Myungsung Presbyterian Church
Myung Sung Presbyterian Church is the largest Presbyterian church in the world. It is located in Myung-il-dong, Seoul, South Korea, with its Prayer Sanctuary in Wonju. Myung Sung Presbyterian Church has over thirty church plants, including Myung Sung First Presbyterian Church, founded in 2004, and Myung Sung Second Presbyterian Church, founded in 2006. There are an additional ten "screen" churches. The current senior pastor of the church is Pastor Kim Ha Na, and Dr. Kim Sam Whan has become the emeritus pastor.
History
Myungsung literally means "Voice of Myungil-dong". The church was founded in 1980. Because there were many farms and orchards around the church, it had been renovated and developed into a huge housing complex by the mid 1980s. In 1989, Myungsung Presbyterian Church was rebuilt on its current site, with a scale of almost 8754 m². In 1990, the senior pastor,, from Myungsung Church visited the Soviet Union, and Poland for worship missions, as the first among the Protestant pastors in South Korea. In 2004, the church opened its affiliated hospital named MCM in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to serve untreated local people there. In 2012, a new main sanctuary was built beside the former building.The church mottos are "Lord Only" and "Seven Year as One Day".
Ministries of the church
Myeongseong Eunpa (恩波) Forum
Myeongseong Church held its first Eunpa Forum to celebrate Pastor Kim Sam-hwan's 60 years of ministry. Experts from various fields discussed the church's social contributions in education, healthcare, and social work, and explored future directions. Pastor Kim Ha-na emphasized the forum's role in adapting the church's ministry to meet contemporary needs.Mission Department
As of 2006 the Myungsung Mission Department has been able to support 56 nations through 92 families and 172 missionaries. Myungsung Church also supports small churches, schools, hospitals, community centers, and future leaders.Controversies
Controversy Over Church Dynastic Succession
The succession controversy at Myeongseong Church began in 2017 when the founding pastor's son, Rev. Kim Hana, was appointed as the successor. This sparked significant backlash within the Christian community and beyond. Although the Presbyterian Church of Korea initially validated the appointment, the decision was later overturned by the General Assembly, which replaced its court members. However, a settlement allowed Rev. Kim Hana to assume leadership in 2021. The issue was ultimately resolved in March 2023 when the Korean Supreme Court ruled in favor of Myeongseong Church, dismissing a lawsuit challenging his leadership.As a result, a statement calling for the abolition of the ineffective church inheritance prevention law in the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) was released, sparking significant opposition within the denomination regarding the issue.