‘COVID-19’ 상황에서 한국교회의 선교

Abstract

As the world suffers from ‘COVID-19,’ a new wind of change is blowing. Everything that had previously been done face-to-face was only possible through self-isolation, social distancing, and wearing a mask. There have been online shopping, banking transactions, taking cyber classes, stock trading, remote medical treatment, and working from home using a smartphone application. As a result, business processing and daily life through online are becoming our daily life. It has now shifted from pandemic to endemic, and this situation will be continued for a while. Accordingly, due to the Corona, discussions on the direction of Korean churches’ missions are actively taking place. Now, we must follow the incarnation model of Jesus Christ, go to the field, and move away from the old method of ministry. Now we must actively use a new approach. By now, mission has practiced a face-to-face contact method through the formation of relationships, but the entry into a non-face-to-face society due to the coronavirus is changing our understanding of missions. It is impossible to return to the past. However, as before the Corona, the task of the Korean church is still how to deliver the immutable gospel in this rapidly changing world. The church is an agent who practices mission in the world and a mission community, sent to the earth. Mission is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. However, the Korean churches have continued to do mission-centered and infinitely competitive missions. The Korean churches must now give the initiative of mission to God, because the subject of mission is God. God wants to work through us. Thus, the Korean churches must escape from the redundancy and competition-oriented missions. The privatization of faith and the communality of the church must be restored. And we should use this as an opportunity, rather than feeling discouraged and defeated amid the crisis caused by the coronavirus. In particular, it is necessary to actively develop non-face-to-face ministry and missionary methods that are becoming more familiar with the post-modern era. The online space that the church has given up from Satan must now look for ways to use it as a means of evangelism. It is supposedly effective and biblical for a missionary to go to the field and minister through personal encounters. However, it is impossible right now. Now, Korean churches must be sensitive to these changes. ‘COVID-19’ quickly accelerated the 4th Industrial Revolution, and will accelerate further in the future. Now, the Korean churches must explore a new mission paradigm and develop an appropriate mission strategy. For the purpose, this paper presents the direction of Korean churches’ missions in several ways.