THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996 TAG: 9607170341
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 63 lines
Regent University's first graduating class of foreign students donned caps and gowns Tuesday night to receive master's degrees in divinity.
On Thursday they will return to South Korea, where women in the class hope to break gender barriers by becoming ordained as senior pastors.
Soo Yeon Noh is one of them. A pastor in Korea's largest church for 10 years, she has yet to be ordained.
``Most women ministers have a dream to be ordained,'' Noh said through an interpreter. ``They have a dream, so they come here and study.''
Regent signed a sister agreement last year with Soonshin University of Seoul. Soonshin was founded by David Yonggi Cho, pastor of the world's largest church, which has 700,000 members and 700 pastors. The majority of members in the Yoido Full Gospel Church worship in small groups called ``cells,'' each of which has a leader. Noh oversees several such cells and their leaders.
``There's quite a place for women ministers in Korea. More so than here,'' said Vinson Synan, Regent's dean of divinity.
The students do some study at Soonshin. Then they come to Regent, where they are in class from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily for three weeks. Those who don't understand English listen to interpreters through headphones.
On Monday, as Scott Ross of the ``700 Club'' prayed, an interpreter translated his words from the front of the classroom. When he began speaking in tongues, the interpreter repeated ``Hallelujah. Hallelujah.''
The Korean students swayed back and forth in their seats, some raising their hands over their heads.
Regent expects to benefit from its foreign students in ways other than the $3,000 tuition each pays.
``One of the big benefits to Regent is the way the Koreans pray,'' Synan said. ``Their dedication, their tireless energy and their prayer life is incredibly challenging to the Americans. They'll pray for hours. In Korea, they have all-night prayer meetings every Friday night, all night long.''
But Korean Christians can learn from Americans how to incorporate their beliefs into their daily lives, said Jae Kag Rhou, a Presbyterian minister who received his master's degree Tuesday.
``Prayer is the strong point of Koreans,'' Rhou said through an interpreter. ``Most Americans do not pray a long time. But they lead a prayerful life. Their life is prayer.''
Rhou said he came to Regent to be filled by the Holy Spirit and to be taught by spirit-filled people.
Pat Robertson, Regent's founder, is well known to Korean Christians through the ``700 Club'' broadcast and through his friendship with Cho. Regent has sent professors to teach at Soonshin, and Synan said the Korean agreement fits well with Regent's philosophy.
``We want to be an international university,'' Synan said. ``This is something we were set up to do in the beginning. The whole purpose was to train leadership to change the world, not just the United States.'' ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA photos
The Virginian-Pilot
Students from Soonshin University in South Korea line up to receive
their master's degrees in divinity at Regent University.
Jung-soon Kim relaxes before the graduation ceremony. She is one of
the South Koreans to receive degrees from Regent. by CNB