At the turn of the 20th Century, Christianity was almost non-existent on the Korean penninsula.
Today, just over 100 years later, more South Koreans identify themselves as Christians than any other religion.
Eleven of the twelve largest churches in the world are in South Korea.
South Korea itself has become an active mission sending nation — in fact, churches and organizations even send missionaries to help convert . . . the United States.
All in all, it’s one of the most remarkable stories in the history of global Christianity.
You can read about it here.
As many of you know, I just returned from Cambodia — a land dominated by Buddhist thought much like Korea in 1900 and a nation just now rebuilding itself after the devastation of the Khmer Rouge.
So Cambodia in 2011 makes me think of Korea in 1900. Which leads to a new prayer: “Father, let the nascent Christian faith spread in Cambodia like it did in Korea.”
Wouldn’t it be a great legacy if 100 years from now people around the world would look at the growth of the Cambodian church with the same amazement we use for the Korean church?