The figure of 153,000 for the mother church does not include the myriads of departmental activity taking place in the church. Many spend the entire day at the church. The elders relax together on one particular floor, the senior deacons on another.  Various mission committees gather their workers together. I witnessed drama groups, English classes, a church growth institute, a deaf ministry, public relations groups, choir rehearsals, and much more. Apart from these departmental groups, the twenty-four district offices are buzzing with activity throughout the day.  Hurston writes, "Since Sunday is already the day most members come to church, every church office is fully staffed, often until seven that night. . . .  Many lay leaders stay at the church, involved in one of a variety of activities, until late Sunday afternoon (1995:125). With these additional activities in mind, I endeavored to count each worshiper only one time.

Attendance at Regional Chapels

            The greatest difficulty with ascertaining the overall attendance at YFGC  is because YFGC includes various regional chapels in their statistical figures. While I was present in April, 1997 there were twelve  regional chapels that were  considered part of the attendance at YFGC. ^[8]    Karen Hurston says,  ". . . in scattered locations throughout the sprawling  city of Seoul, others are filling one of YFGC's nearly dozen regional sanctuaries on giant screens. Together these facilities accommodate nearly sixty thousand for a single worship service (1995:160). ^[9]    Cho himself seems to critique Hurston's figure when he says in 1995, "Most of the branch churches have between 10-15,000 members" (1995:15). ^[10]

 Since my quest was not to determine membership but attendance, I probed various workers at YFGC. Rev. Song Ho, Lee, district pastor of the Yong San District, told me that most of the twelve regional chapels seat between 500 to 1,000 people (with the exception of the "2nd Sanctuary" which can hold approximately 9,000).  Pastor Lee's observation was confirmed when I observed the picture of one of these regional chapels in Kannaday's book  (1995:84).  Pastor Lee told me that each chapel also holds seven services, just like the mother church.  However, another  Yoido Full Gospel missionary to the Philippines (who could speak very good English) told me that most chapels only held four to five services.

Let us suppose that each chapel held five services. This would mean that the 2nd Sanctuary would have 45,000 each Sunday (9,000 in five  services) and the additional chapels would have a total of 55,000 in attendance (supposing 1,000 people attended each of the five services in the eleven additional chapels). This would bring the total of people attending the twelve regional chapels to 100,000. Adding this number with the total attending the mother church (153,000),  we arrive at the composite figure of 253,000 people attending the Yoido Full Gospel Church every Sunday morning.

This number is a far cry from the 720,000 promoted by the church. It is also much  lower than the statistics given by John Vaughn (560,000). However,  it is still huge. For example, the mother church (without the regional chapels) at YFGC is more than four times larger than the Elim Church in San Salvador, El Salvador,  and six times larger than the International Charistmatic Mission in Bogota, Colombia (before they moved to the indoor stadium in 1998). I continue to believe that YFGC is the largest church in the history of Protestantism and possibly in the history of Christendom. I would also strongly disagree with those who talk about the decline of YFGC. Decline from what!  It is hard to believe that there was a time when more people were attending the Sunday morning worship services at YFGC. ^[11]   It seems to me that the problem in the past has been inflated statistics, or at least inaccurate statistics. 

            I am still not sure how YFGC arrives at the 720,000 statistic. I was told that when a person gives money to the church, that person is place on the church's membership list. ^[12]              Obviously, there is a problem with correlating giving with church attendance. A YFGC missionary to the Philippines admitted this discrepancy between "registered membership" and those who actually attend the church. This problem is similar to many churches in the United States which talk about numerous members but have far fewer attendees.

Cell Statistics

The number of cell groups seems fairly accurate in the mother church.  Cho writes in 1995, "The Christians in my church all belong to one of the 23,316 cells" (1995:15).  When I was present I observed close to 1,000 cells in several of the districts that I visited. If there are twenty-four districts at YFGC, then this statistic looks fairly accurate.  However, the above figure does not include cells from the branch churches, nor the independent churches. Kannaday helps to enlighten us here,  

Formerly, the Yoido Full Gospel Church had a network of some 50,000 Home Cells located throughout Seoul City, but this year [1994], there are some 23,316 Home Cells. The reason for this reduction in numbers is due to the fact that many of the satellite churches that were previously included in the count are now self-supporting and independent. Their numbers are no longer included with the Yoido Full Gospel "Central" Church statistics (1995:13).

