Prayers for people you desire to come to Christ, backsliders, new saved or people in PE or in Post E.

7Day -Prayers Points for the Lost; backsliders, people in PE and Post Encounter o

1.    Never give up for the Lost: 1 John 5:14-15; 1 Tim. 2:1-4; Luke 18:1; 2 Peter 3:9; Gal 6:9)

2.    Write a list of the people who fit in the aforementioned categories in your connection group or people in your generation in the right coloumn

3.    Pray these points everyday:

a.     Apply the seven bleeding places of Christ to your list of people

b.    I hold the blood of Jesus to all evil diversions in _____ life

c.     I hold the blood of Jesus against all evil spirits assigned to block or hinder their growth in Christ

d.    Keep ______ from the evil one (John 17:51)

e.     Lead ____ away from temptation, deliver____ from all forms of evil.

f.      Apply the blood of Jesus to every demon or strongman assigned to ___

g.    God would grant ____ the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Jesus  (Eph.1:17)

h.    Open up the eyes of _________ heart so that they may see Jesus as He is (Eph.1:18)

i.      Place a hedge of thorns around______ removing all people sent or used by the enemy to hinder or block their growth in Christ.

4.    Monday

a.     Holy Spirit convict ___ of sin (John 16:8)

b.    Lord create in _____ thirst for the things of God (john 4:10-13)

c.     Create in ____ a hunger for the Bread of Life  (John 6:35)

d.    Draw _____ to Christ (John 6:44)

e.     Make the words of Christ alive to ______ (John 6:63)

f.      Grant ____ the mind of Christ regarding every problem ___ are facing

5.     Tuesday

a.     Lord open a door for me to one verse 2 people who are ready to come to Christ

b.    Lord caused _____ heart to melt and be broken by the word of God (Jer.23: 29)

c.     Open ____ eyes to the Light that gives give life (2Cor.4: 4; John 8:12))

d.    Break the bondage of sin in _____ life (John 8:12)

e.     Grant _____ a heart that seeking after God (Rom.3: 10-11)

6.    Wednesday

a.     Ask God to draw ________ to Himself (John 12:32)

b.    Ask God to call _____ to Himself  (John 6:37)

c.     Word of God penetrate _______ heart (Heb 4:12)

d.    Open ___ eyes and heart to the Lordship of Jesus Christ  (2 Cor.4: 4-6)

e.     Give ______ ears to hear the Word of God (Rev. 3:20)

f.      Swiftly remove every woman/ male agent sent by the enemy to hinder their walk with God or block their spiritual growth

7.    Thursday

a.     ________ comes the realization that they cannot run or hide from God (Psalm 139: 5-11)

b.    Lords as you revealed yourself to Paul in Damascus, reveal yourself to _____________ (Acts. 9:1)

c.     Make sin appear exceedingly sinful to ___ (Rom.7: 13)

d.    Deliver _____from the power of darkness (Col. 1:13)

e.     Grant _______ faith to believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21)

f.      Let the heavens open over ____________

g.    Renew a right spirit in __________

8.    Friday

a.     Grant ________ the will to respond the message of Christ (Rom.10: 9)

b.    Give me an opportunity to invite_________ to connection/ church (Luke 14:23)

c.     Grant __________ an awareness of their need for Christ

d.    Every time ______ see or hear me they touch the favor of God around my life (Psalm 8:5)

e.     Cloth ______ with the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they experience the reality of the Lordship of Jesus in their hearts (Eph.1: 17)

9.    Saturday

a.     Lord Jesus seek out ________ and save _______ from their sins (Luke 19:10

b.    Father God, open _____ heart so that ______ will receive and believe the gospel (Acts 16:14)

c.     Holy Spirit, grant genuine repentance to __________ that will cause them to turn from their sin (Acts 11; 18)

d.    Father continually send people into _____ life to share the gospel (Rom.10: 14)

e.     Bind the spirit of pride and religion Loose: the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ into their heart

