LUCILLE OCAMPO-TALUSAN
At the break of dawn in Seoul, while much of the city still sleeps, tens of thousands of voices rise in unison from Myungsung Church —
“Ju-yeo! Ju-yeo! Ju-yeo!” — “Oh Lord! Oh Lord! Oh Lord!”
Then, like a rushing river, their individual prayers pour out — a cry that pierces the stillness of morning. This is not a seasonal revival but the daily rhythm of life at Myungsung Church, where early morning prayer has become both a sacred habit and a generational legacy.
Founded in 1980 by Reverend Sam-Hwan Kim, Myungsung Church began humbly with just 25 members. It was a time of hardship — the Kim family lived behind a thin wooden wall separating their modest quarters from the sanctuary. Yet even then, the heartbeat of the church was prayer.
“We didn’t know how things would unfold,” recalls Pastor Hana Kim, Reverend Kim’s son and now the senior pastor. “We prayed a lot, especially my parents.”
Prayer wasn’t merely encouraged; it was lived. “When I was in second grade, I woke up at 4 a.m. with my parents,” Pastor Hana remembers with a smile. “We were poor, but I didn’t feel it. I just followed them as they prayed. It was fun. We enjoyed it.”
From that small sanctuary, the church grew rapidly. Within three years, they built their first building seating 1,500. Today, Myungsung Church spans two massive buildings and has more than 100,000 members. Both father and son testify that its growth has been nothing short of miraculous. At the center of this miracle is the church’s core identity: the early morning prayer service.
Each day, 2,000 worshippers gather before sunrise. During the biannual Early Morning Prayer Festival — held five days each in March and September — attendance swells to 25,000 daily across three services beginning at 5:30 a.m. “The festival encourages people to taste the power of early morning prayer, even for a week,” Pastor Hana explains. “But the real goal is to help them make it a lifestyle.”
Making prayer at dawn a lifestyle, however, requires sacrifice. “You have to change your life — go to bed by 11 p.m., give up late-night habits, even Netflix binges,” Pastor Hana urges. “But when you do, you’ll see amazing things. Try it. Experience answered prayers. You’ll see what God can do.”
Now in his 80s, Reverend Sam-Hwan Kim remains a living witness to this discipline. “Food nourishes the body,” he teaches. “But the Word of God and prayer nourish the spirit. So many miracles happen through prayer. The early morning is the golden time for prayer — Peter’s escape from prison (Acts 12:5-11), Jericho’s fall (Joshua 6:12, 15), the Exodus (Exodus 8:20, 9:13), and the Resurrection itself (Luke 24:1) all happened in the early morning.”
At Myungsung, prayer is not just for this generation but for the next. Parents who once accompanied their own mothers and fathers at 5 a.m. are now bringing their children. Having witnessed breakthroughs, provision, and strength in their lives, they long for their children to know this same power.
SOMANG (“HOPE”) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, ONE OF THE FRUITS OF THE EARLY MORNING PRAYER, A CHRISTIAN PRISON ESTABLISHED BY THE MYUNGSUNG CHURCH WITH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AND MANAGED BY THE MEMBERS AND CHRISTIAN MINISTRY PARTNERS.
It was not easy. Laws had to be passed, land acquired, and funds raised. Yet, through collaboration with the government and the steadfast prayers of the church, Somang became a reality — a living model of how faith can rehabilitate lives. “Now we are allowed to work inside the prison, not just send help from the outside,” Reverend Kim shares. “It’s a miracle.”
Today, Myungsung’s reach is global — with a hospital in Ethiopia, a Christian broadcast network (C Channel), and strong investments in raising the next generation. Still, as Pastor Hana emphasizes, “Our true power lies in prayer.”
In a world of social instability, declining faith among youth, and widespread fatigue, Myungsung Church offers a simple yet radical solution: pray, and pray early.
“There are so many problems in the world,” Reverend Kim concludes. “But there is an answer. Let’s pray. There’s a golden time for prayer — and it’s in the early morning. When darkness fades and resurrection comes, that’s when breakthroughs happen.
“To churches around the world — just try early morning prayer. Not because we say so, but because it works. It is the key to addressing not just personal struggles, but the deep problems of our world. Let us rise, together, in prayer.”