             It is difficult to say how many people are in each cell. However, one of the district pastors said in a 1994 interview, "The average number of members in each Home Cell is 5-10" (1994:130). Although he was referring to his district, if we were to take an average of 7.5 members in each cell group, it would mean that there were 174, 870 people attending the cells on a weekly basis.  

            General Characteristics

            There is no need here to repeat what others have already written about this church. For example Karen Hurston provides an excellent analysis of the church's doctrine (1995:135-146),  general organizational structure (1995:62-80; 108-123; 124-134), and prayer emphasis (1995:36-61). Here I will only include those areas which caught me by surprise.  

Number of Departments

            Karen Hurston gave me some excellent advice before leaving for Korea. She told me that on Sunday I should try to open every door possible. I followed her advice.  I was amazed to find so many congregations and departments in the church. Everyone has a place.  One reason that YFGC has succeeded is that they everyone is not only involved in a cell but also in a ministry. On Sunday, I wrote, "This church skillfully combines the control of districts, the creativity of a myriad of departments, and the discipline of higher education." I observed several mission organizations scattered around the church.         Ministries seem to have sprung up naturally and Cho has given his approval. Anything and everything seems to be acceptable at YFGC. Cho certainly does not try to "purge out programs" in order to maintain cell purity. No way. All community interaction is good. Here is where thinkers like Carl George and Dale Galloway  fit into the larger philosophy of YFGC. It seems that Cho has tried to make the cells the base while adding on building blocks of specific programs. Karen Hurston adds,

Each of YFGC's more than twenty outreach fellowships targets a different segment of society, offering a wide variety of activities. Whether a person has a heart to help struggling churches, is a professional actor looking for a way to spread the gospel through drama, or is concerned for the homeless and disabled, an outreach fellowship invites involvement (1995:125).

            After looking at the organizational chart of YFGC, I am convinced that the organization at  in Tegucigalpa, Honduras comes the  closest to the YFGC model.  is a cell church with specific programs. The pastor of that church confessed to me that pure cell churches lack "something."  In fact, I believe that LAC does more to integrate cell ministry than does YFGC.  At Love Alive Church approximately 90% of the worshippers also have a cell group. At YFGC,  I would speculate that many do not have a cell group. In fact, it is my observation  that the males at YFGC finds more small group interaction in the various departments than in the cells. 

            The church is in the process of building a huge multi-million dollar skyscraper for their daily newspaper. I hear that they now make over 1,000,000 copies of this daily paper. It both covers secular news as well as religious news. Three full pages are dedicated to religious matters. The goals is to include as many denominations as possible.  About this paper, Cho writes,  

We [the church] have power within the society, with the government, and throughout the world. We are really shaking our nation through the publication of our daily newspaper. . . . In the daily newspaper, we publish four pages for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Every day those Christian tracts added to the newspaper are given to a million people. What an influence we have.  Government and business people all read our paper and are touched by the Christian message (1995:19).

The "newspaper outreach" is another example of the variety of programs promoted at YFGC.

            Another outreach ministry is the Elim Welfare Town, a village for both the elderly and delinquent young people. This facility is considered the largest welfare facility in the Far East. Delinquent young people are trained with practical skills and the elderly gratuitously find housing.  YFGC also spawned off the Soon Shin University. As of April 1997 there were 1,600 under graduates and 800 graduate students studying at this university. 

Worship Service

            I found that the worship service was very user friendly, high tech, and well-organized. In other words, I was impressed. There are numerous  seats for visitors who speak foreign languages. There are simultaneous translations for English, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese in three of the seven Sunday services.  I have never seen a communion service performed so quickly and efficiently. 12,000 people were served in a matter of minutes. Real wine and rice cakes for bread are passed simultaneously down the pews. Members sip the wine while with communion trays in hand, thus making it easier to immediately return the empty cup. ^[13]  

            As expected, the worship service was a beautiful combination of fervor, traditional hymns, fully dressed choirs, and sound preaching. There is a different choir for each service--fully dressed in bright, elegant, and matching  robes. A conductor leads both the orchestra and the choir.

            Cho's preaching was soundly Biblical. He called the church to repentance over and over, specifically rebuking superficiality in the congregation. Cho boldly spoke against corruption in the Korean government, even to the point of naming the current Korean president and the scandal taking place.  Concerning Cho's preaching, I wrote, "Cho is one of the best preachers that I know. He gave a very clear illustration of the political corruption in Korea. He goes from the Word to illustrations. His preaching is big. He talked about Achan being in Korea." 

