not be able to keep on expanding indefinitely. Despite

240-514: A lawsuit by South Korean prosecutors. The prosecutors began an investigation of Cho's alleged embezzlement of 23 billion won ($ 20 million USD) from the Yoido Full Gospel Church's funds. A national broadcaster, MBC , released a documentary that claimed the money had been used to buy properties for Bethesda University in Anaheim, California , United States, which Cho founded. In 2014, Cho

280-539: A major operation and a subsequent discharge from the army. Although ill, Cho continued to pastor the church, and on 15 October 1961, an inaugural service was held in the new auditorium that had been built on the plot of land the church had purchased at Seodaemun. It was named the Full Gospel Revival Center. Church membership continued to grow, reaching three thousand by 1964 and eight thousand by 1968. Cho continued to be plagued by ill health, and he suffered

320-520: A non-prosecution because there was "no suspicion." Young Hoon Lee, who has served as the senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church since 2008, sparked controversy on May 16, 2023, when he attended the opening ceremony of the Liberty Korea Party 's headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. During the event, he urged attendees to support Jeon Kwang-hoon in his call to "eradicate communist reds,"

360-534: A phrase now regarded as outdated propaganda. The controversy is heightened by the fact that Jeon, whom Pastor Lee supported, has previously made statements like "God, Freeze!" which are seen as blasphemous by the Christian community. Additionally, Jeon has already been labeled a "heretic" by mainstream Protestant groups in South Korea. The incident has drawn criticism, as it appears that the leader of Korea's largest church

400-424: A physical collapse while leading a baptismal service one Sunday. In 1967, Cho decided to restructure the church. Cho divided the city of Seoul into zones, with church members in each zone comprising a "cell" that would meet on a weekday for worship and Bible study in the home of a "cell leader." Cell members were encouraged to invite their friends to attend cell meetings to learn about Jesus Christ. Each cell leader

440-575: A presidential candidate of these in the 2009 elections. That application is not supported by the authorities the church and again puts the Elim church in the foreground in the country, but later his candidacy is withdrawn. Yoido Full Gospel Church Yoido Full Gospel Church ( Korean :  여의도 순복음 교회 ) is a Pentecostal church affiliated with the Assemblies of God on Yeouido (Yoi Island) in Seoul , South Korea . With about 480,000 members, it

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480-406: A trade. At the same time, he began frequenting an American army base near his school, and learned English from soldiers whom he befriended. He mastered English quickly, and became an interpreter for the commander of the army base and the principal of his school. Raised initially as a Buddhist , a visit from a Christian girl led Cho to convert to Christianity at the age of 17, before he

520-508: A vigorous campaign of knocking on doors, providing spiritual and humanitarian help to the poor, and praying for the sick. Within months, the church had grown to fifty members, too many to accommodate in Choi Ja-shil's living room. Worship services were accordingly moved to a tent pitched in her backyard. As the church continued to grow over the following months and years, the church outgrew one tent after another. Pastor Cho began preaching on

560-473: Is publicly endorsing a figure deemed heretical by many within the faith. In November 2013, the Church Reform Prayer Meeting exposed allegations of an affair involving David Yonggi Cho, revealing that Cho had allegedly given 1.5 billion won to Jeong Gwi-sun, author of the novel Butterfly Lady of Paris, as hush money. Despite forming a 'Church Investigation Committee,' the inquiry did not address

600-497: Is the largest Pentecostal Christian congregation in South Korea. Founded by David Yonggi Cho and Choi Ja-shil in 1958, the church is presently led by Young Hoon Lee . The church has several satellite locations throughout the city of Seoul. The current building, relocated in 1973, was constructed by Sampoong Construction Industries, the company that built the Sampoong Department Store . The Yoido Full Gospel Church

640-479: Is the spiritual and administrative guidance of the congregation, also a council of elders who collaborates with the local pastor or leader or principal in local projects, their system of government is autonomous and each church is therefore self-financing and self-propagate. Pastors meet quarterly akin to be encouraged by the preaching of pastor accountable while cell growth obtained in these three months. Internally each congregation to develop two types of service area:

680-755: The Dharma hall of Donghwasa Temple on 20 August 2012. The pastor was caught on CCTV urinating in the Dharma hall and vandalizing the Buddhist portraits with a permanent marker. On 20 February 2014 Pastor Cho and his son (Hee-jun) were convicted of embezzling US$ 12 million in church funds. The presiding judge once told Cho, "We know that this case is not your problem. You just need to blame it on your son, then you will have no responsibilities," Cho wrote, adding that Cho refused, "My son can be unrighteous to me, but I cannot be unrighteous to my son." In June 2016, this incident became