10. Sunday

a.     Apply the blood from Jesus crown to the pride that blinds them to their need for Jesus in their life

b.    Apply the blood from Jesus face for the healing of their self image

c.     Apply the blood from Jesus back for healing their body and destroying rebellion in their heart

d.    Apply the blood from Jesus skin to their will, making it positively responsive to Christ

e.     Apply the blood from Jesus hands for the removal of sin and guilt from their life

f.      Apply the blood from Jesus feet so that they become disciples of Christ

g.    Apply the blood from Jesus heart to their broken, betrayed or wounded heart (Lord heal their heart)

11. Prayer for Lost Sons and Daughters (Luke 15)

a.     Supernatural love – pray from a position of love, not judgment

b.    Pray that whatever or whosever your child has placed their trust in, outside of Jesus, would be removed from their lives. Pray that what once brought them pleasure would be empty.

c.     Pray that they would be constantly reminded of what it was like to be in fellowship with God

d.    Pray they come to their senses. Pray that they realize something is wrong. Pray that for his/ her eyes to be open to the truth of his situation and pray against any delusion the enemy would try to bring him/her

e.     Grant ______ the gift of repentance

f.      Pray for a revelation of the Father’s love for them.  At the point of their repentance ask God to pour out his blessings upon their life

Why Church Growth 3

1. Rick Warren: Why believes in church growth?
1. God word commands it- there are five Great Commissions given in the New Testament. However, Matthew 28: 19-20

                                               i.     We are to make them- that’s win them to Christ help them become converted

                                             ii.     Then baptize them- That’s mark them, help them become believers

                                            iii.     Mature them- teach them to obey everything I taught you

                                            iv.     Mark 16:15, Luke 24: 46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8 – in each Gospel and in the book of Acts Jesus commission his followers to go out and win them to Christ

                                             v.     The gospel is to be expanded in every increasing concentric circles- Jerusalem, Judea and then to Samaria and finally to the ends of the earth

                                            vi.     Begin at home base and expand to the world

                                          vii.     These verses imply that we are to help the church to grow, work for church growth and believe in it. In fact, I (RW) believe that the church that refuses to reach out to unbelievers is a disobedient church. It is sinning. To ignore these commandments is sin because Jesus said, “ If you love Me, keep My commandments”

2. The needs of the people

                                               i.     People without Christ dies and goes to hell

                                             ii.     As long as there is one person in our city that’s headed for heal, then we must reach out

                                            iii.     We will never stop growing as there is one person who needs Christ

                                            iv.     A selfish church does not want to grow

                                             v.     The church that focuses on itself, rather than on the needs of those out in the world, has lost its purpose and has simply become a social club.

                                            vi.     Increase growth means more problems, bigger problems, inconveniences, more conflict, more expenses

                                          vii.     Peter Wagner said, “ if you are a pastor of a declining church, your job is getting easier and easier year after year

                                         viii.     The unselfish thing was the decision to grow. Love is the foundation for church growth (2 Cor. 5:14)

                                            ix.     The Lord is patient not wanting any one to perish but wanting everyone t come to repentance. (1 Peter 3:9) This one verse implies that numerical growth is God’s will.

                                              x.     A church must choose to grow nor not to grow

1.     Make it by the programs offered

2.     Make it by the time and energy invested in evangelism

3.     The make it by the size of the building they choose to build

4.     The priority outreach, the priority of evangelism is portrayed in Luke 15:4

3. Jesus believed in church growth

                                               i.     Jesus said I will build my church.

1.     Building implies development, expansion or growth

                                             ii.     Jesus made statements implied expansion

1.     The meek shall inherit the earth

2.     You are the salt of the world and light of the world

3.     Many will come from the east and west  (Matt. 8:1)

4.     Wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her

5.     Jesus had a world vision, he intended for there to be disciples all over the world and expected that expansion to happen

                                            iii.     The parable of the Sower implies growth based on the capacity of the soil (heart) YC

                                            iv.     Luke 13- Parable of the Fig Tree

1.     Jesus points out that fig tree were designed to grow and bear fruit. Jesus demanded that it be cut down because it was simply taking up space

                                             v.     Parable of the Mustard- Jesus predicted the growth of this kingdom from a small beginning