            For years I have heard that YFGC prays together simultaneously.  What a joy to finally hear so many voices raised in one accord to the throne of God! It reminds me of the practice of MCI at the end of a morning worship service. Diligent prayers (often in tongues) ascend to the throne in unison. A bell  rings to silence the worshipers. After the bell rings, silence fills the room.

            The early worship services cater to the adult population at YFGC. However,  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the afternoon worship services minister to the young people.  The ushers and choirs come from the youth as well.

            Workers at YFGC are clearly distinguishable. Women ushers dress in bright blue and white Korean dresses. Elders who serve communion wear white gloves while serving. All male workers wear white coats. All of them wear badges, distinguishing their role. 

The Use of Close-Circuit T.V.

            YFGC has perfected the use of close circuit T.V. The entire service is projected on a huge screen on the main floor of the sanctuary. Projections of the entire congregation, clips of Cho's current crusade (when he's away), Scripture reading, and words of the hymn can be seen on the large screen. These pictures are transmitted simultaneously to hundreds of T.V. screens throughout the complex. Particular  services (especially when Cho preaches) are transmitted live to the various chapels throughout the church. At other times, one of the 700 pastors might preach at the separate chapels, while another pastor is preaching in the main sanctuary. At all times,  there is someone in charge in each of the chapels.  

Areas of Strength in the Church

            There are so many areas of strength in this church. It seems that there is something for everyone in this church. Those who emphasis spiritual warfare discover a kindred spirit here. The more programmatic church growth technicians find justification at YFGC.   Cell-based gurus quote this church frequently. ^[14]   Perhaps G. L Johnson sums up the sentiment of many when he introduced the 13th annual church growth conference at YFGC, "Dr. Cho's life and ministry have touched the whole world for Jesus Christ. He has inspired more people to fill great churches than any other man alive" (1994:11).  I wholeheartedly agree.

            Because Cho and the YFGC is so diversified, I believe that it is best to place this church in the "church growth camp" rather than into a strict cell-based model. Here were a few areas of strength that I noticed.  

Cell Groups

            According to their recent 1997 brochure promoting their 16th annual church growth conference, 

In 1980, Dr. Cho inaugurated the annual Church Growth International Conference introducing to the pastors and lay Christians from around the world the principles of church growth and the home cell. Since then, thousands of pastors and lay Christians have been trained and a multitude of churches have experienced similar church growth in their local churches (brochure 1997:2). . . . You will become a believer in this new way of evangelism, care, spiritual maturation, and fellowship. We are talking about a totally different church based on on the home cell. The home cell has been the backbone of Yoido Full Gospel Church. Any church that wishes to implement this concept has to be completely reorganized into a cell-based church. . . .  On Sunday, you will also attend one of the main worship services, an experience that will convince you of the power of the home cell. . . .  Home cells are run by lay people, through training is provided by the pastor  (Brochure 1997:2).

            My initial impressions about cell ministry were positive. Approximately twenty-four districts operate throughout the day on Sunday. These districts are clearly geographical. The desks of the paid sub-district leaders surround the desk of the district leader. ^[15]   Each district has between twelve to twenty-three sub districts and each sub-district contains about ten to fifteen sections. Each section contains between five to fifteen home cell groups. Each cell has approximately five to ten households.

            The vast majority of cell groups are led by women. Hurston writes, "But the most prevalent groups--in 1993 numbering twenty-eight thousand--remain the women's groups (1995:91). ^[16]   During my extensive interview with Rev. Song Ho Lee, district pastor of the Yong San District, he told me that nine out of every cell leader is female, and that the females only minister to other females.  

Spirituality

            YFGC excels in this area of spirituality. The church can be summarized in the phrase "A spiritual church."  Members wrestle in prayer. Spirituality is taken seriously. The imagery of solider and warrior  best describe this church. What a thrill to walk by the grottos at prayer mountain and hear the cries and pleas of Korean saints  ascending like incense to the throne of God.  I was told that 1,000 prayer warriors pass through prayer mountain every day. So many of these dear saints of God are dedicated to personal prayer as well as corporate prayer. There are daily corporate morning prayer services and evening worship services.  At 5 a.m. in the morning I witnessed approximately 2,000 to 3,000 people in the main auditorium fervently praying.  In fervent pleas to God, these believers rock back in forth while seated in the pew.  Loud crys can be heard throughout the auditorium as the believers pray in unison. This church is alive with spirituality.

