One-hundred-and-sixty-nine Namibians were among the 106 186 students from more than 82 countries who graduated at a special large-scale ceremony at the Daegu Stadium in South Korea earlier this month. 

It is the largest number of students ever from a single Christian educational facility to complete the theological course presented by Shincheonji Church of Jesus, making it the world’s largest theological institute.

Students from 23 African countries graduated, with 1 445 from South Africa, and 37 from Zimbabwe.

For safety reasons, the number of people participating in the completion graduation ceremony in Korea was limited to 80 000. 

Approximately 300 000 people participated online and offline via a YouTube live broadcast in nine different languages.

According to Shincheonji, the graduation ceremony consisted of praise and worship, congratulatory speeches, prayers, and a commemorative address by the chairman of Shincheonji Man-Hee Lee, followed by a special congratulatory performance, tassel turning and an award ceremony.

Among the graduates, a total of 522 pastors (37 from Korea and 485 from other countries) completed the theological course. The number of pastors has increased significantly compared to previous years. The fact that students could join classes online during the Covid-19 pandemic was the biggest contributing factor to the increase in student numbers.

“I have only learned traditional theology in seminary school, but never knew much about the book of Revelation in the Bible,” Heo Jung-Wook, one of the pastors who graduated said. He explained that he only used to teach his congregation members easy words and concepts but not the full Bible. “I repent that I was a sinner who added and subtracted from the word of God. I learned true theology that leads me to heaven, and not the studies of mankind.” He thanked God for the opportunity to learn the truth and the chance to live.