                                            vi.     Parable of Yeast – predicts the expanding influence of His kingdom

                                          vii.     For the Son of man came to seek and save that which is lost-Luke 19:10 (Jesus Priority of evangelism)

                                         viii.     Mark 2 17- Jesus said I have come not to call the righteous – his goal was to those who did not know him

                                            ix.     The parable of the Banquet Luke 14

1.     How wide his invitation

2.     Jesus wanted a full house – God expects the church to grow

4. The nature of the church implies growth

                                               i.     Under Christ control, the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments and it grows, as God wants it to grow. (Col. 2:19)

1.     God wills for churches to grow

                                             ii.     It is normal for a church to grow, if a church is not growing we must ask ourselves is it because of sin, it dead; or an external growth restrictor

2. New Testament demonstrates growth
1. The very first church at Jerusalem is recorded in the book of Acts. So we see first the 120 in the Upper Room. Then the first day of the official church when the Spirit comes, 3000 people are added to the church
2. After that, Daily the Lord added to that church
3. Acts 4:4 – Many who heard the message believed and the number of men grew to about 5000, which means there were at least 5,000 to 10,000 females and 5-10,000 children.
4. A number of Bible Scholars believe that by Acts 4; 4 the Jerusalem church had as many as 25,000 members
5. Acts 5:14 – Nevertheless more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number
6. You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching Acts 5:28
7. Acts 6:1 The number of disciples were increasing
8. Acts 6:7 The word of God spread and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a large number priest became obedient to the faith
9. Acts 21:20 “ many thousands” literally translated means “ tens of thousands”
10. By the time Paul had arrived in Jerusalem in AD59 the church had grown so much that the number of believers can only be estimated in ten’s of thousands. G. Campbell Morgan estimated that the church had 60,000 members
3. The fulfillment of Prophecy demands church growth
1. Matthew 24:14 “ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come

Church Growth 2: Church Growth Reports from the Book of Acts

1. The original nucleus was 120 Acts 1:15
2. 3000 came to Christ at Pentecost Acts 2:41
3. People were being added to the church daily Acts 2:47 
4. Soon there was 5000 men + women and children Acts 4:4 
5. Multitudes were being saved Acts 5:14
6. Multiple growth Acts 6:1
7. Entire town came to Christ Acts 9:35
8. A great number of Gentiles came to Christ Acts 11:21
9. Large multitudes of Jews and Greeks accepted Christ Acts 14:1 
10. Church increased in numbers daily Acts 16:5
11. All of Asia was reached with the gospel Acts 19

The Bible's position on Church Growth 1

The book of Acts gives us ample proof that church growth is a passionate desire of God. I don't believe any church growth is acceptable. Some churches grow because they are not teaching sound doctrine, but want to have their ears tickled, the accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn their ears from the truth...... 2 Timothy 4:3-4 The churches that are under the category  of  2 Timothy 4:3-4 are churches that teach or believe the following: 

1. Churches that teach that we must earn God's love and acceptance by our obedience and works Gal.2:16-21
2. Churches that teach that it is alright to sin because of the grace of God. Grace gives us a license to sin  Titus 2:11-12 
3. Rejection or disbelief in real hell. ( Luke 16:23; Rev.14;10; Rev.19:20; Mark 9:43) 
4. Churches that ultimate reconciliation: Belief that the end of all things , the devil and all mankind will end up in heaven  or be saved. 
5. Churches that teach prosperity determines the level of our spirituality and churches that teach that poverty is a characteristic of holiness 2 Cor. 8-9
6. Churches that teach that their is another way to the Father other than Jesus Christ ( John 14:6; Gal.16-8
7. Churches that do not teach or exemplify holiness and sanctification  
8. Churches that do not believe that God's mission for all churches is to fulfill the Great Commission ( Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16: 18-19; Acts1:8) 
9. Churches that focus on church growth without using the Word of God as the template or standard for what it is building. 

