Doesn’t the name Yoido Full Gospel Church sound impressive? It is one of the world’s most attended churches. Yoido Full Gospel Church is located on Yoi Island in Seoul South Korea. The church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. It stands as the largest Pentecostal Christian congregation in South Korea.
The story of Yoido Full Gospel Church begins humbly. It started in 1958 with Pastor David Yonggi Cho and his mother-in-law Choi Ja-shil. They were both Assemblies of God pastors. Their first worship service was held in Choi Ja-shil’s home. Only a few people attended that first service. These included Choi Ja-shil’s three daughters and one elderly woman escaping the rain.
The two pastors started a campaign. They knocked on doors and provided spiritual and humanitarian help to the poor. They also prayed for the sick. The church grew quickly. Within months it had fifty members. They soon outgrew Choi Ja-shil’s living room. Services moved to a tent in her backyard. The church continued to grow and outgrow tents.
Pastor Cho began preaching on the Three-Fold Blessing. This included blessings of the spirit soul and body. He proclaimed physical health and financial prosperity. He said they are part of God’s will for Christians. Many people joined the church. By 1961 membership had grown to a thousand. The church purchased its first plot of land at Seodaemun.
Expansion plans faced a setback. Pastor Cho was called up for military service. He was assigned to an American Army base near Seoul. This allowed him to continue preaching on Sundays. John Hurston an American missionary helped him. Cho’s army service was short. Ill health required an operation and discharge. Despite his illness Cho continued to pastor the church. In 1961 an inaugural service was held in the new auditorium at Seodaemun. It was named the Full Gospel Revival Center.
Church membership continued to grow. It reached three thousand by 1964 and eight thousand by 1968. Cho suffered a physical collapse during a baptismal service. In 1967 Cho restructured the church. He divided Seoul into zones. Church members in each zone formed a “cell.” These cells met for worship and Bible study. They met in the home of a “cell leader.” Cell members invited friends to learn about Jesus Christ. Each cell leader trained an assistant. When cell membership grew it would be divided. Half of the members would join the new cell led by the assistant.
Cho believed women would make ideal cell leaders. They had time to visit other members. Korean culture at that time made it difficult for men to do so. His decision to appoint women went against the grain. However the cell concept was a success. From 125 cells in 1967 the church grew to thousands by 2015.
Aside from the cell-based structure a Women’s Fellowship started in 1960. A Men’s Fellowship followed in 1963. These enabled lay members to serve the church.
Membership continued to grow. It reached ten thousand in the early 1970s. The church outgrew its Seodaemun premises. It began looking for a new place to build.
Yeouido was mostly sand dunes at that time. It had no bridge connecting it to Seoul. Cho believed he had heard from God. He and other leaders decided to purchase land on Yoi Island. It was directly across from Korea’s National Assembly. Economic problems delayed construction. However it was finished in 1973. The inaugural service in the 12000-seat auditorium was held that year. A month later the church hosted the 10th Pentecostal World Conference.
Membership reached fifty thousand by 1977. It doubled in only two years. A special worship service celebrated this milestone.
In the 1980s the church decided to establish satellite churches throughout Seoul. The expansion of the auditorium to seat 12000 in 1983 was not enough. Seven Sunday services could not accommodate the entire membership. In 1993 with 700000 members Yoido Full Gospel Church was the world’s largest congregation. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized it. Despite members moving to satellite churches new recruits made up for the losses. In 2003 membership stood at 780000. The church was renamed Yoido Full Gospel Church in the 1990s.
Yoido Full Gospel Church stands as a testament to faith and growth. It shows the power of community. Its journey from a small home service to a global phenomenon is inspiring. Today it continues to impact lives both locally and internationally.