07294
May 18, 2007

Repeat performance

South Korean churches praying for new Pyongyang revival

by Evan Silverstein

The Rev. Joan S. Gray, PC(USA) General Assembly moderator, right, and Insik Kim, coordinator for East Asia and the Pacific (to Gray’s right) join in prayers for a new church revival in South Korea. Photo by Evan Silverstein

SEOUL, South Korea — Before the sun came up in this South Korean capital, the Rev. Joan S. Gray, moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 217th General Assembly, awoke to join in the mother of all spiritual revivals.

     That’s because Gray’s recent three-day visit came as Christians here commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1907 Great Revival in Pyongyang, North Korea, which sparked the spread of Christianity throughout Korea a century ago.

     While celebrating all year, churches in South Korea are focused on praying for a new revival to help North Koreans come to Christ and to help spur the reunification of the two strikingly different nations.

     The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), the PC(USA)’s primary partner denomination in South Korea, and other Christian organizations and congregations are holding spiritual rallies in different parts of South Korea in 2007.

     “What a vast witness of Christian faith this is,” Gray said of the enthusiasm surrounding the centennial observance and the outpouring of hope for a new wave of revival.

     Gray’s stop in Seoul month kicked off a three-nation, two-week tour of church partners in the region. It was her first international trip since being elected to a two-year term by the 217th General Assembly last June in Birmingham, AL.

     While in Seoul, the moderator paid tribute to the revival, prayed for such a renewal of the PC(USA), and brought greetings from the denomination during the second of four jam-packed early morning prayer services at the huge Myung Sung Presbyterian Church on April 4.

     “The reason for coming this year is that I know you are celebrating the anniversary of a great revival,” the moderator told worshippers at the 6 a.m. service. “I believe that God will give us what we pray for. And we, with you, are praying for another revival to come upon the church.”

     Gray told the nearly 4,000 attending that she hopes the observance of the revival’s anniversary in South Korean will be a statement of faith that reignites the spiritual fire of the PC(USA) back home.

     “Our Presbyterian Church in the United States of America needs a fresh outpouring of God’s spirit to do the mission that God has called us to do,” said Gray, as her image was beamed onto large screens in the cavernous sanctuary. “As you pray for a revival here in Korea, please remember to pray for us, pray passionately with us, and for us, that God will bring a revival on the church in America.”

     South Koreans are known for rising at the crack of dawn to attend prayer services in large city churches each morning before heading to work.

     Four daily morning services at the Myung Sung church — at 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 and 8:30 — are typically attended by a total of about 20,000 members who fill the sanctuary’s first floor and balcony to capacity.

     “Koreans cannot imagine starting their day off without first talking to God,” said the Rev. Insik Kim, the PC(USA)’s coordinator for East Asia and the Pacific, who accompanied Gray on the trip and interpreted her comments during the service.

     The Rev. Sam Whan Kim, pastor of the church of more 60,000 members, told the congregation that “we must allow God to work through us” in order to bring about a new revival.   

The Rev. Joan S. Gray with the Rev. Sam Whan Kim, pastor of Myung Sung Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Evan Silverstein

     “Your pastor is right, we cannot do this ourselves,” Gray said moments later. “We can’t make it happen. God has to do it for us. But we can pray and God is faithful to hear and answer our prayers. So we join you on your knees, praying to God that a revival of the Spirit’s power may sweep over the church so that the whole world may know the great love of God.”

     Following the service, church leaders told Gray that there is a longing to once again experience the repentance of sins and unity for mission that spawned from the revival, a movement sparked 100 years ago at First Church of Pyongyang under the leadership of the Rev. Samuel A. Moffett, a Presbyterian missionary.

     “I think you have much to teach us,” Gray said. “Especially at this time because our churches are looking for new vision from God.”

     The PCK has proclaimed 2007 a year of prayer for North Korea and is calling for prayers of “love, freedom, and peace in the Korean peninsula,” the Rev. Kwang Sun Rhee, moderator of the PCK’s General Assembly, told Gray during a meeting at the denomination’s national offices in Seoul.

     Rhee said the PCK is calling on Christians worldwide to join the South Korean church in actively praying for North Korea and for a revival of the South Korean church.

     He told Gray that the appeal for prayer reflects the grave concern that exists over the situation in North Korea in both spiritual and human terms.

     He said the contrast between the spiritual climate in North Korea today and a century ago could not be starker as Pyongyang has moved from being a city known throughout the Christian world as “the Jerusalem of the East” to now being the capital of probably the most brutal suppressor of Christianity.

     Rhee said Korea is celebrating 100 years of the revival movement through repentance, devotion, and purification.
 
     “Your missionaries had a great impact on us during that first revival.” Rhee said. “We hope our church can experience a new revival. We would like to extend an invitation to the PC(USA) to join us in seeking a similar renewal.”

Koreans are known for filling early morning worship services like the one above at Myung Sung Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Evan Silverstein

     The PCK is planning a range of programs this year to mark the centennial anniversary of the Great Revival movement. Among the events will be a Korean Christians’ Gathering for Life and Peace; an International Forum on Peaceful Reunification in the Korean Peninsula; and a memorial celebration of the Great Revival movement.

     In addition to meeting with PCK leaders, Gray’s visit to Seoul, April 3-5, included a tour of the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary, where she brought greetings to hundreds of students during a prayer service. The institution was founded by Moffett in Pyongyang and reestablished in Seoul after the Korean War.