The Interior Life of a Prophetic Gift

Many years ago, Bishop Mark Chironna impacted the cultivation of the prophetic gift in my life by teaching and modeling the importance of biblical meditation, stillness ,etc . Lately, the Holy Spirit has been drawing me back to meditating on the Word of God. Although he does not know it , Richard Foster has been a  long distant mentor in my inner life.  His books, ” Celebration of Discipline” and ” Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home”  have deeply impacted my walk with God for many years. Recently, Richard Foster’s book ” Sanctuary of the Soul” has reawakened  passion in my heart to encounter God in His written word. I believe one of the reasons that many prophetic gifts including myself are shallow is because we do not eat the book. We may read the bible, but we don’t eat the book. Jeremiah said the word of God was the joy of his heart. ( Jer.15:16-18). The prophet Ezekiel was commanded to eat the book in ” Eze.2:8-3:3″. In Revelations 10: 1-3, 8-11, John the apostle- prophet was commanded to eat the book. Psalms 119 is a lengthy prayer by King David to encounter God in His word. In summation, I believe  the authority and power of the prophetic flow in these men’s lives emanated from ” eating and digesting the scroll ( the Word of God)   I believe one of the ways that we can eat and digest the word of God is through lectio divine. I really like Richard Foster’s description of lectio divina in his book ” Sanctuary of the Soul” : According to Richard Foster, lectio divina means listening to the text of Scripture- really listening, listening yielded and still. It means submitting to the text of Scripture , allowing its message to flow into us rather than attempting to master it. It means reflecting on the text of scripture , allowing both mind and heart to be fully engaged in the meaning of the text. It means praying the text of Scripture, letting the biblical reality give rise to one heart cry of gratitude, confession, lament and petition. it means applying the text of scripture , seeing how God’s Holy Word provides a personal word for our life circumstances. it means obeying the text of scripture, always turning away from our human ways and into the way everlasting. Most of all,  lectio divina means seeing the text of Scripture, engaging the sanctified imagination in the full drama of God’s Word. Lectio divina is a meditative, spiritual reading in which both the mind and the heart are drawn into the love of God. As I meditate upon the Word of God , the Word of God becomes the gateway into seeing the unseen realities of God’s unshakeable kingdom 

Panoramic view of Dr. David Cho's key perspectives on Revival, Church Growth and Prayer

Prayer: The Key to Revival

1. Introduction

Protestant Christianity in Korea has rapidly developed in a short time—about one hundred thirty years—to claim 25 % of Protestant population, which amounts to twelve million people. Korea has the largest percentage of a Protestant Christian population among all the nations of the Asian mainland. It thus deserves to be called one of the most successful Protestant mission fields in the world. 

Furthermore, many churches in Korea are currently the largest in their individual denominations in the world. For instance, Myungsung Presbyterian Church has approximately ninety thousand members. Kwanglim Church, a Korean Methodist church, accommodates around seventy believers. Suwon Central Baptist Church holds forty thousand Christians. 

And Yoido Full Gospel Church—referred to as YFGC hereafter—which belongs to the Pentecostal denomination, is the world’s largest church with seven hundred eighty thousand members as of May, 2008, when the transition in the church’s leadership occurred. From that time on, [Pastor Cho’s] “disciple churches”—or 19 satellite churches—had become independent from our church with 360,000 church members, and their full independence was granted to them in January 2011. During the past three and a half years the church has welcome approximately 50,000 new comers, so the current membership of our church reaches 470,000. In sum, our church and the “disciple churches” altogether have more than 830,000 members now. For this reason, a numerous number of pastors and scholars in church growth and missiology are analyzing and studying the various aspects of the Korean church, particularly YFGC’s rapid growth. 

Though there are a variety of spiritual, historical, cultural, social and economic factors for such a tremendous revival, one of the most prominent elements is the spirituality of prayer. Prayer has always preceded any true revivals in church history. A revival is unceasing as long as prayer remains constant. 

One of the most suitable examples for rising of revival through prayer and spreading of the prayer movement through revival is the Korean church and YFGC. Through my presentation, I would like to state that the revival of the Korean church had been originated from the prayer movement first, and then introduce YFGC’s prayer movement in more detail. 

