David Jang
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David Jang is a South Korean professor, Christian theologian, and pastor. He has founded several Christian organizations, including Olivet University in San Francisco, ''Christian Today'' headquartered in Korea, ''Christian Daily Korea'', and ''Christianity Daily'' in Los Angeles, CA. He served as a member of the North American Council of the
World Evangelical Alliance The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of evangelical Christian churches with 600 million adherents that was founded in 1846 in London, England, to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA is the largest internati ...
(WEA) from 2007 to 2018, the former president of World Olivet Assembly, the founder and first international president of Olivet University, and current president of the Holy Bible Society. Jang was also the 88th President of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea.


Career

Jang grew up in South Korea in a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
family. As a young man he spent much time in Bible study, vigil prayer meetings, and
evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...
. He pursued theological studies at Hanshin University and received two degrees, a Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.). He also earned an M.A. in Communications from
Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...
and completed his formal studies with a Ph.D. in Public Administration of Social Welfare from
Dankook University Dankook University (commonly referred to as Dankook), abbreviated as DKU, is a private research university in Yongin and Cheonan, South Korea. The university was established in 1947. It was the first university established after the National Lib ...
. While he was studying, Jang participated in missions and teaching, serving in campus fellowships and churches, and lectured in theology. In a 2002 message, Jang explained that the world has entered a modern deluge: instead of water, modern society is drowning in information. Information is everywhere, but “there is no water to drink.” To rescue it, his community would build a new ark to raise the truth above the flood, including evangelical groups, Olivet University, and media outlets, supported by various business activities.


''Christian Today''

In 2000, Jang founded ''Christian Today'', which came to have the highest number of visitors among religious news websites in Korea. Jang aimed for the media company to provide online in-depth coverage across all areas in Christianity, encourage a spirit of unity and reconciliation within the church, promote international recognition of
Christian culture Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions. Christian culture has i ...
, and contribute to global mission work.


Olivet University

In the year 2000, Olivet Theological College and Seminary (OTCS) was established in both Los Angeles and in Seoul, Korea, where it was co-located with the Southern Cross College Korea Campus. Jang was a member of the faculty of Southern Cross College and the first director of its Korea campus. By 2004, the seminary expanded and incorporated into a university comprising five colleges - Olivet Theological College & Seminary, Jubilee College of Music, Olivet College of Journalism, Olivet College of Art & Design, and Olivet Institute of Technology - in the institution’s new home in San Francisco. The university moved into the former
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
Downtown Extension Campus, near the
Moscone Center The George R. Moscone Convention Center (), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California, United States. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three bl ...
in 2005. They also founded Olivet Business School, which offers MBA programs and opened extension sites in
Nashville, TN Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
(at 141 Belle Forest Circle),
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
(at 6 Barclay Street in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
),
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
(at 1025 Howard Street), and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
(at 1400 Eye Street NW ). Olivet combines Winter's focus on training men and women in biblical scholarship and leadership with Jang’s emphasis on practical skills for preaching. In 2006, Jang handed over the presidency of the university to Dr. David James Randolph in order to concentrate on mission field work. Jang continues to serve at Olivet University as a professor of theology and international president.


Other activities

From 2007 to 2018, Jang served as a member of the North American Council of the WEA. Also in 2007, he began work with the Holy Bible Society whose mission is to make "the Bible more accessible to all people by using digital technology and the Internet, especially in unreached mission frontiers." Over the years, he has engaged in discussions about helping to establish churches in difficult mission fields such as China. In 2012, a ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'' article raised questions whether Jang had any connections with the
Unification Church The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
and his being seen by some people as the "
Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...
", accusations that have been disputed as baseless by the Christian Council of Korea and the
World Evangelical Alliance The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of evangelical Christian churches with 600 million adherents that was founded in 1846 in London, England, to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA is the largest internati ...
, among others. ''
The Christian Post ''The Christian Post'' is an American non-denominational, conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004. News topics include the Church, ministries, missions, education, Christi ...
'', founded by students from Olivet University, issued a detailed response to the various allegations raised in the ''Christianity Today'' article, raising doubts about the sources and also questioning the timing of the publication during a review of an offer Olivet University made to Lifeway for the purchase of a campus property. In 2014, Mother Jones published an investigation into a group of Jang's followers calling themselves “the Community”, who worked as low-paid interns to support Jang's evangelization efforts, Jang-affiliated media companies such as IBT, and Olivet University.


Personal life

Jang is married to Dr. Sarah Lee and has two sons. He considers Ralph D. Winter and Jang Sik Lee () among his mentors.


References


External links

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About Founder - Olivet University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, David 1949 births Living people Yonsei University alumni Dankook University alumni Korean Presbyterian ministers 21st-century Christian theologians South Korean Presbyterians South Korean theologians