Perhaps it is the world's fastest Church, maybe not; but there is certainly something extraordinary about its growth; it is 'Korean and is called Manmin and wants "all people."
Its full name is in fact "Manmin Central Church" and it was born in Seoul.
But its expansion has been somewhat miraculous; it has about nine thousand church "affiliates" throughout the world, two television networks (which should merge soon) and full-time professional orchestra.
Last month it celebrated Manmim’s 29th "birthday", the celebrations began with a divine service at night, which started at 11.00 p.m. and ended at 4.00 a.m. the next morning.
A spectacular event which involved over 400 of singers, dancers and musicians, as well as the Nissi Orchestra and a religious choir. A show, according to some witnesses, conducted according to professional criteria of spectacular exception.
The introduction of that religious night consisted in a show in 3D, "The Castle of the pastor" that was seen out in the open by thousands of spectators who were given special glasses. After the show, many entered the main church, while others moved towards the side sanctuaries.
Koreans are known for their belief that prayer can change things, and people;on this occasion too, they distinguished themselves for their discipline, zeal and and fervor. Every weekend they gather in long sessions of prayer, many of which are transmitted across the Global Christian Network, in over 170 countries.
The Manmin is a strongly missionary Church; and even if this leads to criticism, due to the missionary zeal that the followers of Manmin show, the urge to move, is however, very strong, even for dangerous areas where access isdifficult or forbidden, including North Korea, a land where the regime ruthlessly persecutes Christians.
During an interview with some overseas visitors, Jaerock Lee, the Church's senior pastor, said: "we have people in our church, who are preparing to bring the Gospel to North Korea, which I believe will soon open its borders, perhaps only for a short period. These are people who understand that the door will not stay open for long, and are ready to offer their own lives, and also to become martyrs for Jesus Christ."
But the Manmin Church is growing too fast, managers are complaining. Many of its followers in different parts of the world cannot find a place for celebration and must follow religious services via satellite in the various shrines and prayer halls around Seoul.
The Manmin is planning to construct a building in Seoul, the "Canaan Sanctuary" which will have seating for 70 thousand faithful. But it probably will not be sufficient and plans are already being made to build what will be called "The Grand Sanctuary", with a capacity of 200 thousand people (seated) and a television screen in front of each chair.
Manmin's creator in 1982, was Jaerock Lee. The term Manmin means - as intended by the father of this structure - "all creation, all nations, all people." The Global Christian [television] Network, was founded in 2004, and was launched in October 2005. Its programs are shot and rebroadcast by Christian channels such as Enlace and TBN in Russia. Lee claims to have at least 120 thousand faithful around the world, and has sponsored a number of events, mainly in Korea.
The names are certainly fascinating: the Jubilee of National Reunification, the Congress of the Holy Spirit of Evangelism for the Reunification of the Country, the Missionary Team for the World Cup, the Mission to revitalize the Christian World, or the Crusades of the Holy Spirit for the Expo in Seoul. The Church has extended its work and has now established roots in the United States, Japan, Latin America and Africa.
But this explosive expansion has its problems. The Manmin was expelled from the Christian Council of Korea in April 1999 with the “accusation of heresy". The result was a controversy that went on for years. The spokesman for Manmin Church said that the Church has always followed the foundation of evangelical theology and Orthodox biblical teachings. In June 2004, Korea's Union of Presbyterian Churches published a book entitled "Orthodoxy and Heresy" and denied the accusations of the Christian Council of 1999, stating that "Rev. Jaerock Lee teaches faithful doctrines based on the pure Gospel."
Other disagreements arose in Africa. The leaders of the Korean Missionary Association in Uganda have accused Jaerock Lee of stoking the cult of personality, referring to an alleged statement of 1998, in which he claimed tobe "sinless and free from death." Lee's spokesman said that these types of statements are made by people who have obscure intentions towards the founder of the Church.
It is also difficult to criticize the Manmin in Korea, as experienced by the Munhwa, a South Korean television, which in 1999 broadcasted a documentary that criticized Lee Jaerock. In response, 300 members of Manmin invaded the television station's offices, attacked the security guards and succeeded in cutting the electrical power needed to transmit, while another 1500 faithful organized a sit-in protest.
It took 600 riot police to restore order.
The broadcaster had previously received an injunction not to broadcast a story on Lee's sexual life. After the attack, the Munhwa filed a complaint against the Church, involving 61 people, and received one quarter of what had been asked as damages, but failed to involve Lee personally.