The Ministry of Yoido Full Gospel Church

Yoido Full Gospel Church (hereafter YFGC) began with a makeshift tent church with five members on the suburban area of Seoul in 1958, and grew as the largest church in the world with the membership of 780,000 as of May, 2008 in fifty years. In the year of 2008, its founder Rev. Yonggi Cho retired from his fifty-year ministry and Rev. Younghoon Lee was elected and inaugurated as the new senior pastor of the church. The contribution of Yoido Full Gospel Church to the Holy Spirit movement in Korea and the rest of the world has been monumental in the past, and it continues to be active in the movement today. The Holy Spirit movement of YFGC is a continuation of the broader characteristics of Korean revival movements. Inheriting the legacies of Korean Holy Spirit movements, YFGC remains enthusiastic about evangelism, active in the ministries of loving and sharing, and continues to be mature in both the individual and social dimensions.

The beginning and development of the Holy Spirit movement (1950s and 1960s)

In YFGC’s initial phases (1950s and 1960s), the main targets of evangelism and ministry were the people in the slum area. The Christian gospel of salvation gained momentum among the economically and socially marginalized people, as it is accompanied by the experience of the Holy Spirit and his power. The Holy Spirit movement of YFGC inspired by the Incarnation of the Son of God attempted to focus on both the spiritual needs and the desperate and concrete needs of the people. In addition, the understanding of the Holy Spirit, on which its cell groups operated, also invigorated the enthusiasm for evangelism. As the church was relocated at the Sudaemun area, there came even greater works of the Holy Spirit and the explosive growth of YFGC.

The Holy Spirit movement in its maturity (1970s)

YFGC continued its explosive growth after moving to Yoido in September 1973. In the 1970s, it also made an earnest effort to evangelize the rest of Korea and the world. The Holy Spirit movement of YFGC took root by contextualizing the gospel in the 1950s, facilitated the expansion from personal spiritual experiences to communal faith in the 1960s, and developed to be a nationwide and even a worldwide Holy Spirit movement by concentrating its energy on mission works in Korea and abroad. As a model of Korean Holy Spirit movement, the Holy Spirit movement of YFGC presented the direction for church growth through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and prayer as well as actively engaged in mission works for evangelization of Korea and the world. For this, YFGC took the lead in forming partnerships with mainline denominations and their leaders for the preparation of mass crusades, and in doing so contributed to church growth in general.

Continuous Holy Spirit movement and broadened social engagement (from 1980s to the present)

In the 1980s, the Holy Spirit movement of YFGC began to aim at inner maturity in addition to outer growth, with increased interest in practicing Christian love in the social dimension. To obey the command of Christ to preach the gospel and love neighbors, YFGC established and developed organizations and social programs to share the love of Christ with isolated neighbors. Furthermore, in obedience to Christ’s command to become the light and the salt of the world, YFGC took a great step in setting a Christian social agenda by founding a daily newspaper, the Kukmin Ilbo.

Since the second senior pastor, Younghoon Lee’s inauguration of YFGC in 2008, the church has even more vigorously engaged in evangelical social ministries for social welfare and charity works both in and out of the country. From 2013, YFGC has spent one third of its annual budget - namely, approximately 3.5 million US dollars - for helping the underprivileged and mission works. Adding social services, social sanctification, and unity amongst churches to its direct evangelism efforts is characteristic of the Holy Spirit movement of YFGC.