720-485: The Han River which winds its way through the heart of Seoul, was at that time little more than sand dunes, without even a bridge to connect it to the city of Seoul. Believing that he had heard from God, Cho and the other leaders of the church decided to purchase a plot of land on Yoi Island, directly across from Korea's National Assembly . Economic problems, including the 1973 "oil shock," which led to spiraling inflation and

760-523: The "Fivefold Gospel," "Triple Blessing," and the Holy Spirit movement. Overseas missions officially began in 1964 with Pastor Cho Yong-gi's mission work in the United States and have since expanded across continents. Today, the church has sent 657 missionaries to 63 countries, establishing 1,218 churches and guiding over 140,000 people in faith. A pastor from Yoido Full Gospel Church named Seong vandalized

800-493: The Church had 50,000 people. Elim Christian Mission International is run by a global spiritual Directive, a Council of Ministers (acting as an advisory and consultative body) people led by Mario Vega, who in turn is the senior pastor of the church in San Salvador, so practically it is the highest authority of the mission not only locally but internationally speaking. Each church subsidiary or daughter, has at least one pastor who

840-483: The Three-Fold Blessing (the blessing of the spirit, soul, and body), proclaiming that physical health and financial prosperity are as much a part of God's will for Christians as the salvation of the soul. Inspired by his message of hope and monetary wealth, many previously uncommitted people joined the church, and by the beginning of 1961, membership had grown to a thousand. Having grown too large for its tent,

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880-462: The affair allegations, leaving many questions unanswered. Jeong Gwi-sun, identified as the alleged mistress, supported David Yonggi Cho. In January 2014, Jeong Gwi-sun claimed that the controversial book was fictional and unrelated to Cho, and sued six elders from the prayer meeting. On February 14, Jeong Gwi-sun publicly apologized to the Korean church, Yoido Full Gospel Church, Rev. Cho, and its members for

920-459: The age of 85 due to complications from a stroke. In March 2011, Cho became a subject of controversy when he reportedly made comments suggesting that the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami "could be a warning from God to Japan, which has become an increasingly materialistic, secular and idol-worshiping country." However, as the context of the interview was distorted, a text of apology was announced by The News Mission. In September 2011, 29 church elders filed

960-467: The church opened a radio station named "Radio Restoration" which became one of the country's top religious radio station ever since. In 1988, the attendance rose to 20,000. In the mid 1990s Pastor Solorzano experienced a spiritual crisis in his personal life that resulted in the naming of a new senior pastor to look after MCEI. Solorzano eventually overcame his doubts and went on to establish another congregation called "La Palabra Viva" (The Living Word) in

1000-424: The church purchased its first plot of land, at Seodaemun . The church's plans for expansion suffered a setback when Pastor Cho was called up for mandatory military service. Fortunately for the church, he was assigned to an American Army base near Seoul, allowing him to continue with his Sunday preaching, with the help of John Hurston, an American missionary. Cho's spell in the army was short, as ill-health required

1040-533: The church who were driving a private bus after a religious service were drifting down the river in the Salvadoran capital Acelhuate 31 people died. This fact shocked the Salvadoran society and reopened a debate about the care of the environment and the status of risk mitigation works. In August 2008 one of the members of the council of elders elected by the National Conciliation Party of El Salvador as

1080-469: The complicated nature of changing the official name of the church in the midst of civil war, the church retained the name "Misión Cristiana Elim de El Salvador", which still holds until today. The church in Guatemala changed its name to "Partners Area Elim Ministries" and later "Elim Ministries". In 1985 the church in San Salvador had about 3,000 people. Elim decided to develop the prayer cell concept of Yoido Full Gospel Church , South Korea. On July 13, 1986,

1120-426: The controversy. David Yonggi Cho David Yonggi Cho ( Korean :  조용기 ; 14 February 1936 – 14 September 2021 as Paul Yungi Cho) was a South Korean Pentecostal Pastor . He was the founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church ( Assemblies of God ), which he started in a tent with 5 people (including his future mother-in-law Choi Ja-shil and her children as its first members), which eventually became

