Keys to Korean Success: Worship, Small Groups and Mission
Where is the church growing and vibrant? The Hoi Polloi group decided to visit South Korea to study the growth of the church. Bill Gandy shares this report from South Korea:
We experienced the church in ways that we had only dared to dream. The churches (many denominations) were full during worship, had active small group ministries and were engaged in mission. I came back believing more than ever that these are the three critical areas on which the church in the United States should focus. Evangelism takes place through all three avenues and is no longer a distinctive subset.
The underlying reason for growth in the Korean church is prayer. We experienced worship where the sermon and music were very similar to ours. However, there were seven explicit times for prayer that seemed to move deeper and deeper each time. The churches (of all denominations) held Daylight Prayer Services each day of the week, except Sunday starting typically around 5:00 and going until as late as 7:00 a.m. This allowed people to come and pray and then get to work or school. Retreat centers were called ‘Prayer Mountains’ and while they had overnight accommodations and youth/children activity areas (which were of the highest quality) and cafeterias as well as huge auditoriums for worship and rallies, the hills were decorated with ‘prayer grottos’ that looked line mini-storm shelters complete with a mat, pillow and desk so that people could pray/fast for hours and days. Pastors were typically expected to spend two to three hours of their work day in prayer. Their work day was 10-12 hours long. We heard many say that miracles of God come through prayer and fasting. The churches were working together to hold prayer rallies in the streets and municipal courtyards inviting the entire city to pray together for God’s will over the city and country. Prayer was the single thing we experienced that separated the Korean church from the American church.
Churches were engaged in mission locally and beyond, but the number one way they carried out their mission work was to plant a church in the areas where they could. Some areas were not ready for churches to be planted, i.e. North Korea, but they were present there as well. The idea of sending a church planter to the areas where mission needs are present is not foreign to us, just forgotten by us. The Methodist movement grew to be the largest, Protestant church in the United States from 1784 to 1925 by planting churches in the places where people lived and then prayerfully working to meet the needs of those communities. The many individuals we talked with were excited to tell us about their faith journey.
Part of our work with authentic community is focused on 20 and 30 year olds. The young adults were significant to the churches we experienced. Their culture is still driven by extended families living together. There is a great deal of pressure placed on the youth and young adults to excel so that they can live full lives and provide for their elders as they grow old. We had questions about the changes that were taking place in their culture due to Westernization and how it would affect this culture in the future.
This was a magnificent trip and I will take the time to share my stories with others in the coming days.
