From November 1 to 5, the Global Harvest Summit 2025, an annual regional gathering of the Billion Soul Harvest movement, was held on Jeju Island, South Korea. The event brought together over 1,500 Christians from more than 100 countries to explore ways to fulfill the Great Commission by 2033.
This year's summit, themed "Intercession & Evangelism to Accelerate the Gospel Movement," lasted for four days. Each day centered on a specific theme—"The Great Return," "The Great Harvest," "The Great Breakthrough," and "The Great Unity." The goal was to encourage Christians worldwide to spread the gospel by 2033, develop strategies for reaching one billion souls, and formulate a global action plan through joint discussions.
The opening day, themed "The Great Return," called on the church to awaken and prepare for the coming of the King. The summit began with a procession of national flags, followed by testimonies and multilingual prayers.
The second day, themed "The Great Harvest," focused on prayer, evangelism, and gospel movements. Christian leaders from different continents shared testimonies, reports, and disciple-multiplication training sessions, and joined in a beach prayer walk, emphasizing revival and cooperation in spreading the gospel.
The third day, themed "The Great Breakthrough," spotlighted Christian media initiatives, including media missions, the "Jesus Films" project, and research on the American TV series The Chosen. These examples demonstrated how media can inspire every believer to engage in the Great Commission. The program also explored innovative approaches to evangelistic communication across cities and nations, fostering global partnerships among church leaders. Testimonies from believers in war-torn regions such as Ukraine and Myanmar inspired intercessions among participants.
The final day, themed "The Great Unity," featured testimonies from professionals, children, youth, and pastors' families who are actively sharing the gospel in their fields. The summit concluded with an exclusive screening of the film King of Kings, followed by a closing ceremony and commissioning service, marking the official sending forth of participants to continue the Lord's mission.
The summit featured prominent speakers from around the world, including Rev. Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life; renowned missionary Louis Bush; Dr. Dick Eastman, international president of Every Home for Christ; and Rev. Younghoon Lee, senior pastor of Yeouido Full Gospel Church.
In addition to plenary sessions, the summit offered a range of smaller workshops covering diverse themes such as prayer, testimony, media, discipleship, business missions, sports, strategy, vision, education, and ministry.
Dr. James Hwang, leader of the Billion Soul Harvest movement, shared the origin of the vision during the event. As a well-known South Korean physician, Dr. Hwang witnessed many heartbreaking cases while treating cancer patients—some as young as their twenties and thirties. Reflecting on these experiences and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, "No matter how strong the human will, a stable life can vanish in an instant; all achievements can collapse in a moment. I believe this foreshadows how terrifying God's righteous judgment will be."
Although the pandemic forced many churches around the world to close their doors, Dr. Hwang emphasized that "the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven remain open." He believes this season represents a renewed opportunity for Christians to prepare for Christ's second coming and to lead more souls to the Lord—forming the foundation of the Billion Soul Harvest movement.
During the summit, organizers also announced that the next Global Harvest Summit will take place from November 2 to 6, 2026, in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil. Co-hosted by the Global Inspire Partnership and City Church, the upcoming summit will seek to build on the momentum of the 2025 gathering and further ignite the vision for fulfilling the Great Commission by 2033.
Originally published by the Christian Times
Edited and translated by Poppy Chan
