A Korean church based in New Zealand called the Zion Christian Mission Centre (ZCMC) which has had aims to expand in Samoa are now celebrating the first ever 20 Samoan graduates which they recruited this year.

Held at the Daegu Stadium, Daegu, South Korea last Sunday, the 20 Samoans were amongst more than 100,000 students who graduated from the theological course this year.

These Samoans and over 100,000 students gathered at Daegu Stadium to celebrate the 2023 graduation from the ZCMC, a theology school run by Christian denomination New Heaven and New Earth Church of Jesus. This major religious event celebrated those from all around the world who have completed the ZCMC course within the year.

Khalar Mann, one of 20 Samoan graduates said he initially had doubts about the Zion Christian Mission Center course.

"Admittedly, I heard it wasn’t a genuine course at first after being discouraged by family and friends. However, I remained inquisitive and couldn't fathom how thousands of people from around the world came here every year to study Revelation and the entire Bible," he said.

"While I was studying in the ZCMC course I witnessed the 100,000 graduates in 2022, and I was astounded by how happy and radiant they appeared. How such a huge event was well organised, and performers even were so in sync! I was shocked to hear testimonies from people with similar questions that all came to Shincheonji to receive answers.

“All of the accusations regarding Shincheonji are no longer credible in my opinion. It is beneficial to learn about an organisation directly from the source.

“As I started in the course, the instructors and evangelists were very genuine and honest, and we were encouraged to verify with the Bible ourselves and ask as many questions to confirm what we were learning. I had the impression that the ZCMC educators could provide insightful answers to any of my inquiries directly from the Bible. 

"They gave me so much help during the course. I was comforted as I didn’t have to pay anything. I was really seeking God at the time and kept going to many churches so finally receiving answers to my questions about Revelation really brought so much joy, peace, and hope. Giving God all the praise and glory, I am incredibly honoured to be a part of the Class 114, 100,000 graduation this year."

Jade, an Instructor from the Zion Christian Mission Centre said: ‘The Chairman always emphasises that the Bible should be the standard of faith that any Christian believer or pastor follows. 

"It’s sad and unfair how the Chairman and New Heaven and New Earth Church have been portrayed in the past. Our reputation was once tarnished by a small few who are simply spreading lies. However, all that is changing now. This third 100,000 graduation is a testimony to who we really are – believers who are dedicated to God. God has called us to shine the light and life of his word out into the world and the world is receiving it with joy," she said.

"So we invite anyone to come and hear for yourself the words we teach. Let’s reason together and discern what is right for this world with the Bible, and if we need to change something let’s do that, but not accuse before you hear someone’s perspective.

"100,000 people have yet again validated the teachings from the ZCMC. If you are a pastor, a Christian or even just someone curious about the Bible, come and decide for yourself what to think,’ said Jade. ‘You will be amazed at how much more you can learn from the Bible as you study it more deeply with us."

Amongst the 20 Samoans this year, 61 New Zealanders and 1000’s more from countries around the world including the UK, USA, France and Australia graduated from ZCMC. Within 10 months, 793 Samoan students have joined the ZCMC bible study.

Following the graduation of 103,764 people in 2019 and 106,186 people in 2022, this year saw 108,084 graduates. The number of current and former pastors among the graduates was 6,724, an increase of more than ten times from the 100,000-graduation ceremony last year. 61 of these graduates were from New Zealand and 20 from Samoa. 20 of the graduates travelled to Korea to take part in the graduation in person. 

New Heaven and New Earth Church of Jesus has its headquarters in Gwacheon, South Korea and is led by the head pastor, also known as the Chairman of the church, Man Hee Lee. The church has over 100 branch churches throughout the world. Its current membership spans to around 300,000 members (not including the recent graduates), with numbers rapidly increasing each year. The church (also referred to by its Korean name, Shincheonji) which has widely been labelled a ‘cult’, now has pastors and Christians in New Zealand and around the globe beginning to re-assess this label.