            Although spirituality is clearly the emphasis at YFGC, this is not to say that there is no place for scholasticism.  There is a four year theological institute for those desiring to enter the ministry and a Pentecostal Training School for all members.  Normally, the early morning prayer begins with a time of reflection upon the Word of God.  

Vision, Dreams, & Goals

            YFGC is the result of the dreams and vision of one man of God--David Yonggi Cho. As I strolled along the Han River and looked at at the towering structure called Yoido Full Gospel Church, I felt compelled to praise God for the vision that God placed in this one man. Cho is a dreamer. He lives in visions and dreams. He has personally lifted me to a higher understanding of vision and leadership. His flaming  vision has now been passed on to 1,000s of leaders.  Cho writes,

Everything starts from visions and dreams. Before you worry about giving birth to a child you must first become pregnant. So as a cell leader, you must become pregnant about your cell system and about soul winning. . . . So a clear goal and goal-led visions and dreams are very, very important.  When people do not have visions, they do not believe.  They do not work (1995: 22).  

Incredible Organization

            Cho writes, "If you don't get organized, then people will not work" (1995:18). The organization of this church is outstanding.  Although these people are "Spirit-led" they also are excellent planners. Flow charts hang on every wall--complete with photographs and colors representing positions. Computers and other high-tech equipment are utilized with great effectiveness.  Everything is modern at YFGC--the elevators, the vending machines, the furniture, the buildings. Goals are posted in most district offices. ^[17] Buses run almost every hour (precisely on time) from the church to the prayer mountain. Those at YFGC are not afraid to take advantage of modern technology to enhance the work of God.   

Missions

            YFGC takes missionary work seriously. There are over 300 missionaries sent out from YFGC-166 in North America (Kannaday 1995:139).  YFGC supports these missionaries until they can become independently stable. Along with their world mission department, I noticed a mission agency (from YFGC) to Red China, and various other missionary organizations in the church. One entire skyscraper building is entitled "Administration and World Mission Building."   

Weaknesses of the Church

              In a church so powerful and influential, it is hard to point out

weaknesses. Yet, there are a few.  

Cell Groups

            Cell group ministry at YFGC has both its strengths and weaknesses. Although this church was the forerunner of the modern cell movement, this ministry seems to have lost some of its early momentum. 

Lack of Men's Groups

            YFGC has not sufficiently penetrated the male population of the church. The vast majority of cells in this church are women's groups (one district pastor told me that nine out of ten cell leaders are female).  An ever-increasingly reality is that women are no longer staying at home in Korea. As Korea continues to develop as a modern nation,  more women are joining the work force. Many women who at one time  could both lead and attend a daytime cell group, now can do neither.

            Earlier, I made the comment about men finding more relationships in the congregational departments throughout the church. If in fact, the cells have not penetrated the males in the church, can we say that it is indeed a cell church? Although Hurston talks about children's cell groups and youth cell groups (1995:92-93), the two main categories are men and women.  I was told that each district has has several youth cell groups as well as elderly cell groups, but even these groups meet as male or female. With such strict lines drawn between men and women, one wonders where the family as a group receives pesonal ministry?  This is not an easy answer, but it should be addressed. ^[18]    

Cell Ministry Tends to be One of the Features

            I have noticed throughout the years that Cho emphasizes other aspects of church growth at YFGC as much as he does the cell structure. When he talks about the cell structure he is convincing, but it seems to be only one of the features here. For example,  Cho holds an  annual church growth conferences as opposed to a cell-based ministry conference. At the 1997 annual church growth conference, Rick Warren and Bill Hybels will be the featured speakers  (Meta model) along with Larry Stockstill and Billy Joe Daughtery (Pure Cell model).  For Cho's philosophy, the distinction is not a large one.

            Nor does the organizational chart properly represent cell ministry. In my visitor package (April, 1997) I received a recent organizational chart of YFGC. Of the eight directors over entire departments, only one of them is directly connected to the cell ministries of the church. It is under the director of pastoral care that the districts, regional chapels, sub-districts, youth evangelism district,  and handicap mission district (children's cell groups fall under the director of educational division) fall into place. I'm reminded of my similar confusion when reviewing the chart at AMV. ^[19]  

Lack of Integration between Cell and Additional Ministries

            I also sensed little integration between departments and cells. How do the elders relate to cell groups? They are supposed to attend, but their true heart to heart fellowship takes place through the homogenous department called "elders."  These departments and sub-departments spread over three huge skyscraper buildings.  Hurston says, "After attending a Sunday morning worship service, many lay leaders go to one of the nearly twenty mission outreach fellowships for a devotional service in an office in the World Missions Building"(1995:126). These are all essential outreaches, but it is difficult to know how they precisely relate to cell ministry.  There is no mechanism built into the geographical cell system at YFGC that integrates the departmental ministries with the cells. Perhaps, we need to pay serious attention to the way MCI has related the cell ministry to the various departments.

