From proto-missional to mega-church : a critique of ecclesial ‘growth’ in Korea

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Authors

Lee, Yongsoo
Dreyer, Willem Akkerhuys (Wim)

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Journal ISSN

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Publisher

AOSIS Open Journals

Abstract

In the last couple of decades, the Korean church experienced a loss of credibility as well as a decrease in membership. The premise of this contribution is that the mega-church phenomenon in Korea contributed to this state of affairs. Many Korean churches, influenced by dramatic sociopolitical and economic changes, developed a distorted understanding of its nature and mission. Korean churches began to compete against each other to grow bigger. An institutional ecclesiology and ecclesiocentric understanding of mission formed the basis of this endeavour. To counter this tendency, some churches turned to missional ecclesiology to facilitate the reformation of the Korean church. According to empirical data, Korean society rates megachurches negatively while they evaluate missional churches positively. This provided further impetus for the current emerging missional movement in Korea.

Description

This article represents a reworked version of aspects from the PhD thesis of Yongsoo Lee, titled, ‘From proto-missional to mega-church: a critique of ecclesial “growth” in Korea’, in the Department of Church History and Church Polity, University of Pretoria, with Dr Wim A. Dreyer as supervisor. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/63428)

Keywords

Credibility, Membership, Mega-church, Korean churches, Missional ecclesiology, Missional churches

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Lee, Y. & Dreyer, W.A., 2018, ‘From proto-missional to mega-church: A critique of ecclesial “growth” in Korea’, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 74(4), 4665. https://DOI. org/ 10.4102/hts.v74i4.4665.