WINning Souls In Seoul
By: Pastor Butch Yu

SEOUL is a fascinating city. Despite the fact that it had a history of painful, chaotic and fractured past, because of Japan’s 35-year colonial rule and it’s own civil war, which divided the nation and it’s alliance. Korea was also known by the westerners as the “Hermit Kingdom,”(1) but currently transformed itself from a Hermit to a Tiger. South Korea is now a major international economic power; it has the twelfth largest economy in the world and the third largest in Asia and it has become a nation of major mover and shaker on the international arena, especially in the field of commerce and sports.



South Korea has also the highest percentage of Christians (one in every three) of any country in Southeast Asia, with the exception of the Philippines. In fact, the largest Full-Gospel church in the world is there - The Yoido Full Gospel Church, which has more than 780,000 members. Not only that, eleven of the world’s twelve largest churches is located in that nation. It is a city reborn. Seoul is also home to more than 32,000 Filipinos, who are largely factory workers, housekeepers, educators, nurses, and caregivers.(2)



During my recent visit, I had the chance to meet some of them who have been working there for as long as ten years. Most of them have not seen their families for quite sometime. Yet they remain to work there for economic reasons. It is in this context that many have come to know the higher purpose of life, that is, life in Christ. That being scattered abroad is not an accident but part of God’s sovereign plan, because the scattered are now gathered worshipping God and spreading the Word.

Filipino Christian churches are actively reaching out with the gospel. One of these groups is the Overseas Christian Workers Fellowship, who just celebrated their first anniversary service and had invited me to be their speaker. After almost a year of prayer, they have decided to affiliate themselves to Word International Ministries. Brother Obet & Grace Agustin serve as the pastor of this church. He is also a full-time student at the AMI Bible School. Now they are known as Word International Ministries –Seoul, in short, WIN-Seoul! For me it sounds like WIN-Souls! I realized that they would, indeed, win souls in Seoul!



WIN-Seoul is blessed with talented, humble and diligent volunteer-workers and leaders. I have seen their joy in service and worship to God. They are a happy and loving congregation. I am confident that WIN-Seoul has the God-given potential to make a difference in the lives of many Filipinos, and also to make an impact in the whole of South Korea.

To all of you in WIN-Seoul, welcome to WIN Global Family!

Source:
1 Hermit kingdom is a label that Westerners have often applied to Korea, particularly to the Joseon dynasty and to contemporary North Korea. The claim that Korea was a hermit kingdom has increasingly been seen as erroneous in recent times. However, the term is still in common currency throughout Korea and is often used by Koreans themselves to describe pre-modern Korea. – wikipedia

2 Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, August 3, 2006.

SUNDAY SERVICE (3PM)
WIN-Seoul
HyeHwaRo Presbyterian Church
33-5 Myung Ryun-dong 1ga
Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 110-521 (Zip Code)

Pastor Obet Agustin
Tel: +821086970893
Email: win_seoul@yahoo.com