2. The Prayer Movement of Korea’s Early Evangelization Period (1885-1909)

From its beginning period of evangelization, the Korean church had experienced the strong power of prayer on the basis of the word of God. Even before the first Western Protestant missionaries came to Korea in 1885, many parts of the Scripture had been translated into Korean by some Koreans and missionaries who had lived in China and Japan. (Kyungbae Min, Korean Church History, New edition (Seoule: Yonsei University Press, 1993), 149.) When the missionaries came to Korea, they thus brought the Korean Bible. As the word of God was deeply rooted from the beginning, fervent prayer movements took place in the Korean church. The embers of the fire caused at Wonsan, a northern Korean city, in 1903 and the great revival movement, which started in earnest at Pyungyang in 1907, were not only the Pentecostal Holy Spirit movement but also a strong prayer movement. (The document of World Missionary Conference which was held at Edinburgh in 1910 reported that the Pyungyang Great Revival in 1907 was a “Pentecostal movement”(World Missionary Conference, Report of Commission I [Edinburgh, 1910], 77, 80).) 

Missionary Robert A. Hardie who ministered in Kangwon province did not bear fruit in terms of the number of converts even though he put in a lot of work and dedication. He attended a prayer meeting mainly with Methodist missionaries at Wonsan in 1903 because of the visit of a missionary to China whose name was Ms. M. C. White. He prepared a sermon about prayer for this meeting. In reading and preaching Luke 11:13—“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”—he was inspired powerfully by the Holy Spirit. When he testified of his own experience, the missionaries who had gathered there started praying and afterwards they also experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. This Wonsan revival movement was the spark of the great 1907 Pyongyang revival. 

At the beginning of 1907 the prayer movement was accompanied by much repentance, which centrally arose from the Jangdaehyun church in Pyongyang. (On the great revivals in Wonsan and Pyungyang see Young-hoon Lee, The Holy Spirit Movement in Korea: Its Historical and Theological Development (Oxford: Regnum, 2009), 24-34.) Revival meetings were supposed to be held as bible exposition sessions for 10 days. However, there was a powerful evangelical meeting every evening. According to the missionaries’ reports, powerful works of the Holy Spirit occurred in these evening meetings. While leading an evening prayer meeting in January 14th, Graham Lee asked those 1,500 who attended this meeting to pray loudly together and they started praying loudly. Then people shed tears, and prayers of repentance arose here and there. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and divine healing, then took place powerfully within that place. 

The revival movement accompanied by the prayer of repentance expanded across the entire region of Korea. It followed with the movements against alcohol and smoking. Believers prayed with tears and were deeply moved all night long and the works of repentance with contrition occurred ceaselessly among them. No one could prevent the fire of the Holy Spirit and it spread beyond the boundary of the church and over into schools, finally many cities, and further into other countries including China and Japan. 

The great revivals of Wonsan in 1903 and Pyungyang in 1907 were not just temporary events, but stood not only as wildfire of the Holy Spirit movement and repentance, but also as the precursor of the Korean church’s prayer movement that has connected to the contemporary church today. Besides, the Korean church clearly learned through these events that the only key to revival was prayer. 

3. The Prayer Movement during the Nation’s Period of Suffering (1910-1953)

Korea had suffered from the brutal Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. During this period the Korean church was also severely oppressed. The secret to overcoming these dark and painful times for Koreans and the Korean church could be found only in the prayers of Korean Christians. Pastor Sunju Gil, who played a pivotal role in the 1907 Pyongyang great revival, and many other spiritual leaders provided hope through powerful prayer movements for the nation and people who fell in times of extreme distress. Early prayer meetings and targeted prayer movements were stressed by him, and contributed greatly to the revival of the Korean church. (Younghoon Lee, The Holy Spirit Movement in Korea, 36. ) They also become the original source of the Korean church’s spirituality that the world church longs to learn from the Korean church.

Even after her liberation from the severe Japanese Imperial occupation, Korea had to undergo an enormous tragedy: that is, the Korean War, which broke out in 1950. Even in this time the Korean church participated in the nation’s suffering and comforted the people through prayer and perseverance. By prayer, the church provided a source of renewal and comfort. 