1160-526: The expansion of the auditorium to seat 12,000 in 1983, seven Sunday services were insufficient to accommodate the entire membership. In 1993, with 700,000 members, the Yoido Full Gospel Church, was the world's largest congregation recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records . Despite the drain of members to the satellite churches, however, new recruits by the mother church – brought in through

1200-413: The exteriors and interiors. those who develop the cellular system outside or outside the congregation are: supervisors, leaders, assistant leader, hosts, secretaries, treasurers, leaders of children, etc. internal servers: they develop their service during religious celebrations being deacons, deaconesses, committee support, protocol area, children's church, radio committee, etc. On July 3, 2008, members of

1240-525: The importance of cell group ministry, which he believed was the key to church growth , as well as team ministry. In November 1976, Cho founded Church Growth International , an organization dedicated to teaching the principles of evangelism and church growth to pastors all over the world. In January 1986, he led the way in establishing the Elim Welfare Town , a facility for the elderly, young, homeless, and unemployed. The latter would be given training and

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1280-424: The late 1990s, which continues to flourish to this day. In 1997, Mario Vega became senior pastor. He is considered as a resource person to shed light on some social issues. MCEI owns 6 radio stations under the name "Radio Restauracion" in El Salvador and Los Angeles and is in the process of building an 11,000 seat auditorium and television studio in San Salvador. Once known as the second largest single church in

1320-505: The loss of jobs for many church members, delayed construction of the new auditorium. However, it was finally finished in 1973, and its inaugural worship service in the auditorium of 12,000 seats was held on 19 August of that year. A month later, Full Gospel Central Church, as it was now known, hosted the 10th Pentecostal World Conference at the Hyochang Stadium . Membership of Full Gospel Central Church reached fifty thousand by 1977,

1360-490: The vast cell network – have made up for the losses, and membership stood at 780,000 in 2003. The church was renamed Yoido Full Gospel Church in the 1990s. Its founder, Mr David Yonggi Cho, retired as head pastor several times, but the church ran into immediate infighting among the remaining ministers, causing him to come out of retirement, most recently late in 2006. As of 2007, membership stands at 830,000, with seven Sunday services translated into 16 languages. On 9 January 2009

1400-538: The world's largest congregation, with a membership of 830,000 (as of 2007 ). Cho was born on 14 February 1936, in Ulju County , now part of Ulsan . The son of Cho Doo-chun and Kim Bok-sun, Cho was the eldest of five brothers and four sisters. He graduated from middle school with honours. Because his father's sock and glove business went bankrupt, he could not afford high school or university tuition. Subsequently, he enrolled in an inexpensive technical high school to learn

1440-451: The world, the ministry has a membership that surpasses 115,000 people and has, at its peak, numbered as much as 200,000. MCEI has more than 500 full-time pastors in El Salvador alone. The church is known for its "Time of Restoration" events in which hundreds of thousands of people gather from all around the world to worship together. These events have sometimes been held simultaneously in all the major sports stadiums in El Salvador. In 2020,

1480-408: Was at that time, were unwilling to do. His decision to appoint women as cell leaders went against the grain of Korean culture, which at that time was not open to the idea of women leading groups that had male members. He persisted, and the cell concept turned out to be an outstanding success. From 125 cells in 1967, the church has grown to several thousand cells in 2015. Aside from restructuring as

1520-517: Was diagnosed with tuberculosis . Sensing God calling him to the ministry, Cho began working as an interpreter for the American evangelist Ken Tize . In 1956, he received a scholarship to study theology at Full Gospel Bible College in Seoul . While there, he met Choi Ja-shil , who became his mother-in-law and a close ministerial associate. He graduated in March 1958. Cho spent more than 44 years emphasizing

1560-419: Was founded in 1958 by Pastor David Yonggi Cho and his mother-in-law, Choi Ja-shil , both Assemblies of God pastors. On 15 May 1958, a worship service was held in the home of Choi Ja-shil. Apart from the two pastors, only Choi Ja-shil's three daughters (one of whom later married David Yungi Cho) and one elderly woman, who had come in to escape from the rain, attended the first service. The two pastors began

1600-409: Was instructed to train an assistant. When cell membership reached a certain number, it would be divided, with about half of its members joining the new cell led by the person who had been the assistant. Cho believed that women would make ideal cell leaders, having both the time and the desire to make home visits to other members, something that many men, for reasons pertaining to Korean culture as it

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