Salvation Army Korea to Launch 'Holiness Movement'

Park Jong Deok Salvation Army
Mr. PARK Jong-deok, Commander of the Salvation Army Korea. |

Extreme materialism, a stagnant morality, and a loss of compassion. These are among the problems that the church in Korea faces today and fails to resolve. Pastors and believers are also too often criticized for being among those who struggle with these very problems.

The Salvation Army Korea (Territorial Commander : Jong-deok Park) will be launching a "holiness movement" to deal with the moral crisis and the problems the church in Korea faces today. The first step is the "National Holiness Retreat for Officers" which will be held from November 2nd to 5th at Baekhwasan Training Center of Salvation Army Korea.

The retreat, which was prepared for the spiritual development of the officers, will address the "restoration of the holy spiritual army with the power of salvation", which Territorial Commander Jong-deok Park has emphasized since he took office.

"It's fair to say that most of the churches' problems come from ministers. So the recovery of the Korean Church may depend on the recovery of ministers, their lives of holiness," Park said.

The Salvation Army Korea has held a "Brengle Holiness Seminar", a regular holiness training program for its officers. However, as holiness emerges as an important issue in the Korean church and society, the denomination plans to offer the "National Holiness Retreat for Officers" every two years so that all of the officers could attend and reflect.

"During the retreat, officers will follow various programs devised for the pursuit of holiness, such as meditation and silence training," an official from the denomination said.

The denomination hopes to see its movement serve as a catalyst for the spiritual recovery of the Korean churches and to expand this movement to the churches working with the National Council of Churches in Korea, to which it also participates as a member.