Seoul Sungrak Church
| Seoul Sungrak Church | |
| Hangul | 서울성락교회 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 서울聖樂敎會 |
| Revised Romanization | Seoulseongnakgyohoe |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏulsŏngnakkyohoe |
Seoul Sungrak Church is a Baptist church in Seoul, South Korea. With about 170,000 members (2009), it is known as the largest Baptist congregation in the world since 1984.[1] Founded and led by Ki Dong Kim in 1969, it is an internationally active manifestation of the New Testament church.
Pastor
Ki Dong Kim is a Korean Christian pastor and a poet. He is the Senior Overseer and Founder of Seoul Sungrak Church,.[2] He has published four books of his poetry, and has been invited to international poetry festivals such as the XVIII International Poetry Festival of Medellín in 2008.
Controversy
A number of complaints have been made about the building of a new theological school called Berea International Theological Seminary near Sindorim that has caused structural damage to surrounding buildings. But these claims are investigated by local authorities and charges are cleared. However, engineers representing the local judiciary are coming to check the damage to local buildings in early March 2011 to discover whether the claims of damaged property are true. If a case can be made, then those affected by the construction may be able to receive a substantial amount of damages from the church. In addition, local media has showed an interest in the disagreement between Sungrak Church and those people affected by the ongoing construction. Local residents are still complaining about the long hours that are spent building the seminary, some saying that the construction company work from 6am until 10pm on a regular basis, including Sundays, which of course is the holy day of rest for most Christians. Guro-gu district office representatives in Seoul have also been to the site to make enquiries about the ongoing noise, but according to local residents, the construction company has rejected any advice given by the district officials. According to local residents, the Guro-gu district office fined the company once for exceeding the legal noise level whilst constructing the seminary. The case is ongoing. In addition, according to local residents, most of the noisiest work is done by the construction company at weekends and on holidays, so that local officials, who are usually not working on these days, cannot be called out to investigate. Furthermore, those residents who have tried to speak to Pastor Kim have been unable to do so, as he has a 4 month waiting list before you can see him, and this can only be arranged through his secretary. Thus it has led to further frustration and anger from those affected by construction.
Writings
John N. Vaughan. The World's 20 Largest Churches (Grand rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1984), 71-75. ISBN 0-8010-9297-3
John N. Vaughan. The Large Church (Grand rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1985), 62. ISBN 0-8010-9298-1
John N. Vaughan. Absolutely Double! (Bolivar, MO: Megachurch Research Press, 1990).
Ki Dong Kim with Jimi Miller. Semone (Shippenburg, PA: Treasure House, 1996). ISBN 1-56043-266-7
References
- ↑ John N. Vaughan. The World's 20 Largest Churches (Grand rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1984), 71-75.
- ↑ Poewe, Karla O. (1994). Charismatic Christianity as a global culture. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 90–93. ISBN 978-0-87249-996-6.
External links
- (Korean) Seoul Sungrak Church