May 01, 2017 · By
Matthew Bell
If the building didn’t have a giant cross out front, it could easily be mistaken for a sports arena.
But this is Yoido Full Gospel Church, a Pentecostal congregation
belonging to the Korean Assemblies of God — a household name in South
Korea. The institution is also known as the largest megachurch in the
world, with a congregation approaching 800,000 people, according to
church officials.
Protestant megachurches, defined as those with at least 2,000 people
in attendance every week, don't just operate all across the United
States. This is a global phenomenon.
Successful megachurches are operating in South America, Africa and
Asia as well. And yet, no city has more of them than Seoul. The South
Korean capital has 17 megachurches in all.
Still, Protestant evangelical leaders in South Korea are facing a new
challenge. Their public image has taken a hit in recent years due to a
series of scandals, and the era of boundless growth for their
congregations appears to have come to an end.
Sunday services at Yoido Full Gospel Church start at 7 a.m. and run
the whole day, until 7 p.m. They’re not in the same building at the same
time, but officials say nearly 200,000 people attend worship services
every week at the main church in Yeouido, an island in central Seoul
that sits in the Han River.
Yeouido Island is also where the South Korean National Assembly building is located, along with several big media companies.
The scene inside the main sanctuary of the Full Gospel Church is
impressive. There are seats for about 15,000 worshippers. Giant video
screens carry simultaneous translations of parts of the service in
Chinese, Japanese and English. Audio headsets are available with
translations from the original Korean into numerous other languages. The
choir has about 120 vocalists decked out in white robes and backed up
by a full orchestra.
Talking with members of the congregation on the main steps outside of
the church, several people echo a sense of awe.
They say they can feel
the presence of the Holy Spirit at Full Gospel Church, and that’s what
keeps them coming back.
At certain times during the service, people in the pews close their
eyes, raise up their hands and even speak in tongues, creating a real
revival atmosphere.
“When I was in my 20s, I went to another church. But it was kind of
superficial,” says Lee Chong-sook, a 55-year-old attending Sunday
morning service with her husband, their two young-adult children, and
Lee’s sister-in-law.
“When I first walked past this church and I heard the preaching, I
started to cry. It touched my soul. I felt joy and I felt healed from
pain and sorrow,” Lee says.
The message from the pulpit would sound familiar to a lot of
Christian evangelicals in the US. It’s about a strict interpretation of
the Bible, with a focus on the power of prayer and positive thinking.
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