4. The Prayer Movement during the Period of Revival of Yoido Full Gospel Church and the Korean Church (1954-2000)

4.1. Re-igniting the Fire of Prayer

On the close of the Korean War in 1953, the Korean peninsula had emerged as a heap of ashes. From that time, YFGC and Rev. Yonggi Cho played the primary role to lead the prayer movement and the Holy Spirit movement. (Younghoon Lee, The Holy Spirit Movement in Korea, 92-117; Younghoon Lee, “The Life and Ministry of David Yonggi Cho and the Yoido Full Gospel Church,” in Wonsuk Ma et al. ed., David Yonggi Cho: A Close Look at His Theology and Ministry (Baguio City and Goonpo: APTS Press and Hansei University Press, 2004), 3-24.) 

Rev. Sunjoo Gil had led the overnight prayer gatherings in the period of the Japanese colonial rule. However, around the time when Rev. Yonggi Cho built up a tent church with his five family members at Daejo-dong, an outskirt area of Seoul in 1958, most of the Korean churches did not practice the overnight prayer sessions. 

As Rev. Cho relocated the church to Seodaemoon region, a downtown area of Seoul, in 1963, and held the Friday overnight prayer services, many sick people were healed by the Holy Spirit, and the great revival occurred in the church. Church members prayed all night long for the fullness of the Holy Spirit, divine healing, resolution of personal problems, and church growth. 

Accordingly, YFGC’s overnight prayer worship services became a location in which a lot of Korean believers beyond their denominations gathered together, prayed fervently, and experienced God’s grace. Due to the church’s Friday overnight prayer meetings, many Korean churches came to recognize the importance of fervent prayer once again. As a result, many churches began to recover the tradition of the Friday overnight prayer sessions from late 1970s. 

In addition, Rev. Jasil Choi, a coworker of Rev. Yonggi Cho, restarted the fast prayer movement that had begun as the fruit of the great revival of Pyungyang, but had been forgotten for a significant period among the Korean churches. She also established the “Osan-ri Fast-Prayer Mountain,” and made a great contribution to reigniting the fast prayer movement in both Korean and world churches. Even after moving to current Yoido area in 1973, YFGC continued to carry out the Holy Spirit movement and prayer ministry so that the explosive growth of the church went on. In addition, even since the transition in the church’s leadership in 2008, YFGC has placed priority to the prayer movement and continued to be revived by prayer sessions. 

4.2. Earnest and fervent Prayer with Loud Voices

Many people who attend the worship services and prayer sessions are surprised at the loud sounds of prayer. Because all church members cry out their requests in unison to the Lord, the church is filled with the loud sounds of prayer. People start their prayer by shouting, “Lord! Lord! Lord!” Such a prayer custom spreads through the prayer movement of YFGC all around the country. 

The reason for which people pray aloud is that they pray with earnest hearts. Sometimes, church members pray so loudly that it may be difficult to go to the next step of the service. In that case, the presider of the worship requests the congregation to stop praying by ringing a bell. Praying aloud in unison, which has been widespread through YFGC, has become a characteristic feature that shows the spirituality of prayer of the Korean church. 

4.3. Prayer of Faith with Absolute Positivity

In YFGC prayer is neither a form nor a ceremony. It is not a vague and implicit religious ritual. Rev. Yonggi Cho and YFGC have taught practical and clear thoughts about prayer since the church’s beginning fifty-four years ago. In other words, prayer is a decisive element to receive the salvation and blessing that our good God gives through the cross of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the members of YFGC pray with obvious prayer requests and not with indefinite prayer requests. They also pray with the faith of absolute positivity that if they believe and pray, they will be answered. 

YFGC often practices the “targeted prayer sessions” which can be held personally, or in groups such as cells or mission groups. A “targeted prayer session” is to set a designated period of time for prayer—for instance, for one week, for twenty-one days (we call this “Daniel Prayer”), for one month, for one hundred days or so)—and pray for a clear pray request like healing or solving any problems. It is difficult to do such a targeted prayer without concreteness and conviction. That YFGC’s members execute many kinds of “targeted prayer” shows that they pray with the strong belief in God’s answer and with the faith of absolute positivity. 

