| How to: Pastor the largest church in the world 03/17/2001 The Rev. David Yonggi Cho, pastor of world's largest church, was in town last week for a one-day crusade at Calvary Temple in Irving. His church, the Yoida Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea claims more members than some American denominations – more than 750,000.
The church is a member of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination. The dynamic Mr. Cho, who travels the world giving speeches and sermons, has a consistent message that draws people to his ministry and a creative management style that keeps them there.
The message: Give your soul completely to God and pray very specifically for what you truly want, and the Holy Spirit will deliver.
The management: First, pack people together for large Sunday services. He holds seven every Sunday in a building that can seat 25,000, along with more than two dozen overflow chapels.
But what really connects members are home-based prayer "cells," each with 15 families or less. The cells are combined into small sections, which coordinate as subdistricts, which then form about a dozen districts.
In this way, Yoida Full Gospel is the largest and smallest church in the world, said Dr. David Chung, pastor at Modern Community Korean Church in Irving and coordinator for Dr. Cho's visit.
Dr. Cho prays at least three hours a day for the vision to lead his huge congregation, he told an audience at the National Association of Evangelicals in Dallas. And although his charismatic personality is the glue that holds his church together, he refuses to consider designating or training possible successors, Dr. Chung said. He says that's the job of the Holy Spirit.
Jeffrey Weiss
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