{"id":38157,"date":"2021-08-24T14:05:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T05:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=38157"},"modified":"2021-08-21T13:53:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-21T04:53:01","slug":"vomk-report-168","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/08\/24\/vomk-report-168\/","title":{"rendered":"PASTOR URGES NK DEFECTOR PASTOR ASSOCIATION: DO NOT USE SK CHURCH PLANTING METHODS FOR NK"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”38171″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Speaking to North Korean defector pastors at the Bukkichong North Korean Defector Pastors Association summer retreat on August 10, Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley urged the association members to become proficient in North Korean underground church planting methods and to apply these in both North and South Korea, instead of using South Korean methods. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Years\u00a0<\/span>ago<\/span>\u00a0when the Soviet Union collapsed, Western missionaries rushed in to\u00a0<\/span>Russia<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>bringing\u00a0<\/span>their<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Western church\u00a0<\/span>planting\u00a0<\/span>methods with them<\/span>. It made\u00a0<\/span>our Voice of the Martyrs founder,\u00a0<\/span>Pastor\u00a0<\/span>Richard\u00a0<\/span>Wurmbrand<\/span>\u00a0sad<\/span>,\u201d sa<\/span>id Pastor\u00a0<\/span>Foley<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>Western\u00a0<\/span>missionaries\u00a0<\/span>wrongly\u00a0<\/span>acted as if\u00a0<\/span>both\u00a0<\/span>Communism and the underground Russian church<\/span>\u00a0had failed<\/span>, when\u00a0<\/span>in reality the<\/span>\u00a0underground Russian church was spiritually stronger than the church in the West<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Pastor\u00a0<\/span>Wurmbrand<\/span>\u00a0said,\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>Western Christians should rush\u00a0<\/span>in to<\/span>\u00a0Russia<\/span>, but\u00a0<\/span>only for the purpose of sit<\/span>ting<\/span>\u00a0at the feet of the underground Russian Christians who remained faithful witnesses under Communism.<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38178″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley and Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley address North Korean defector pastors at the Bukkichong North Korean Defector Pastors Association summer retreat on August 10.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Pastor Foley\u00a0<\/span>told the North Korean defector pastors, \u201c<\/span>God has not called you to bring South Korean Christianity to North Korean people. The North Korean underground church is not defeated. It is the South Korean church that is defeated and in need of repentance and revival. It has lost its spiritual strength. It needs to sit at the feet of the North Korean underground Christians who have faithfully kept the word of God alive under four generations of Communist persecution.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We wrongly think because the S<\/span>outh Korean\u00a0<\/span>church has money and buildings and seminaries, God has said\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>yes<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0to it<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and because the N<\/span>orth Korean\u00a0<\/span>underground church faces constant persecution and has no earthly treasure, that God has said\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>no<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0to it<\/span>,\u201d said Pastor Foley<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cBut this is human thinking, not God\u2019s thinking.<\/span>\u201d He noted that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>despite fierce persecution, the\u00a0<\/span>North Korean underground church has been growing at the same\u00a0<\/span>time<\/span>\u00a0the South Korean church has been mired in decades of numeric decline, according to most estimates.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Pastor Foley called the North Korean underground church \u201cthe church\u00a0<\/span>built\u00a0<\/span>according to\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>John Ross<\/span>\u00a0method<\/span>\u201d and the South Korean church \u201cthe church\u00a0<\/span>built according to the method\u00a0<\/span>of Appenzeller, Underwood, and Allen\u201d<\/span>. \u201cRoss\u2019 strategy was simple<\/span>,\u201d said Pastor Foley. \u201c<\/span>Translate the Bible. Distribute it. Trust that as people read it, they\u00a0<\/span>would\u00a0<\/span>meet Christ because he is fully present in his word<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>He described the\u00a0<\/span>method of Appenzeller, Underwood, and Allen\u00a0<\/span>as a \u201c<\/span>humanitarian aid-based outreach strategy<\/span>\u201d in which\u00a0<\/span>Koreans<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>interest in Christianity came through a demonstration of its power and attractiveness<\/span>, especially through the creation of social institutions like schools,\u00a0<\/span>orphanages<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>hospitals.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAt first it would appear that the method of Appenzeller, Underwood, and Allen was more effective,\u201d said Pastor Foley. \u201cBut today the social institutions<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>founded by the earliest missionaries have become secular and no longer advance the gospel. In fact, many of these formerly Christian universities are increasingly hostile to the Christian faith.