South Korean pastor, Dr. David Yonggi Cho also known as Paul Yungi Cho has passed on. He was a co-founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church (Assemblies of God), the world’s largest single congregation church, with a claimed membership of 830,000 (as of 2007) according to Wikipedia. He died at the age of 85 on September 14
Founder and senior pastor of City Harvest Church, Kong Hee confirmed the passing of Dr. David Yonggi Cho on his official Facebook page.
The Post Reads:- “my pastor and spiritual father, Dr. David Yonggi Cho (1936-2021), just went home to the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love you, Dr. Cho.”
Chad Macdonald a revivalist on his Facebook page described Cho as a powerful Man Of God who was a great gift to the body of Christ. He wrote, “I have just received word that Dr. David Yonggi Cho stepped into his eternal reward today and is now in the presence of The Lord. What a powerful Man of God he was, truly an apostle of the Lord.
“It was he who first taught me how to pray and I will forever be grateful for that revelation. When I first stepped into the sanctuary of Yoido Full Gospel Church the tangible glory of God was overwhelming. There was an unmistakable roar that permeated the atmosphere as tens of thousands in unison prayed in the Holy Ghost.”
According to Wikipedia, Cho was born on February 14, 1936, in Ulju-gun, now part of Ulsan metropolitan city. The son of Cho Doo-chun and Kim Bok-sun, Cho was the eldest of five brothers and four sisters.
“He graduated from middle school with honours. Because his father’s sock and glove business went bankrupt, he could not afford high school or university tuition. Subsequently, he enrolled in an inexpensive technical high school to learn a trade. At the same time, he began frequenting an American army base near his school and learned English from soldiers whom he befriended. He mastered English quickly, and became an interpreter for the commander of the army base, and also for the principal of his school.
“Raised initially as a Buddhist, Cho converted to Christianity at the age of 17, after a beautiful girl visited him telling him about Jesus Christ before he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Sensing God calling him to the ministry, Cho began working as an interpreter for the American evangelist Ken Tize.
“In 1956, he received a scholarship to study theology at Full Gospel Bible College in Seoul. While there, he met Choi Ja-shil, who became his mother-in-law and a close ministerial associate. He graduated in March 1958.”