(Seoul, October 12, 2022) – The 26th Pentecostal World Conference (PWC) convened today in Seoul, Korea, at Yoido Full Gospel Church, with over 10,000 worshippers representing nations across the globe.  The congregation was welcomed with a parade of flags celebrating each host city of the previous 25 PWC events.  Dr. Younghoon Lee, the senior pastor of the host site, opened the conference by highlighting the theme of “Pentecostal Revival in the Next Generation.”  Dr. Lee shared his vision that the “Wind of the Holy Spirit blows so we come to life from hopelessness by the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must pray that the wind of the Holy Spirit will blow all around the world through the PWC.”

The opening ceremony was highlighted by a special message from Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol.  In his greeting, the President expressed his appreciation for the two previous PWC events held in Seoul in 1973 and 1998.  He also commended the PWC for equipping ministries that give hope through a message of faith and trusts the world will turn to a Pentecostal message.  The convention was also welcomed by the speaker of the Korean National Assembly, Kim Jin-pyo, and the Mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon.

Dr. William Wilson, chair of the Pentecostal World Fellowship (PWF), delivered the opening plenary session message.  He also announced two new PWF initiatives, the PWF Ambassador program and a resolution adopted by the Advisory Committee calling on Spirit-empowered congregations across the globe to focus on fulfilling the Great Commission by 2033.  The resolution reads:

The Pentecostal World Fellowship encourages its members to work towards fulfilling the Great Commission in this generation. We affirm the numerous 2033 initiatives focused on “Everyone” hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We call upon our member congregations to mobilize prayer, leadership, compassion, and resources to contact every unreached person.  We believe the next ten years will be the greatest decade of fulfilling the mandate of Jesus as together, empowered by the Spirit; we proclaim the “Good News” and establish new churches.

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Eleven workshop sessions followed in the afternoon featuring a variety of topics, including Evangelism in the 21st Century, Missions: Everyone Everywhere, the Holy Spirit and new Generations, the Future of Pentecostalism, the Pandemic and Accelerated Change in the Spirit-empowered Church, Church Growth, Pentecostals Serving the Global Body of Christ, Spirit-empowered Business, Spirit-empowered Prayer, Reaching Asia’s Youth Today, and Church Community in the post-COVID era.

Attendees for the evening session were inspired by two plenary speakers.  Pastor Dominic Yeo (General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Singapore) utilized the Biblical story of David and Goliath to envision a “Davidic Generation.” He pointed out that the Church must understand the current landscape to prepare for the coming revival.

Rev. Christine Caine exhorted the conference crowd to “Remember Lot’s wife.”  Her message challenged the audience to become “unstuck” and stop looking back but instead look for God’s promises in the future.  She stated that while the world may have changed, nothing has changed for the Church; we still have the same promises, the same power, the same commission, and the same Jesus.

The program for the second day of the conference includes two plenary sessions, 11 workshop tracks, and two discussion panels.  The first panel will be moderated by Rev. Rob Hoskins on the subject of “Pentecostal Revival in the Next Generation.”  The second topic is “Pentecostal Leadership Challenges and Opportunities,” led by Rev. David Wells.  Following two days of sessions at Yoido, the third and final day of the conference will feature a prayer event at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.  The concluding service of the conference will be a Holy Spirit crusade.

Plenary sessions and workshops can be viewed via live-stream at the event home page.  News from the event will be posted on the PWF Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

About the Pentecostal World Fellowship.  The Pentecostal World Fellowship was founded in 1947 and has held triennial conferences in major cities worldwide for 75 years. The 26th Pentecostal World Conference will be the third time the conference has been held in Seoul, Korea.

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