Breaking Barriers, Building Unity: Inside the 40th Anniversary of Shincheonji Drawing over 30,000 in Harmony

Chicago, Illinois Mar 16, 2024 (Issuewire.com) – Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Chairman Man-hee Lee hereinafter referred to as the Shincheonji Church of Jesus), celebrated its 40th founding anniversary with a ceremony and worship service at the Cheongpyeong Shincheonji Peace Training Center, where once again, exceptional safety management and order maintenance shone through.

The ceremony was organized to reflect on the growth of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus since its foundation on March 14, 1984, and to give glory to God. Furthermore, plans and visions for the coming year were shared, and commitments were made to fulfill the church’s role in civil society, being the light and salt through volunteering and action.

About 30,000 members attended the event on-site, and it was live-streamed simultaneously domestically and globally to 66 countries.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus stated that considering the large number of attendees compared to the venue size, maintaining order and safety of the participants on-site was the top priority in event preparation. The organizers developed a detailed safety management plan, reflecting on the experience of safely and smoothly conducting three graduation ceremonies with 100,000 graduates each time. The saints also demonstrated high civic consciousness, actively following the guidance of the ushers, contributing to the smooth maintenance of order.

The commemoration service was held in the order of (1) introducing the 40th anniversary event, (2) a commemorative video, (3) a report on the history of Shincheonji, followed by a sermon from Chairman Lee.

Chairman Lee stated, “The beginning of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus was very humble. However, the reason why many people have come to us today is because, as spoken in the Bible, He sent us angels from heaven,” explaining the significance and background of its steady growth.

He continued, “Jesus also laid his life to fulfill God’s will. Therefore, today, we should not have blind faith, but know the hope of God and us, and do things according to His will,” emphasizing, “We must follow God’s will and love our neighbors as ourselves.”

Lastly, he stated “More people are learning the Book of Revelation, the purpose of God written in the Bible. I am grateful,” and urged, “Let’s work together to save more people through the Word and strive for a better world.”

In the afternoon of the day, there were celebration performances prepared by the 12 tribes in commemoration of the 40th founding anniversary of Shincheonji.

Meanwhile, Shincheonji Church of Jesus has achieved continuous development without any decline since its establishment, even amidst the global atmosphere of Christian decline. Since the Zion Christian Mission Center was established in Sadang, Seoul, in June 1990, there has been a steady increase in graduates. In the 110th graduation ceremony in 2019, 103,764 graduates were produced, ushering in the era of 100,000 graduates. Subsequently, in 2022 and 2023, 106,186 and 108,084 people graduated, respectively, achieving the milestone of over 100,000 enrollments for two consecutive years.

At the same time, by valuing mutual growth through harmony with denominations both domestically and globally and promoting the exchange of words, they have signed MOUs for the exchange of teachings with 443 churches in Korea and 9,462 churches in 77 countries abroad. Notably, 1,382 churches in 38 globally have changed their signboards to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as a way to show unity and acceptance of Shincheonji’s teachings as the truth.

A representative of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus stated, “We feel rewarded that the event proceeded smoothly, as we prepared it with a focus on safety and order. We also thank the saints who actively participated in the guidance,” and “Throughout this year, we will position ourselves as a church that serves as a role model for society, fulfilling our social role as a church community, and becoming a church that is the light and salt of the world.”

To learn more about Shincheonji, visit its official website on shincheonji.org or email [email protected] to connect with the Midwest branch of Shincheonji.