World Mission Society Church of God: Difference between revisions

|Scale = 7,500 churches around the world<br>About 3.7 million registered members

The '''World Mission Society Church of God''' (hereinafter referred to as the “'''Church of God'''”) was established in 1964 by [[Ahnsahnghong|Christ Ahnsahnghong]]. The church believes in [[God the Father]] and [[God the Mother]] according to the Bible and follows Their teachings. The church follows the original teachings of the early Church of God that [[Jesus Christ]] and the apostles such as Peter, John, and Paul attended 2,000 years ago. It has flourished into a worldwide church with about 7,500 churches in 175 countries in only 60 years of its establishment.<ref name="370만">{{Cite web |url=https://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=C&nNewsNumb=202402100023 |title=In the Midst of Declining Religion, 7,500 Churches Across 175 Countries... 3.7 Million Registered Believers Worldwide |website=Monthly Chosun|publisher=|date= February 2024}}</ref> The number of registered members was 3.7 million as of January, 2024.<br>The Church of God carries out missionary work and volunteer activities with the goal of preaching the truth of salvation and happiness to all people around the world with the love of God the Father and God the Mother. This is accomplished by restoring the faith of the early Church and the truth of the [[New Covenant]] established by Jesus. As God’s children, church members do their utmost to make positive contributions to their families, neighbors, communities, and nations while striving to cultivate their character to participate in the divine nature of Christ. In recognition of their efforts and contributions, the Church of God has received nearly 4,200 awards from various governments and organizations, including the Presidential Group Citation from Korea,<ref name="대통령상">{{Cite web |url=https://watv.org/award/ |title=Major Awards Received |website=WATV.org |publisher=  |date= |year= |first= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote= }}</ref> the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service from the U.K.,<ref name="영국여왕상">{{Cite web |url=https://ukzion.watv.org/queens-award/ |title=The U.K. Queen's Award for Voluntary Service |website=World Mission Society Church of God in UK |publisher=  |date= |year= |first= |page= |series= |isbn= |quote= }}</ref> and the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the U.S.<ref name="대통령상" />, and the Legislative Merit Medal from Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://watv.org/brazil-legislative-order-of-merit/ |title=The Church of God Honored With Brazil’s Legislative Merit Medal |website=WATV.org|publisher=|date= December 7, 2022}}</ref>

There are over 7,500 Churches of God established in 175 countries, centering on the [[Church of God Headquarters|Headquarters]] and the representative church in the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as "Korea"). In Korea alone, there are more than 400 churches in Seoul the capital, six metropolitan cities, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, and nine provinces. The Headquarters is located in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, and the representative church is the [[The New Jerusalem Pangyo Temple|New Jerusalem Pangyo Temple]] located in Pangyo New Town near the Headquarters. In Korea, the church has five training institutes in Okcheon, Yeongdong, Sejong, Yongin, and Seoguipo for education and events for the members throughout the world, and it operates the [[Church of God Theological Seminary|theological seminary]] for educating and dispatching the pastoral staff.

*2024 Registered members: 3.7 million at 7,500 Churches in 175 Countries

The Church of God was restored in 1964 by Ahnsahnghong who is the Second Coming Christ. Christ Ahnsahnghong opened the way to salvation by restoring all the truths of the new covenant that Jesus established 2,000 years ago; He restored the early Church of God. The Church of God, which was established by Christ Ahnsahnghong in Korea, has grown to have over 7,500 churches in 175 countries within 60 years.<ref name="370만" /><br>

The Church of God began its overseas mission work in 1997 in accordance with God’s teaching to “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16%3A15&version=NIV |title=Mark 16:15 |quote=}}</ref> [[The Church of God in North America|The missionary work in North America]], which began in Los Angeles, California, has spread so rapidly that the church is now established in all 50 states as well as several major cities in Canada. Through [[The Church of God in South America|the missionary work in Central and South America]], which began in Peru in 1998, the gospel has been preached even to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and the valleys of the Andes in Peru as well. Today, there are over 7,500 churches in 175 countries around the world, including [[The Church of God in Europe|Europe]], [[The Church of God in Asia|Asia]], [[The Church of God in Africa|Africa]], and [[The Church of God in Oceania|Oceania]]. More than 80% of the members of each Church of God in every country are local people, and a significant number of them serve as local pastors.<ref name="60주년">{{Cite web |url=https://jmagazine.joins.com/monthly/view/339727 |title=[Special Feature on the 60th Anniversary of the Church of God] 20 Years as a Bridge Connecting Korea and the World: The Overseas Members' Visit Program of the Church of God |website=Monthly JoongAng |publisher= |date=May 17, 2024|year= |quote= }}</ref>