About 26,000 join Seoul prayer rally as Church Growth International marks 50 years
Church Growth International, the Pentecostal network founded by the late David Yonggi Cho, closed its 50th-anniversary congress with a prayer rally held in two places in Seoul and linked by live video. The host church put attendance at about 26,000, including some 3,000 pastors and church leaders from about 60 countries.
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Church Growth International (CGI), a worldwide fellowship of Pentecostal churches, marked its 50th anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 31, with a prayer rally held at two sites in Seoul. Jamsil Students' Gymnasium and the main sanctuary of Yoido Full Gospel Church were linked by two-way live video. The church said about 6,000 people attended at the gymnasium and 20,000 at the church, about 26,000 in all. Among them, it said, were some 3,000 pastors and church leaders from about 60 countries.
The rally closed a four-day World Church Growth Congress that began Oct. 28. NoCut News reported about 7,000 participants, with workshops on the next generation, missions, church planting and media. The theme was "Holy Spirit, Beyond Generations." The late Rev. David Yonggi Cho, founding pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, started CGI in 1976. NoCut News said it has since held about 600 seminars in some 100 countries.
Rev. Young Hoon Lee, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church and head of CGI, preached from Genesis 12. He urged listeners to "abandon idols such as money, fame and power," NoCut News reported. Rev. William Wilson, chairman of the Pentecostal World Fellowship, also spoke. The rally prayed for peace in places at war and for the next generation. Leaders of several Korean denominations, including the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church and the Assemblies of God of Korea, led prayers.
President Lee Jae-myung sent a message of congratulations, which a senior aide read. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also spoke, MK reported.
Sources
NoCut News: CGI World Church Growth Congress Draws Some 26,000 in Prayer, 'Holy Spirit, Beyond Generations' (Oct 31, 2026)
https://en.nocutnews.co.kr/news/6600167Maeil Business Newspaper (MK): 'Spiritual Great Revival' Heats Up Jamsil and Yeouido ... Rev. Young Hoon Lee: 'Do Not Put Money or Fame Ahead of God' (Oct 31, 2026)
https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/12192486
Corrections and updates
- Update, November 2, 2026: Brief prepared from NoCut News (Song Ju-yeol; Oct. 31, 2026) and Maeil Business Newspaper (MK) (Lee Hyanghwi; English text machine-translated; Oct. 31, 2026). No threadId. No follows. stories.ts had no Church Growth International, Yoido, or CGI story. The sheet date is Oct. 31, so sourcePublishedAt is 2026-10-31. The brief is in the Nov. 1 edition, so publishedAt and editionDate are 2026-11-01. Sources were checked Nov. 2, 2026, so accessedAt is 2026-11-02. Status is REPORTED. Tags are global, church-life, and protestant. Tradition is protestant for the Pentecostal network and Yoido Full Gospel Church. No persecution tag. Attendance is the church's figure. MK's English page says it was translated by AI. Its quotes are used only where NoCut News matches them, and the body quotes NoCut's version. The 26,000 figure is the Oct. 31 rally; NoCut says about 7,000 attended the four-day congress. The body uses Young Hoon Lee and David Yonggi Cho. No prior Wayback snapshot was found for NoCut News or MK. No photo.