A TRUE life of ministry through Shinchonji, Church of Jesus.

To those who are curious about Shinchonji, and to those who criticize,

Greetings.

I’d like to share with you how God answered my prayer.

I came to Korea several years ago. I was fresh out of Bible college, with the

intent to become a missionary in Asia. Korea was to be the first step on a long road to

a life of ministry.

Before I tell my story, I would like to point out that the people of Shinchonji did

not deceive me in any way. They did not lie to me, nor did they hide anything from

me. During my young adult life as a Christian, I felt strongly that God was calling me

to be on the mission field. That’s the reason I attended Bible college in the first place.

The road was bumpy, as it always is, and there were many times I often prayed (as all

serious Christians should, ministers or not) that God would reveal His word to me in

truth, in the way He intended it to be understood, not just popular opinion. I know

that He has answered that prayer by leading me to Shinchonji.

Let me Explain…

I was only in Korea for a few days when they showed up at my door. A couple

of very cheerful older ladies, bearing a small token housewarming gift to welcome me

to the neighborhood. They handed me a small box of tissues (a custom in this country)

and in very rehearsed English asked me, “Do you love Jesus?”

I returned their big smiles with an equally big one, happily replying, “Yes I do!”
That was the extent of their English abilities, but they smiled again, as one woman

pointed to a small map on the box, a map to their church. It seemed to be just a few

blocks away.

That Sunday, marking my first week in Korea, I decided to head out and look

for the church on this map. I didn’t expect there to be anyone who spoke English, but

this being the first week, I was just looking for the experience, and the chance to

immerse in the culture.

As I approached the corner, heading to the main street of the city, something wasn’t

right. I recognized a few of the local landmarks on the map, but the church appeared

to be nowhere in sight. As I examined a few of the buildings more carefully, and tried

my best to interpret those strange Korean squiggles with my phrasebook, I noticed that the

church on the map was in reality, a shell of a building surrounded by scaffold and

mesh; it wasn’t built yet.

I shook my head and laughed, dumbfounded at what an odd situation this was.

I decided to just walk around the neighborhood, thinking there must be another

church around somewhere, and it would be such a pity to waste such a warm summer

Sunday morning. I didn’t have to look too hard. As I turned to walk down the street,

I noticed a line of people carrying Bibles and walking into a building a few meters

behind me. As I listened, under the noise of traffic and the construction work of that

other church, I could hear the very distinct sound of “church music”. I smiled, and

followed the Bible-carrying people into the building and up the steps to the 3rd floor.

Inside, there was a huge open space, filled with a few hundred people, all

happily singing and clapping their hands and greeting one another. As I approached,

being foreign, I was ushered to a small side room at the back, where there, English

translation was provided. I introduced myself.

After the other english speaking people there had recovered from the oddness of my story (they
couldn’t believe I had “just walked in off the street”) the service began. There were two other foreigners
that arrived after me, and we sat together while a Korean woman translated for us. I didn’t notice
anything strange about the service, or the sermon, although I was surprised at how many scripture
references were used. This man did not simply read a passage and then relate it to a current event. This
man spoke confidently about the message he was sharing and connected his points with examples from
the Old and New Testaments, and then Revelation. This man clearly had love and respect for the word
of God and knew it extremely well. I made a comment about how Scripturally based his sermon was, I
was impressed.

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We all had lunch together afterwards, the other English speakers and I. It was then that I did notice
something unusual. I told them all how happy I was to have

found this place and that I was very eager to come back the next week. Then, one of

the people I had met in the room told me that their church, Shinchonji, had a

mandatory Bible course. Everyone who joins their church must take these Bible

classes before they can attend services. He said that they (the English speakers) all

had completed the study, and they would be happy to translate it into English for me

and teach me. It would be held 2-3 times per week and last about six months. They

described it as, “intensive but rewarding.”

Yes, this was something new…a little odd to me.

I mulled it over as we ate and finally asked a question.

“Do you mean that everyone in your church has the same level of knowledge of

the Bible? Do you mean that if I were to ask one Bible question to 10 random people,

I would get the same answer and unified understanding of scripture each time?”

He answered yes.

I nodded, amazed, and thought to myself, “That’s incredible”.

I thought back to my experiences growing up in the church. The “lay-leaders”

and “lay-ministers”, completely unqualified to hold the positions they did. One

Sunday school teacher I’d had as a child told us that Moses was one of the people

saved on the Ark. The young adult leaders were really more babysitters than Bible

teachers. The thought of a church that actually put effort in educating all of its

members, and upheld standards, seemed to me like a great idea! When lunch was

over, and they walked me back to my apartment, I agreed to take the study stating

proudly, “By the way, I’ve just graduated from the missionary program at a Bible

college, I’m pretty sure I can handle your study.”

As the months passed by, I completed the Bible course. It was like nothing I

had ever done before. The teacher was very knowledgeable, and explained the

Scripture in a very logical and real way, just like I had prayed for so many times years

before. When I had finally finished the third and final level, the chapter by chapter

study on the book of Revelation, I was in awe. There was the word of God, laid open

before my eyes. The words of Jesus, spoken to Apostle John 2000 years ago in a

vision, now understood clearly in actual events; what has already taken place, and

what will take place very soon.

At that time, I remember thinking how much I would have loved to have learned this years ago, when I
was in Bible college. But the explanation of Revelation based on that particular denomination was full of
inconsistencies, and non-scriptural conclusions. They didn’t have the words of the open scroll. They
didn’t know about the one who overcomes, nor did they know the fulfillment of the events of
Revelation. It was all man-made opinion that didn’t come from revelation from God.

To those who are curious about Shinchonji and those who criticize, I ask you, do you really know the
word of God in its entirety? Do you want to know how God’s word will be fulfilled on this earth? Do you
want to see the fulfillment of the kingdom of God? If the answer is Yes… Come and learn with us.