북미교회 개척 동향 분석과 한국교회 개척 방향에 대한 제언

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to analyse the current trend of church planting in North America and to propose a brief suggestion for church planting in Korea. A generally agreed goal of planting church in North America mainly led by individual denominations before 1990s was just to plant new churches that had the same operating system and leadership structure as the existing churches kept for long time. Since such a way of planting church worked well, it was natural for denominations, deeply immersed in modernistic cultural values, not to pay attention to the rapidly changing socio-cultural environment of North America. As a result, churches they plant according to their existing church planting principles became culturally irrelevant to the new emerging postmodern generation who has totally different value system. Consequently, such an insensitiveness, which came from the misunderstanding of mission, to the socio-cultural change not only drove young people out of the church but also blocked the inflow of the seekers whose cultural background is postmodern. It caused serious crisis both for church planting movement and the churches in North America. Missional church movement advocated by a group of missiologists and pastors basically influenced by Lesslie Newbigin provided church planters eagerly searching for any possible alternative with affluent insights and ideas due to planting churches that are culturally relevant to the postmodern generation. Since 1990s, church planters has begun to realize that North America itself is a mission filed where they must approach not only with the truth but also with culturally relevant way. And those who realized the importance of planting new church with a missiological perspective have recently organized various church planting networks and led a new church planting movement effectively and successfully. It should be noted that the socio-cultural situation in North America is quite different from that in Korea. Therefore, it is necessary for church planters in Korea need to understand the socio-cultural environment of Korea seriously. However, the missiological principles that missional church movement has offered to church planters in North America are still important for the church planters in Korea as a missiological foundation. On that foundation, they can develop church planting strategies that is effective in communicating the gospel to the people in Korea.