            Another interesting factor that seems to contradict the strict cell-based ministry model is the two-tier system of leadership. On one hand, there is the cell system that employs most of the full-time pastors. On the other hand, there is a lay-leadership system working along side the cell-system consisting of deacons/deaconesses, senor deacons/deaconesses, and elders. These are non-paid workers who are supposed to attend the cells. They also hold a lot of power, in that the elders serve as Cho's "governing board" and "advisory council."  Hurston goes into great detail in describing this system (1995:62-80).  

Lack of Creativity in Cell Model

            The writings of Cho today about cell ministry appear very similar to what he wrote in 1981. In some ways, stability is a plus. Yet, in the case of cell ministry at YFGC, I believe it is a weakness. There seems to be a overall lack of creativity and new ideas in the cell ministry at YFGC.  Rev. Song Ho Lee told me that cell ministry has remained static for quite some time. It seems to me that the new, exciting energy at YFGC today is directed toward the newspaper, the mission outreach, the men's outreach, Cho's crusades, and other similar endeavors.  

Size of the Main Sanctuary

            The sanctuary at YFGC is huge in comparison with the average church building. However, it seemed  comparatively small for the largest church in the history of Christianity. When I first saw the Yoido Full Gospel Church I wrote,  

The outside structure of all four main buildings are very impressive. They are modern, well built structures. Yet, I was disappointed by the seating capacity. The bottom floor seats no more than 6,000. The balcony might seat 4,000. I believe that I am being liberal.

 Many sanctuaries throughout the world are larger (both Catholic and Protestant). The main sanctuary  of the Elim Church in El Salvador is as large as the main floor at YFGC.  

Membership Methodology

            I do not understand how the church can promote a membership of 700,000+ while having only 250,000 in attendance (1/3 of "membership").  Although at this point I'm not certain how they count "tithing members," they certainly do not count active tithing.  This discrepancy should be addressed.  

Chapter 2: Cell Organization at Yoido Full Gospel Church

Explosive growth is taking place in this church.  Although many reasons for this growth could be listed,  one key reason is the cell system.   

Development of the Cell System

            I won't go into detail here about the development of the cell system. Much has already been written about Cho's calling into cells, the early establishment of his structure, and the ongoing ministry of the cells (Hurston 1995:81-88 and Cho 1981).  It is important to mention that Cho's initial dependence of women continues to influence the cell structure at YFGC.  I used to think that Cho used women leadership because they were the "preferred option."  I realize more and more that at one time, they were Cho's only option.  I also thought that women led both men and women, but that is not the case. Almost exclusively, women lead women and men lead men.

            According to Hurston, in January, 1994 there were 32,000 cell groups (1995:88). In another place Hurston mentions 28,000 women's groups (1995:91), one thousand youth cell groups (1995:91) many children's home cell groups (1995:91). However, more recent statistics tell us that there are 19,704 women's cell groups, 3,612 men's cell groups, 569 children's cells (Kannaday 1995:139).  It's amazing to think that there are only 3,612 male cell groups to care for a congregation of some 253,000 attendees! [20]   Yet, Cho does not flinch at those statistics. He turns them into a positive blessing. He states,

Most of our cell leaders are women. . . . 70 per cent of them are women.  Men are very slow to hear from the Lord.  Women are a treasure in the church.  In the Western culture, they are not using women very much and that is a curse in society, but in the church we are using women freely (1995:31).  

Cell Administration

           The administrative structure is geographical. The homogeneity of the groups fit four categories: men, women, youth, and children. The children's cell groups are organized under the Christian education department- they are not administered through the twenty-four geographical districts.
          The structure is divided into district pastors, sub-district pastors, and section leaders.  Over all the entire cell ministry and under the direct leadership of Pastor Cho is the director of Pastoral Care Department. This pastor oversees the district, sub-district, section leaders, home cell leaders, and assistant home cell leaders.  According to the literature that I received on April, 1997, there were twenty-four district leaders, 449 sub-district leaders, and 2,077 section leaders.  The director, district leaders, and su