However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24
I can only offer my deepest gratitude when I think about God’s grace, Jesus’ love, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance which cannot be adequately expressed in words. Ever since giving the days of my youth unto the Lord at the foot of the Mountains in Daejodong in 1958, I have been ceaselessly sprinting towards the goal that He has set before me. As I look back now, I remember God’s immeasurable grace, as well as many unforgettable days engraved with countless memories, stories, and tears.
I will never forget God’s blessing and grace over my life, through which He chose me to be His Servant when I was just an insignificant child with lung disease, and He saved me by His grace through the atonement of the Cross of Jesus Christ, so that through prayer I might receive wisdom and preach by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wherever He placed me.
Vivid images of the disciples who have left the church, the passing of church members and the late Rev. Jashil Choi who accompanied us through life and death, joy and sorrow in all of our ministry, and the countless stories that are interspersed with all manner of emotions run through my head even today. We used to be very poor. The wind and the rain used to penetrate the tent church as we worshipped.
I remember the tattered clothes, trying to find enough to eat, and the voices of the sick…
The eyes of the members at the time were void of hope and dreams. But I had to approach them. Just as Jesus did… I wanted to deliver hope and dreams to them. The messages I prepared with tears and prayer eventually brought hope and dreams to them.
It was having Hope and Dreams which allowed the Full Gospel Central Church to endure.
“We can make it! All things are possible! Let’s do it!” With all my strength, I proclaimed these positive confessions. And as our church moved to Yoido, we began a new era in the church’s history. And the message of the Five-fold Gospel and the Three-fold Blessing transformed the lives of our members.
The Holy Spirit began to work in even greater ways through Yoido Full Gospel Church both domestically and internationally. The 4th Dimensional Spiritual World was becoming a reality before our eyes. But none of this was my doing. All I did was offer my life just like the boy who gave the five loaves and two fish… I simply held on to the dreams that the Lord gave me, and it was He who grew Yoido Full Gospel Church to 750,000 members to become the World’s largest church. This is entirely a grace given to us by God.
Hallelujah!
I give all the thanks, praise, and glory to the God Emmanuel who has been with us from the start. As the saying goes “a friend in need is a friend indeed” and thus I also thank all of the pastors, elders, deacons, deaconesses, cell leaders, and members who have supported, followed, and been a great help in times of need.
