The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) announced the dates and location of its next general assembly.

It will be held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, from 27-31 October. Delegates from national and regional alliances around the world are expected to attend.

An important step in the organisation of the assembly was taken on 15 November with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an Organising Committee representing evangelical churches in the host country, including co-chairs Rev Junghyun John Oh, a member of the Hapdong (Presbyterian) denomination; and Rev Younghoon Lee, a member of the Assemblies of God denomination; and others.

The Korean Evangelical Fellowship (KEF), a fellowship of pastors from different denominations that is a member of the Asia Evangelical Alliance, is also among the organisers.

Claiming the authority of the Bible

The signing of the MOU was followed by an inaugural thanksgiving service led by Pastor Seok-soon Im, president of the KEF.

Furthermore, Reverend Younghoon Lee gave a sermon on The Absolute Authority of the Scriptures, based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

“Forces aiming to undermine the absolute authority of God’s word are advancing through waves of liberalism, evolution and Marxism. Some Christian textual critics claim that there are words of God in the Bible, implying that some parts are not God’s word. However, the Bible is the word of God, and it is final. No additional story can be added”, said Lee.

He recalled that “the World Evangelical Alliance was conceived in 1846 to counteract the waves of religious pluralism and biblical textual criticism” and encouraged “the approximately 600 million believers worldwide who hold membership in the WEA: We must work together to restore the absolute authority of the Bible”.

Throughout the service, the importance of upholding the authority of the Bible and the conservative values of the evangelical movement was emphasised.

“Evangelical, conservative and orthodox values”

Afterwards, WEA President Goodwill Shana delivered a video speech. He expressed his deep gratitude: “to the Korean evangelical believers who have committed to serve the 2025 Seoul Assembly”.

The WEA also conveyed its gratitude to the Seoul Organising Committee and reaffirmed its "evangelical, conservative and orthodox values”.

“The Gospel for Everyone by 2033”

After the meeting, Rev. Yeonjong Ju who is part of the Planning Committee, introduced the main events, while Junghyun John Oh, senior pastor of the Sarang Church, delivered a welcome message.

He pointed out that “the Korean church, with its 140-year mission history, has been indebted to Western churches for over 100 years. Now, it's time for the Korean church to repay this debt to the Global Church over the next century”.

The WEA is constitutionally expected to hold its General Assembly every 6 years. The tentative theme for the 2025 General Assembly is “The Gospel for Everyone by 2033”.