After decades of war and mass migration reduced Sri Lanka’s Adventist membership from 8,000 to 600, Mission President Hyosu Jung leads a revitalization effort focused on mission motivation, small‑group evangelism, property renewal, and cross‑cultural partnerships—bringing new growth, hope, and transformed lives across the Ceylon Mission.
How do you rebuild a struggling church? And how do you sustain growth once you have a functional congregation?
Hyosu Jung, president of the Ceylon Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, was tasked with revitalizing the struggling churches of his new mission upon his arrival in Sri Lanka in 2024. In order to help, he had to know why help was needed.
After enduring more than 400 years of colonization, a civil war broke out in 1983 between two Sri Lankan groups: the Sinhalese and the Tamils. This conflict lasted until 2009. Before the war, the church membership in Sri Lanka was 8,000. After the war, it dropped to 600. “The majority of our members left the country,” Jung said. “So, the Sri Lanka church became very weak; it couldn't function well without support from the outside.”
When Jung first arrived in the country, he began to realize the extent of the damage. It was considerable. One church had a broken roof that was letting in rainwater and causing mold to grow, but the congregation didn’t have the means to fix it. Most of the churches were in similar situations.
“The majority of our members are tea plantation workers who work in high mountainous areas.” Jung explained. “They are very poor. Even to come to church is a very big sacrifice, because they can’t go to work, they can’t earn money, and they have to pay for transportation.”
It’s difficult to invite others to a church you’re hesitant to attend yourself. Jung started strategizing to overcome this challenge. “We tried to do something to rebuild the church.”
As part of their rebuilding plan, Jung and his team settled on five areas to focus on: mission motivation, property management, children’s ministry, pastoral leadership education, and self-support.
The past year has seen growth in all these areas, especially in mission motivation.
“Because I am Korean, I tried to connect our Sri Lankan churches with Korean churches,” Jung said. “One Korean church supports one Sri Lankan church.” Active Korean congregations provide financial, spiritual, and evangelistic support to their expanding Sri Lankan counterparts. Multiple teams from Korea visit throughout the year to host evangelistic programs and support the churches through a sisterhood relationship.
The Ceylon Mission is also strengthening through small group evangelism, a result of partnering with the Northern Asia-Pacific Division. “This small group evangelism is different from the normal public evangelist meeting,” Jung said. “We asked all the churches to organize small groups. We don’t preach. We don’t want to put pressure on the small group leaders because most of them are laypeople, and they don’t have any educational background.”
With icebreakers, short video sermons, and plenty of discussion and prayer time, a small group “festival” was a great success. “The first night we had around 1,600 people participating and the last day, we had around 2,200 people. Our members were really surprised. They really enjoyed it.” As a result of the festival the churches have many Bible study contacts lined up and requests for the small groups to continue. Jung and his team are developing similar materials for them to use in the future.
One woman was especially blessed during the festival. Pastor Jeevakumar of the Sooryakantha Church shared a deeply moving story with Jung. “Sister M. S. Dhamika came to me and said, ‘Pastor, only my family and I know how satisfied I have been these four days.’ When I gently asked why, her answer was heartbreaking: ‘Pastor, for these four days, I have eaten dinner every night. My stomach was full. My two children ate their fill. Only my children and I know what it means to be satisfied like this.’
“I asked her why she had only been eating these four days. With tears in her eyes, she explained: ‘My husband has left me for another woman, and my relatives have abandoned me. No one cares if my children and I eat. But because of your meetings, we have eaten well for these four days. Not only our stomachs, but also our hearts are full. I had never truly worshipped Christ. Yet during these four days, I have seen how the Lord has taken care of me.’”
Jung asks you to remember Sri Lanka in your prayers. He’s excited and thankful for how the mission is growing. “It is a great blessing for me to enjoy the blessings of the evangelism here in Sri Lanka.”
