Shincheonji, doing a survey in Busan area... 8 out of 10 “joined the church because it was biblical”
On the 20th, Zion Christian Mission Center which is the Bible education center of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji Church of Jesus) produced 106,186 graduates. A survey done for graduates in the Busan area is drawing attention as it is reported that more than 10,000 people joined Shincheonji Church of Jesus this year only in Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongsangnam-do Province and Jeju area where Buddhism is traditionally strong.
In particular, 9 out of 10 people had a negative perception toward Shincheonji Church of Jesus, but 8 out of 10 people said that the reason to join the church is 'words centered on the Bible' and 'religious life based on the Bible', drawing attention. It was also interesting that the previous religions of the members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, classified as an independent Christian denomination, were Christianity, Buddhism, and Catholicism and even some of them had no religion before they join Shincheonji Church.
The Busan James and Andrew tribes of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which are active in Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, and Jeju, conducted a survey 375 graduates in Busan for three days from November 18th to 21st to learn about their perception, attitude change, and satisfaction regarding Shincheonji.
According to the results of the survey, large proportion of graduates considered Shincheonji Church of Jesus to be a 'heresy (43.8%)' before listening to the sermons, followed by religious groups (16.3%), peace groups (13.2%), minority religious groups (7.4%), and others.
In particular, 86.8% of the graduates said that they had a negative prejudice toward Shincheonji Church of Jesus through TV broadcasting (69.8%), SNS (9.9%), and YouTube (7.1%). This is a point where it can be inferred that negative or biased messages delivered through the mass media and online have had a great impact.
However, the reason why they joined Shincheonji was because there was a 'Bible-centered Word'.
When asked about the background of joining the church, the most common answer was 'Preaching the Word based only on the Bible (49.9%)', followed by Bible-based religious life (25.5%), curiosity about Shincheonji (19.5%), class atmosphere (17.3%), and skepticism about existing religions (8.4%).
What pastors of existing denominations find most difficult in ministry is the 'inflow of new believers'. On the other hand, in case of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, close to half of the graduates were found to be 'non-believers'. To the question of 'religion before coming to Shincheonji,' the most common answer was 'non-believers' (45.2%), followed by Christianity (33.2%), Buddhism (15.1%), Catholicism (5%), and others.
addition to this, the results that negative or critical views on Shincheonji can be changed through 'acquaintances or family' draw attention.
As for the opportunity which people came in contact with the word of Shincheonji was that 'acquaintances' ranked first with 58.8%, followed by family with 27.1%. 'The value of human relationships', that is 'love' is interpreted as the origin of Shincheonji's evangelism looking at 'Family, acquaintance's recommendation, effort, etc.' was 85.9%.
A total of 375 participants, including 220 males, 151 females, and 4 unanswered genders among graduates of the Busan James and Andrew tribes participated in this online survey. Among them, 89 were in their 20s, 40 were in their 30s, 66 were in their 40s, 86 were in their 50s, and 89 were in their 60s or older.
At the 100,000 graduation ceremony of Shincheonji Church of Jesus held at Daegu Stadium on the 20th, 18,065 graduates from Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, and Jeju(including overseas) were produced. Among them, domestic graduates in Busan James were 3,926 and in Andrew were 5,608 which is 9,534 in total. This figure accounts for 10% of all 12 tribes graduates. In particular, it is interpreted that Shincheonji's revealed theology is groundbreaking and recognized enough bearing considerable fruit even in the Yeongnam region including Busan and Ulsan where Buddhist influence is absolute.
An official from the two tribes in Busan said, “Even though we had difficulties due to Corona 19, we devoted all our abilities to spreading the word of God. We preached the word online, but the process was not smooth. However, as a result of everyone uniting and expressing our will, 100,000 graduation ceremony was created.”
On the other hand, the religious community is also paying attention to the background of the 'rapid growth' of Shincheonji Church of Jesus because the number of church members increases by tens of thousands every year despite being rejected as a heresy by mainstream denominations, facing a considerable burden in evangelism.
One of the graduates said “When I was in school, I thought I had a deep Buddhist mind while participating in various activities through the Buddhist Student Association. At first, I stubbornly rejected my wife’s suggestion, but as the number of times I studied the Bible increased, As I am learning and understanding, I felt a change in my thoughts and the meaning of life.”
Mr. Han (60, male), a graduate of Zion Christian Mission Center of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Busan, who has lived as a Buddhist for 44 years, said, “I had prejudice about Shincheonji. I was confused by the malicious content such as rumors and criticism, but I was able to solve the wrong views and misunderstandings about Shincheonji through the words of the truth, the true deeds of the believers, and their hearts. I realized that it was the exact opposite.”
Reference : http://bit.ly/3Xy7dcN
