Four defectors from North Korea were baptized March 11 in Seoul, one of the largest such groups to be received into the Seventh-day Adventist Church since the 1950-1953 war, which split the peninsula.
Four defectors from North Korea were baptized March 11 in Seoul, one of the largest such groups to be received into the Seventh-day Adventist Church since the 1950-1953 war, which split the peninsula. More baptisms of defectors are anticipated, church officials say.
The four were baptized at the headquarters church of the Adventist Language Institute.
The event originated from the witness of one person, a defector who was born into an Adventist family in North Korea. He had secretly kept the Sabbath during their years in the Communist state and witnessed to others in the Hanawon training center, an institute established to help defectors become assimilated into South Korean society.
One of the three pastors who baptized the believers says, “I hope that this event will be a signal for the gospel reaching into North Korea. One of the baptized decided to study theology and enroll in Sahmyook University to evangelize the North Koreans [just] as he was saved by the Lord.”
There were another three North Korean defectors who requested baptism at the church on the same day. They are undergoing Bible studies in preparation for this step.
The Adventist Language Institute in Korea operates 33 branches in South Korea and serves approximately 40,000 students, including children, teaching English and Japanese.