26th Pentecostal World Conference to land in Seoul this week

Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon delivers a speech during the 25th Pentecostal World Conference hosted in Calgary, Canada, from Aug. 27 to 30, 2019. Courtesy of the Yoido Full Gospel Church

By Park Han-sol

Thousands of representatives and congregants of Pentecostal denominations from some 170 nations around the globe ― known as the Pentecostal World Fellowship (PWF) ― will flock to Seoul this week for the global triennial spiritual conference.

The 26th Pentecostal World Conference (PWC), running from Oct. 12 to 14, is organized by the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest Protestant church in South Korea.

This year is the third time for the PWC, which has been held since 1947, to land in Seoul, after the first and second times in 1973 and 1998 respectively.

Themed “Pentecostal Revival in the Next Generation,” it aims to be a religious assembly focusing on the role and future of Pentecostalism ― and Protestant Christianity as a whole ― to pass on the spiritual legacy to the succeeding generation.

Throughout the three-day conference, five plenary sessions are set to be held at the megachurch in Yeongdeungpo District, kicking off with the session jointly led by Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon and PWF Chairman William Wilson. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon are scheduled to appear to deliver congratulatory speeches.

Another event to unfold is a series of workshops, themed around 11 timely topics, including evangelism in the 21st century and accelerated change in the church during the pandemic.

On Oct. 13, a forum centering on two themes will take place: “Pentecostal Revival in the Next Generation” and “Pentecostal Leadership Challenges and Opportunities.”

The climax of Seoul's conference will be marked by the “DMZ Crusade” the next day. Some 20,000 believers ― including 5,000 Pentecostal church officials and leaders worldwide and other Korean congregants ― are to gather at the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, located just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), for a mass prayer rally.

It will be a place to pray for the restoration of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue, according to the Yoido Full Gospel Church.

Other in-person and videotaped congratulatory addresses are scheduled to be given by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, ruling People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung.

While the 26th PWC is set to mainly span two venues ― the Yoido Full Gospel Church and the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park ― all events taking place throughout the conference will also be livestreamed on YouTube, with multilingual interpretation offered.