Church revival cannot be attained by forceful coercion or by cultivating a sense of obligation. When more members in a church meet the living God who answers their prayer of faith, it will enter into revival. Therefore, I would like to reemphasize that prayer is the key to revival. 

4.4. Cell Group, the Community of Prayer

A numerous number of people want to learn about the well-organized cell system of YFGC. They seemingly assume that the secret to the church growth lies in the cell system. However, just as Rev. Yonggi Cho has made every effort to emphasize whenever possible including church growth seminars, those who want to learn the cell system of YFGC for church growth should learn the power of prayer first. 

It is true that the cell system of YFGC played a great role for church revival. However, the reason for which it has performed such a role is that the cell structure is the community of prayer. Many cell leaders and section leaders have prayed together for their members’ problems, and experienced the answer of prayer. Cells and the church have kept growing because all the cell members in a cell gathered together every day at the home of a member in need, prayed together for three days or for a week, and experienced the answer from God. Furthermore, some cells or sections have bought or rented a space for their own “prayer place” in their local area, and gathered everyday for prayer or worship service. Once in a month, our church members go to Osanri Prayer Mountain by the districts that they belong to. They have revival prayer meetings there so that they may keep the fire of prayer on. Our church has grown so swiftly through cells because they are not the communities of social gatherings, but those of spiritual prayer. 

4.5. Church Devoted to Prayer

All worship services in YFGC have a set time for the whole congregation to pray with a loud voice. After the sermon, the whole congregation always prays earnestly with a loud voice for a minimum of 15 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes. Specifically, the service on Wednesday and the night service on Friday are conducted with the main emphasis on prayer. In those services, all pastors of YFGC sincerely pray for the worshippers by laying their hands on the heads of the congregants. 

The church also has three early-morning prayer meetings every day at 5a.m., 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. all year round, and overnight services every night. In these services, the time of praying with crying out becomes longer. The first session of an overnight prayer meeting service begins at 11p.m. in the week days, and the assigned time of praying aloud is almost one hour. Soon after closing the first session at 1 a.m., the second session of the service as a prayer meeting starts with the listed prayer requests for three hours until 4 a.m. 

When a new year begins, all congregants come together for a special early morning prayer meeting for twelve days: we call this special designated prayer period “twelve-basket special prayer session.” In summer time, various departments of the church hold retreats for three nights and four days at the prayer mountain. All these events are designed to urge the church members to focus on the prayer activity which is an essential part of the church ministry. 

4.6. A Leader who Becomes an Example of Prayer

The capability of a spiritual leader is in proportion to his/her devotion to prayer. If the leaders of YFGC continue to emphasize the life of prayer to the laity, but are behind the laity in the spirituality of the prayer, it will be difficult to maintain the spiritual order of the church, let alone the revival of the church. Rev. Yonggi Cho before his retirement strongly encouraged the congregants to pray for more than an hour a day, while urging the pastors to pray for more than two hours. In particular, he prayed for about three hours before any revival meetings abroad. 

I myself believe that it is one of the most important goals of my ministry to inherit this spirituality of prayer. Although I carry out various kinds of schedules from early morning till late night, I usually get up at around 3 a.m., and come to my office before 4:30 a.m. The reason for this is that I am able to have more time to pray without any disturbances during such an early time period. Coming to the office at dawn every day can sometimes make me tired. However, the more I pray, the more invigorated I am. Martin Luther said, “I cannot help praying because I am too busy.” The busier a pastor is, the more he/she must pray. 

What I emphasize most to the pastors of YFGC is prayer. If you do not pray, you cannot do the work of God. Especially, the pastors in the position of important leadership in the church and I go to the prayer mountain every Saturday, and pray individually for two hours in an individual prayer compartment. Only after finishing the prayer, we have a discussion session on the important matters of the church. If you want to plan a revival, you should make a prayer plan first. Without praying earnestly for a long time, neither the revival of the church, nor the change of the individual can happen. In particular, spiritual leaders should be an example of prayer. 

