The Korean Adventist Church started big city evangelistic series for the first time. The first meeting of the series was held at Daejeon Sahmyook Middle and High School, from September 19 to 25, 2014. Pastor Hong MyungKwan, the main speaker at the evangelistic meeting, delivered God’s word, focusing on prophesies and the future of the Earth especially in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Each day, nearly 700 church members and visitors attended the meeting in order to listen to the Gospel. Volunteers from local churches provided volunteering services so that the meeting proceeded smoothly.
Pastor Hong said, “God does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to be saved. At the same time, however, He is righteous so He will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked. Therefore, we need to study how the righteous and the wicked will end.” He continued, “Being saved by God is not as complicated as any examinations. Meet Jesus Christ. Choose Him and receive what has been promised.”
The big city evangelistic series in Daejeon, Korea
From October 27 to November 11, about a month after the first evangelism, Daegu Central Church, Daegu Western Church, and Gyeongsan Central Church had one-week evangelistic meetings respectively. At Daegu Central Church, Pastor Kim DaeSung, president of Korean Union Conference, served as the main speaker, preaching God’s message under the theme of “The Last Hopeful Message to Humankind.” Pastor Kim said, “If you look at prophecies in the Bible, you can see the road going up toward heaven. As the prophecy of the statue in the book of Daniel comes true, Jesus’ second coming will be fulfilled.” He urged attendees to be sober and vigilant and live every day as if it could be the last.
Daegu Western Church had evangelistic meetings titled “Earth’s Only Hope” with Pastor Oh JaeHo, instructor at Korean Adventist Training Center. Pastor Oh emphasized that God is the only author of life and He is the one who writes the history of mankind. “The most valid way to acknowledge God as Creator is to keep the Sabbath. If you want to keep it holy, you should know that it means God’s memorial of Creation.”
Pastor Hong MyungKwan preaches during the big city evanagelism in Daejeon
Whereas the meetings in the Daegu district focused on prophecies in the Bible, the meeting at Gyeongsan Church covered the subject of God’s covenant of salvation. Pastor Kim WonSang delivered a sermon under the title “The Truth Will Set You Free.” He used various visual aids so that both church members and newcomers could easily understand the sermon. “Once we begin to believe in God, all fears in our mind will disappear so that we can live our lives with courage and faith,” said Pastor Kim.
It is agreed that these evangelistic series were successful in terms of not only winning souls but awakening Adventist church members. That is, the evangelism brought up the importance of mission work to local churches. The Middlewest Korean Conference (MWKC) sent unsparing support to churches that were striving to save souls. The Conference also drew up a plan to train missionaries year round through Maranatha Missionaries Organization. Pastor Yoon ChongHap, MWKC president, stated, “We proved that we could hold any kind of evangelistic campaign when we work together with the same spirit. I hope this will be an opportunity for the growth of Adventist churches in this part of Korea.”