North Korea's church history
As we continue our study of the Body of Christ in North Korea, we simply must stop and talk about the 1907 Pyongyang Revival. The Christian Koreans have a glorious history and a glorious future. Though we cannot understand some of the goings-on in the North today, we are confident that the situation is only temporary. God HEARS and ANSWERS the cries of his people! I quote below from Young-Hoon Lee's Korean Pentecost: The Great Revival of 1907.
The origin of the 1907 Pyongyang revival could be traced to a prayer meeting of Methodist missionaries at Wonsan in 1903, and attributable to Dr. R.A. Hardie, a medical missionary working in the Kangwon province. Although Dr. Hardie worked arduously in his ministry, he was able to achieve very little. Frustrated, he entered into a period of self-reflection. He was strongly convicted as his prejudices, sins and efforts of self-reliance were revealed to him.
Deeply moved, Hardie began to share his testimony of the work of the Holy Spirit and publicly repent before other fellow missionaries. Subsequently, he shared his confessions and repented before Korean congregations, which ignited a flame of revival and a receiving of the Holy Spirit as never experienced before. As the revivals grew in number and intensity throughout Wonsan, the following year witnessed the outbreak of an enormous blessing and revival that swept the area through Pyongyang, Seoul and beyond.
The height of the revivals that took place between 1900-1910 came on January 14, 1907 when over 1,500 gathered for a meeting and were invited to pray. The entire congregation burst into prayer and public confession lasting throughout the night until the next day. The Spirit that came through this Pentecost spread to the children and youth sparking revivals of a similar scale among high school students. It is said that the repentance and forgiveness was to the degree that the jails in all of Pyongyang were empty!
Men and women became walking testimonies of the power of the Holy Spirit as their daily lives were completely transformed to the amazement of friends and family. Korean Christians gained a new strength and boldness as they took leadership in the independence movement and endured terrible persecution during a dark period of Korean history. The face of Korea was changed forever and the spirit of the 1907 Revival has endured throughout the history of the Korean church.
100 years ago God's Spirit poured out on Pyongyang. Then persecution. 2000 years ago God's Spirit poured out on Jerusalem. Then persecution. But persecution leads to deliverances and miracles and church growth. Let us join in praying that the present darkness hovering over the North will soon erupt into glorious light as the Enemy is again defeated. The true Korean War, the one for the souls of men, is in the Spirit as in the natural: no final peace has ever been declared. So let us fight on!
http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love chosen together!
And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.
Neil Donald Walsch
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