David Yonggi Cho

David Yonggi Cho ( born February 14, 1936 in Ulju -gun, also known as Paul Yonggi Cho ) is a Korean Christian evangelist. He is senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, which with over 1,000,000 members (2007) the largest Christian community in the world. In February 2014 he was sentenced to a prison sentence of three years probation and ordered to pay a fine of five billion won because of financial malpractice in connection with his community.

Youth

Yonggi Cho was born on 14 February 1936 in Ulju -gun, which now belongs to the city of Ulsan. Cho was the oldest of five brothers and four sisters. He graduated high school with honors. Because the father failed in his sock and glove business, Cho buried the hope of a university degree and enrolled instead at an affordable technical college in order to learn a trade. At the same time he started a school located near the U.S. Army base to visit and learned from fellow soldiers English. As an avid student, he mastered the language quickly and worked as an interpreter for the commander of the army base and for his headmaster.

Originally raised as a Buddhist, Cho converted to Christianity at age 17, after the Christian friend of his sister had adopted during his illness of his tuberculosis. He admits to have had a number of spiritual experiences as a result - even that which Pentecostals call the Baptism of the Spirit, an experience in which the believers speak in tongues. He saw Jesus in a vision. Moreover, it was convinced that God had called him into his service.

Cho began working as an interpreter for the American evangelist Ken Tize. 1956 Cho was awarded a scholarship to study theology at Full Gospel Bible College in Seoul. There he met Choi Ja- sil, who became his in-law and close spiritual collaborator. In March 1958, he completed his theological studies.

The Daejo Church

In May 1958 Cho held the first worship service at his girlfriend Choi Ja- sil at home. Only Choi and her three children took part, but the congregation grew rapidly and soon had fifty members. Cho and the community members began intensive for the growth of their community to work by knocking on doors and inviting people to church. Within three years, the congregation had grown to four hundred members. In 1961 she bought her first property in Seodaemun.

The growth of the community program suffered a setback in 1961, when Cho was drafted into the Korean army. He asked John Hurston, an American missionary to lead the church in his absence. But Cho had to undergo surgery because of severe bowel disease and was released after seven months out of the army.

The Seodaemun Church

After discharge from the Army Cho devoted back to his work as a pastor, even though his health was still struck. A hall for 1,500 people was built on the property in Seodaemun and opened in November 1961. He soon reached the limit of its capacity: 1964 the municipality had 3,000 members. On March 1, 1965 married Cho Kim Sung- hye. Cho realized that the management of such a large community overextended a person. He divided the city of Seoul into twenty "cells" and began to train for each of these cell leader, who should hold meetings for prayer and Bible study in their homes during the week. The cell leaders were encouraged to invite non-Christian neighbors, and if the participants shaft of a cell reached a certain number, the deputy head should open a new cell and take about half of the old cell.

The success of this concept of cell division surprised even optimistic church members. By 1968, the church counted 8,000 members. In addition to the weekly meetings cells kept the church three Sunday services. But three services were not enough to accommodate all members of the church, and Cho decided a larger plot of land on the island of Yeouido Han River to buy that flows through Seoul. At this time Yoido was not much more than a sand dune, but Cho saw its possibilities. The city council was planning to open up the island and many government agencies and companies were planning to move there. So Cho saw the island as an ideal location for a church.

The Yoido Church

Economic problems delayed the construction of a church on the island of Yoido, but in 1973 the new hall with ten thousand places was done. The first worship service was held there on 23 September 1973. In the same year the Prayer Mountain was established a sanctuary in a park, where individuals can retreat to fasting and prayer in small boxes. 1982 Prayer Mountain for ten thousand persons has been extended and is now visited by over a million people a year, including tens of thousands of pilgrims from abroad. " I can with currently 330,000 members in my church (1983 ) impossible to supervise every single person. " ( P. Yonggi Cho: Not Just Numbers 1986). The church continued its exponential growth in 1984 reached its membership 400,000, and in 1992 700,000. In the nineties, Cho decided that the church does not continue to grow, but should establish satellite churches in other parts of the city. Targets for the years 2000 to 2010, the founding of about five thousand satellite churches and five hundred prayer houses, similar to the prayer mountain.

Worldwide service

In November 1976, Cho founded Church Growth International, an organization with the goal of pastors to teach the principles of evangelism and church growth around the world. In January 1986, he took the initiative for the establishment of Elim Welfare Town, a facility for the elderly, young people, the homeless and the unemployed. Unemployed person is offered there an education in four professions. In March of the same year he founded the Hansei University. From 1992 to 2000, Cho Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, and since 1998 he is chairman of the Society of Korean Christian leader. Since February 1999 he is also the chairman of the charity Good People.

Besides his native language Korean Cho also masters English, Japanese and Chinese. He has written numerous books.

Contacts in Germany

Mutual visits inspired Siegfried Müller to expand the mission station in Karlsruhe the greater community. Yonggi Cho preached several times as a guest preacher in the Free Church congregation of people Spitzer in Berlin.

Theological controversies

Like other well-known Christian leader has triggered much discussion Cho. Michael Horton, John MacArthur and Dave Hunt are among those known Christian leaders who have expressed their deep concern about Cho's teachings, as they rooted their opinion in Buddhist or occult teachings and was therefore heresy. Others who are set against the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, Florida, Cho consider support for this movement with suspicion. Many of Cho's critics come from the non- charismatic direction, but these are not his only critics. Once he withdrew his own denomination, the Korean Assemblies of God, the power of leadership, as long as they tested his theology. The audit found that Cho's teaching completely agrees with the doctrine of the Assemblies of God, but that did not end the controversy.

Cho says that some of the opposing arguments based on false accusations. In one of his books he refers to an article from the Korean press in which he was assumed to have approved of ancestor worship, which he denies decided. The responsible journalist later apologized publicly. However, some damage was done, and these allegations were also partly that had triggered the investigation of the Assemblies of God. Cho refers in his books a firm position against Buddhism and shamanism.

Writings of David Yonggi Cho

• The Fourth Dimension, publishing Christian Church Cologne, Volume 1, 1987. ISBN 3926784059
• The Fourth Dimension, publishing Christian Church Cologne, Volume 2, 1987. ISBN 3926784032
• A victorious life. Mission The path to joy, Karlsruhe 1977.
• Prayer. Key to revival. How can you learn to pray with authority. ( with RW Manzano ), Gerth Medien, Asslar 2001. ISBN 3894903902
• My partner - the Holy Spirit, One Way Publishing Wuppertal, 1990 ISBN 3927772097.
• As I pray, One Way Media, 2001. ISBN 3927772763