A Dream Come True in October, 2010

     Back in 1979-1983, I attended Lee College and Central Bible College to earn a bachelor degree in Bible.  Why did I do that?  Well, church stuff was about all I saw myself good for, so I considered professional ministry as a life time vocation.  At any rate, during my time at both schools, I had heard a bit about the Full Gospel Church in Yoido (a suburb of Seoul) pastored by the Reverend David Cho.  It was, we were told, the largest church (by membership count of 500,000+) in the world.  I saw pictures of it.  I read a book or two about it, one of which was authored by the pastor.

     I've read criticisms of the "largest church in the world" claim.  Quite frankly, none of that mattered to me.  For sure, it was the most well attended church I had ever attended in my life.  My guess is that over 10,000 people were inside that auditorium for the 11 a.m. service.  I don't know how many were in all the auxiliary rooms and buildings with big screens set for viewing the service.  Also, I don't know how many usually attended each of the other six Sunday services there, but I did attend again, on another day, at 1 pm, and it was as packed full as the 11 a.m. service I attended the first time.  

     I was impressed by how quickly they transitioned from one service to another within about fifteen minutes.  I was impressed with the music -- orchestra, pipe organ, piano, choir, and a vocal ensemble leading everyone.  

     I was greeted several times and directed where to go in order to benefit from their translation services in the balcony. There, I was provided a head set and a device that allowed me to choose one of several language translations.  A lot of us foreigners were there, and we could all see a large computer screen on the sanctuary wall in front where we could see all the songs translated and whatever the camera crew made available for us all to see.  

     The service was lively and well ordered.  Afterwards, I was invited to join others for coffee, pastries, and a question and answer meeting about the church.  While walking around the building I saw dozens of people busy at work sorting all the clothing donations that had been collected (I saw enough clothes to fill at least a 3 bedroom home in America).  While reading through their literature, I found out about the vocational school (the largest of its kind in Asia, they said)  they had started years before to train abandoned and at risk  teens for various vocations.  I found out the church covered the costs (100%) for babies having to have open heart surgery.  I found out other things too.  It was obvious that this was not simply a "Sunday Church" operation.  It was busy everyday of the year.

     Also, I found out about a "Prayer Mountain" in Paju.  I'll do a blog about that later.

     That tall building is called "63 Building."  It's the tallest building in South Korea, and everyone recognizes it.  I went to the top floor to check out the prices of the food served at a restaurant there.  Nope!  Too expensive for me!

     Before catching a train for home, I chowed down at Bennigan's located at Seoul Station.