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Home > 2007 > January (Web-only)Christianity Today, January (Web-only), 2007  |   |  
A Century After North Korean Revival, Dreams of an Encore
At New Jersey gathering, memories and prayers.




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Families walked more than 200 miles to participate in the great Pyongyang revival. Dr. Donald Clark, a speaker at the centennial conference, said that his grandfather invited one of the revivalists from Pyongyang to travel to Seoul to hold meetings there.

"We haven't had anything as conspicuous [as the Pyongyang revival] in the last 100 years," said Dr. Moffett. "But this was the foundation for the growth of the church in Korea. The growth was immense and explosive. You can't say it's disappeared. They're celebrating. When did Pentecost disappear?"

After World War II, Seoul became the new center of Korean Christianity as Christians fled the Communist regime in North Korea, moving their churches and seminary with them. Other Christians stayed in North Korea and went underground. But Clark says that many still think of Pyongyang as the authentic center of Korean Christianity and want its church to be restored. "There's a nostalgia among those who migrated to the south."

For PSALT NK founder, Michelle Kim, the 1907 revival was a precursor of things yet to come. "Our name is prayer, service, action, love, and truth–that's PSALT. It starts with prayer … but there are a whole bunch of others words. You have to do something about it. [God] wants to see if we're real about this–and we'll continue to knock on that door until it's knocked down."



Related Elsewhere:

PSALT NK's website has information on their conference celebrating the 1907 revival.

Samuel Moffett, who witnessed the 1907 revival, has written several articles for Christianity Today. They include:

What Makes the Korean Church Grow? (November 23, 1973)
Why We Go | Recapturing our motivation for missions. (1994)

Westminster Theological Seminary's SaRang Korean Missions Center researches the Korean church and has archived its history.

The character of the Korean church was largely set by the 1907 revival. Called the Korean Pentecost, and detailed in a book by that name written by missionary observers, the revival began practices such as early morning and evening prayer and the public reading of Scripture.

Korean Pentecost: The Great Revival Of 1907, by Young-Hoon Lee, is a scholarly history of the revival, published in The Journal of Asian Mission.
The Korean Pentecost: The Revival That Prepared Thousands For Eternity, edited & compiled by David Smithers is a short history compiled from The Korean Pentecost and other sources, available from the Revival Resource Center.

More Christianity Today articles on Korea's revival include:

Prophecy and Politics | How revivals and the Olympics made Korea the wunderkind of missions. (March 1, 2006)
Honoring Pioneers | The early missionaries to Korea serve as examples to modern-day ones. (March 1, 2006)
Liberating Faith | When Korea threw off Japanese rule in 1945, it was as much a victory for the church as for the nation. (Aug. 12, 2005)
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[Reader Reviews]
Average User Rating: 

Kathi Wilson   Posted: February 05, 2007 3:48 PM
Living in a church culture that values "who's who" and "what's hot," it is so refreshing to read about the realilty of what' happening in the Church around the world, and quite impactful to learn about the spiritual battles our precious brothers and sisters are fighting for the sake of the Kingdom. I am thankful for CT giving voice to their plight. It is clear that C. Hope Flilnchbaugh has a formidable understanding of this subject and has done a great job of informing her readers. As Michelle Kim is quoted in the article, "(God) wants to see if we're real about this," and it will be articles like this one that will awaken us to our need to move into action! Praise the Lord, His army marches on!!! May this article alert the Bride in America to cry out for her brothers and sisters in North Korea...

Deborah Robbins   Posted: February 02, 2007 8:07 PM
Well written! Thank you CT for such an encouraging report! "Oh Lord, Come quickly, do not tarry, the blood of your persecuted saints buried in North Korea cry out for Your redemption and their cries join with all of our current cries, Come Lord Jesus Come! Revive, Restore the land of North Korea and it's inhabitants which are wholly Yours! Precious Holy Spirit, come and quicken us to call out and agree with the Father's Heart's Desire for North Korea! I pray this in the Mighty Awesome Name of The Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

Rosalee Decker   Posted: February 01, 2007 3:06 PM
Seek, Knock and it shall be opened to you!! Amen-

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