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Rev.David Yonggi Cho l Profile |
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As soon as the construction began, there was a worldwide oil
crisis, which caused a rapid drop in the exchange rate of the
Korean won to the dollar.
As a result, the cost of construction
materials skyrocketed because they were mostly imported.
Church
tithe income dropped as many lost jobs, and the banks tightened
their belt in terms of loans.
All of these factors threatened
to bankrupt the church, and the construction on the church came
to a halt.
Every night Pastor Yonggi Cho went into the base
of the skeletal construction, getting drenched with rust-soaked
dewdrops as he called out to God in prayer and fell from exhaustion
on the cold cement foundation.
Many in the church were affected
by Pastor Yonggi Cho's heart-rending prayers and the "Save the
Church!" movement began bringing many members of the church
to the cold cement church floor for nightly prayer alongside
Pastor Cho.
Consequently, the construction resumed in spurts
and finally resulted in a completed sanctuary; this accommodated
10,000 people.
The first tear-filled worship service was held
on September 23, 1973.
With the successful completion of the
Yoido Church in 1973, the establishment of Prayer Mountain occurred
in the same year because it would greatly aid the growth of
the church.
With more and more Christians making their way to
Prayer Mountain, construction of a sanctuary to accommodate
10,000 people at Prayer Mountain was completed in September
of 1982.
The cemetery storage shack for all-night fasting and
prayer which was begun by Pastor Ja-shill Choi in a small hamlet
in Kyung-gi-do has now become the Prayer Mountain which serves
an average of 3,500 people a day and about 10,000 foreigners
each year who come to pray at Prayer Mountain.
Following the
church's relocation to Yoido Island, church growth skyrocketed.
By 1979 the membership numbered 100,000, and by 1981 the membership
had doubled again to 200,000.
For the purpose of educating and
enhancing the faith of the congregation, the first and second
education buildings were constructed as well as the missions
center through which missionaries are fostered and trained for
evangelizing the world.
In 1984 the official registration of
the church name was Yoido Full Gospel Church.
The church membership
stood at 400,000, and by 1992 the membership had reached 700,000.
For those living great distances from YFGC, satellite sanctuaries
were built. Many independent churches were established and supported
for reaching greater areas throughout Korea.
Pastor Cho continually
thanks God for his 42 years of blessed ministry and is a true
servant of God to the 780,000 currently registered members of
the church today.
The goal for the new millenium is to establish
500 to 5,000 satellite churches and 500 prayer houses throughout
the peninsula within the next 10 years, to expand the evangelical
reach to the world through the support of the internet, and
finally to expand evangelical missions work to the third world-
including North Korea.
For such purposes, Pastor David Yonggi
Cho prays along with all the members of the church for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit.
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