Joyful worship marks the Korean church

2007 marks the 100-year anniversary of a great spiritual revival in Korea. A men's winter Bible study conference at First Church of Pyongyang, which was the largest church in Korea at that time, drew 960 men. The evening services, open to the public, attracted up to 2,000 people. On January 14, 1907, after a sermon on repentance, Graham Lee asked two or three people to lead in prayer. More than a dozen people started to pray. Lee said, “Then let's all pray together out loud.” In his book, The Korean Pentecost, William Blair said, "The effect was indescribable—not of confusion, but a vast harmony of sound and spirit, a mingling together of souls moved by an irresistible impulse of prayer. The prayer sounded to me like the falling of many waters, an ocean of prayer beating against God's throne.”

The resulting revival spread to other parts of the country. After World War II, Seoul became the new center of Korean Christianity as believers fled the communist regime in North Korea. From that movement emerged the now mature mission outreach of the churches of South Korea, which report a total of over 16,000 cross-cultural Korean missionaries. SIM counts 94 active members from SIM Korea. During this year, Christians in South Korea are praying that God’s mercy and grace will once again touch the people of North Korea.