Church of God Pastor Kim Jung-rak, third from left, and Jeong Seo-yun, fourth from left, director of the fundraising headquarters of the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association in Seoul, pose after the World Mission Society Church of God donated 200 million won ($160,000) to help COVID-19 patients, healthcare workers and volunteers fight the pandemic. / Courtesy of Church of God



By Han Myung-duck



The Coronavirus Disease-19 outbreak has been declared a global pandemic.



There was a gradual decline in COVID-19 cases in South Korea, but new clusters of infections are emerging, which makes it harder for the country to fight off infections. As COVID-19 is affecting the country's economy and the people's social activities as a whole, many of our neighbors are having a hard time.



One person's comfort, ten people's support, love shared among organizations and countries can greatly help overcome this crisis. On March 20, the World Mission Society Church of God (General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol, hereinafter the Church of God) visited the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association and donated 200 million won ($ 160,000) to help overcome the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, hoping that people will quickly get back to their normal daily routines.



Pastor Kim Jung-rak from the Church of God said, "We truly hope everyone will live a healthy and peaceful life again as soon as possible." Then he added, "If we put our strength and wisdom together, we'll be able to solve this problem. We will continue to help our country and people in every way."



Ms. Jeong Seo-yun, director of the fundraising headquarters of the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, expressed her gratitude, "Thank you for your heartfelt support for those who are suffering from COVID-19. The government alone cannot manage all types of disasters. So volunteers are of great help to us. I think many people support us through donations, because working at the scene can put them at risk of infection with COVID-19. We will carefully think about those who need help and make sure that the warmhearted support of the Church of God can be extended to every corner of the country, which the government cannot cover."



The donations from the Church of God will be used to support substantial needs in each region, after close consultation among the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, Ministry of Public Administration and Security, and local governments.



The Church of God is actively participating in the efforts to respond to COVID-19 and to overcome the national crisis. To take part in social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in communities, the Church has decided to conduct services online until the end of March. This measure is being carried out in areas where COVID-19 has been spreading extensively such as Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Daegu, Gyeongbuk Province, etc.



To prevent COVID-19, the church has been thoroughly observing the guidelines for the prevention and control of infection, established by the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH). The church also actively supports the central and local governments in the efforts to follow the preventive measures against infectious diseases by establishing an emergency response committee and running it, checking the identity of every visitor to the church and taking their body temperature, using masks and hand sanitizers compulsorily, sterilizing the church facilities before and after worship services, fumigating inside and outside of the church, etc.



Additionally, the church makes efforts to increase public participation by uploading video sermons to its official website, so the church members can watch them during worship service in their home, promoting COVID-19 prevention guidelines, and producing video content about the COVID-19 prevention campaign.



Moreover, the Church donated a total of 30,000 KF94 face masks to the Community Chest at the Daegu Branch for the medical staff and citizens in Daegu which was declared a special disaster area. Pastor Sohn Hyeong-han from the Church of God said, "We sincerely give thanks to all the medical staff who are struggling day and night in the front line and to all government officials and related organization staff." He also expressed his hope that all the workers affected by COVID-19 in social, economic, educational, and cultural fields would find strength to overcome the hardships they are encountering.



So far, the Church of God has taken the lead in helping neighbors in and out of Korea whenever a great disaster occurred. Last January, the Church delivered 50 million KRW [appr. 40,000 USD] of relief funds to the Community Chest at the Gangwon Branch to help the forest fire victims in Gangwon Province.



Before now, the Church had carried out devotional volunteer services such as free meal service, disaster recovery, casualty rescue, and relief supplies at numerous disaster sites such as Pohang earthquake, Sewol ferry sinking, Taean oil spill, volcanic eruption in the Philippines, floods in Japan, cold snap in Peru, hurricanes in the U.S., tsunamis in Indonesia, and earthquakes in Nepal.



On top of that, the Church has conducted constant and diverse services for neighbors such as blood donation drives, environmental cleanup programs, educational support, and cultural sharing, and has been honored with over 3,000 awards worldwide through over 20,000 volunteer services: the Presidential Group Citation, the Presidential Medal of Merit, and the Presidential Citation from three Korean governments, the President's Volunteer Service Award Gold (the highest recognition for a group, for 17 times) in the U.S., the Green Apple Awards, an international environmental award, and more.