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]B<\/span>y contrast, said Foley, the method\u00a0<\/span>of John Ross has enabled North Korean underground churches to survive the destruction of all the church-related institutions planted by missionaries.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Unlike the shrinking South Korean church of Appenzeller, Underwood, and Allen, nothing that has descended from the North Korean underground church of John Ross has been lost<\/span>,\u201d said Pastor Foley<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38175″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s contemporary translation of Missionary John Ross\u2019 Mission Methods in Manchuria” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Pastor Foley said that growing hostility against Christianity in South Korea will\u00a0<\/span>require\u00a0<\/span>the South Korean church to rely\u00a0<\/span>increasingly on Ross\u2019 Bible-only method. \u201c<\/span>The Lord Jesus warned us in his word that from now until the day he returns, we will face more and more hostility from the world, not less\u2014even here in South Korea<\/span>,\u201d said Pastor Foley<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>The time is here when\u00a0<\/span>the Lord\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>people can no longer freely worship\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>drink coffee\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>meet in their church\u00a0<\/span>buildings, or<\/span>\u00a0be trained and receive certificates in\u00a0<\/span>person at\u00a0<\/span>their seminaries, or have enough money to fund church planting projects in North Korea\u00a0<\/span>in 2028, such as has been planned<\/span>. The time is here in which the Lord intends to lead his people out of buildings and out of seminaries and out of a humanitarian aid mindset so that he can be present to his people through his word alone\u2014the Bible\u2014and to have his people\u00a0<\/span>meet with\u00a0<\/span>him in the ordinary\u00a0<\/span>places<\/span>\u00a0of their everyday lives, not mediated by pastors or buildings or megachurch programs.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pastor Foley acknowledged that many South Koreans and even some North Korean defector pastors\u00a0<\/span>continue to\u00a0<\/span>doubt the existence of the underground North Korean church.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe reason some deny the existence of the North Korean underground church is that they use the characteristics of the South Korean church<\/span>—<\/span>ordained pastors, church buildings, corporate Christian worship<\/span>—<\/span>as their criteria to answer the question. They then conclude, no, there are no ordained pastors, church buildings,\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>corporate Christian worship in North Korea, so there is no underground North Korean church. But after 70 years of data\u00a0<\/span>gathering<\/span>\u00a0we know now with certainty that the North Korean underground church exists. We can trace its continuous existence back to the entry of the gospel into South Korea through the work of John Ross. In fact, we\u00a0<\/span>actually know<\/span>\u00a0quite a bit about the characteristics of the North Korean underground church, its worship and discipleship practices, and even some of its history and some of its people, especially its martyrs.\u201d Pastor Foley referenced his own book,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>These<\/span>\u00a0are the Generations,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as document<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0the existence and practices of the North Korean underground church and advocat<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0their emulation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>South Korean Christians<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5uy1c-wahQU”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Korean Christianity is the true heir of the earliest Korean Christians, who were called \u2018Bible Christians\u2019,\u201d concluded Pastor Foley. \u201cGod is pruning the South Korean church of its Western style Christianity that is built on pastors and seminaries and ordination and denominations and humanitarian aid-style outreach strategies and coffee shops. He intends that the NK underground church will purify and revive South Korean Christianity\u00a0and\u00a0become the church of unification.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The video of Pastor Foley\u2019s full\u00a0message, with translation by Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr.\u00a0Hyun Sook Foley, is accessible for free viewing at\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/youtu.be\/xTlp9e0Fp24<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Foley\u2019s books, as well as a contemporary translation of John Ross\u2019\u00a0<\/span>Mission Methods in Manchuria,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>are available at\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/store\/<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”38171″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Speaking to North Korean defector pastors at the Bukkichong North Korean Defector Pastors Association summer retreat on August 10, Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":38172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}