5. Praying and Serving—Expecting a New Revival

The 21st century is the “century of change.” The changing world demands the church to take care of many people who are alienated in this world. The church in the 21st century should thus be the community which is sharing and serving with a humble attitude. YFGC is actively practicing such works as relieving the homeless, supporting people in lower socio-economic status, helping people in North Korea through the establishment of “Cho Yonggi Heart Hospital,” and worldwide relief works through the “Good People,” an NGO. Making all the efforts for those relief works with a humble and serving spirit is the vision that I received from God, while praying for the direction of the YFGC’s future ministry. The church in the Acts of Apostles was the church practicing the relief for the world with the devotion of praying and proclaiming the word of God. Above all, all pastoral visions should be received through prayer, and be conducted through the power of prayer. 

No matter how much the pastoral environment changes, the truth that never changes is that a church should receive the empowerment through praying and relying on the Lord. Even if the world may change swiftly, the key to revival is always in praying. Therefore, YFGC in the 21st century endeavors to be the church praying more. 

The revival of the Korean church and YFGC is the revival accomplished by praying. However, this cannot be a characteristic of the Korean church and YFGC alone. Prayer is the characteristic of all the authentic revivals. All revivals are prepared and maintained by earnest prayer. It is not because YFGC has employed a special method or skill, but only because it has devoted itself in praying that the church has experienced a remarkable revival. For s church to pray is just to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus, who himself set an example of praying from early dawn, or through a whole night. Moreover, for a church to make efforts for praying is to succeed to the spirituality of the one hundred twenty disciples who received the Holy Spirit by praying with their whole heart on the Pentecost day. 

In my opinion, the most serious problem of today’s Christians is that they do not pray. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, devoted himself in praying throughout his life. (According to the gospel of Luke, Jesus always prayed before the important things: for example, at the time of baptizing(Luke 4:21), at the time of choosing the twelve disciples (Luke 6;12-13), at the time before Peter’s confession of faith (9:18), at the time before climbing up the transfiguration mountain (9:28-29), at the time just before teaching Lord’s prayer (11:1), at the time of facing with Peter’s disownment(22:31-32), on the Mount of Gethsemane (22:40), and on the cross (22:34, 46).) If the son of God prayed so earnestly to carry out his ministry on the earth, we should strive to pray much more with our might. Praying is the indispensable factor for the revival of the church. If anyone—or any church—devotes oneself to praying, he/she will come to experience the same revival with that of the early church, and that of YFGC. 

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30). 

Communication in Marriage

  I remember over 30 years ago, when Bishop Johnson taught that we must sacrifice to communicate from Heb.13:15-16 (KJV), I had no idea what kind of sacrifice he was talking about until I got married. Also, that passage says with such sacrifices God is well pleased. The other sacrifice He is talking about is the " sacrifice of praise." The sacrifice of praise and the sacrifice of communication involves the usage of our tongue. Ed Cole said when communication ceases in  marriage abnormality sets in. Communication is the lifeline of a marriage. In fact, just as our blood carries nutrients/ oxygen to our organs  and aids in the removal of carbon dioxide  from our internal systems, communication in a marriage is the transport system of life. Also, communication is the means whereby contamination is removed from our marriages. Ed Wheat said that good communication provides the following supplies to a marriage:
1. The knowledge and understanding of one another which you need for intimate closeness
2, The interchange of information and ideas you need to work together as a husband- wife team
3. The capability to work out your differences and resolve your conflicts
4. The continuing " in touch" contact you must have to grow together in the same direction, and to be there to support each other during changes and difficult times of life.

Communications is something all couples must work towards together.  Most of our default communications systems we bring into our marriages is a reflection of our how our parents did and did not communication. For the most part, our ability to resolve conflict is encoded into our hearts by our up- bringing. Do not judge your parents. Our parents did the best they could. So don't play the blame game.

Many times transformation in communication takes when our hearts experiences ongoing transformation. After 28 years, I have to say I am a work in progress. Attending several men's encounters and being a part of a connection group, gave me quantum leap in communication.

You may say,  I don't want to give in.How bad do you want to save your marriage?  Pastor Castelleness said.  if we practice this principle change will occur in your life, family or marriage: If I change,  everything changes

Don't throw in the towel, not just yet....