The Korean-American Church In The 21st Century

225 Pages·2012·1.57 MB·English

by  Dongsik Kim

LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

THE KOREAN-AMERICAN CHURCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY;
A HOW TO MODEL FOR CHURCH GROWTH

A Thesis Project Submitted to
Liberty Theological Seminary
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY
DONGSIK KIM

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA
SEPTEMBER, 2012
LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET

GRADE

MENTOR, Dr. Charlie Davidson

READER, Dr. Rodney W. Dempsey
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ABSTRACT

THE KOREAN-AMERICAN CHURCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY;
A HOW TO MODEL FOR CHURCH GROWTH
Dongsik Kim
Liberty Theological Seminary, 2012
Mentor: Dr. Charlie Davidson
Although Korean-Americans have high religious affiliation, they have a low
religious commitment. Many Korean-Americans think of the church as a place for
relaxation and social connection rather than a place of worship. With the distorted
perspective towards the church, the Korean-American churches experience split and
division; the church‟s growth stagnates or declines, and the church is no longer healthy.
This project provides suggestions for becoming a healthy church through a case study of
the Lord-Jesus Korean Church (LJKC) in Richmond, VA. Based on questionnaires, the
project evaluates the effectiveness of the ministries of the LJKC and suggests
recommendations for becoming a healthy church.
Abstract length: 103 words

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I praise God for providing me a wonderful opportunity to study in the
United States. I express a high gratitude to my mentor, Dr. Charlie Davidson, for
encouraging me to finish this dissertation and to the reader, Dr. Rod Dempsey, for
teaching me well about the healthy church model. Also, I thank Dr. Daniel Kim and Dr.
David Chung, who taught me and supported me so that I could study in the States.
My gratitude also goes to Rev. Dr. Hyun-Chan Bae, who provided the necessary
materials for this dissertation and gave me the opportunity to teach the Bible study group
to the congregation of the LJKC. I thank all members of the Lord-Jesus Korean Church
for kindly answering the survey questionnaires.
I send my deep appreciation to my family, friends, and those who are in Korea;
they prayed for me and supported me emotionally, as well as financially, even to this
time. I would have never come this far without their prayers and encouragement.
I want to thank and send my love to my wife, Eun-Hee Park, and my three
children, Yeji, Moses, and Suah, for praying and enduring hardships with me.
I pray that through this dissertation, God‟s church would be built firmly on this
earth, and I give all glory to God.

D. S. K.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………………iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT……………………………………………………………………………………iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………………………v
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS……………………………………………………………………………viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………1

The Statement of Problems………………………………………………………………………9
Purpose of this Paper………………………………………………………………………………9
The Statement of Limitations…………………………………………………………………10
The Biblical and Theoretical Basis…………………………………………………………10
The Statement of Methodology………………………………………………………………23
The Review of Literature………………………………………………………………………24
The Biblical Context………………………………………………………………………………33
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………40

CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTHY-CHURCH
GROWTH ACCORDING TO EXPERTS…………………………………………………………41

Carl F. George‟s Principles……………………………………………………………………41
Dr. Rodney Dempsey‟s Principles…………………………………………………………45
Christian A. Schwarz‟s Principles…………………………………………………………50
C. Peter Wagner‟s Principles…………………………………………………………………54
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………66

CHAPTER THREE: THREE EXEMPLARY CHURCH MODELS FOR
CHURCH GROWTH…………………………………………………………………………………………68

Antioch Church in the New Testament…………………………………………………68
Supernatural Power…………………………………………………………………………………69
Christ-exalting Worship…………………………………………………………………………70
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God-connecting Prayer……………………………………………………………………………71
Servant Leaders………………………………………………………………………………………72
Kingdom Family Relationships………………………………………………………………75
God-sized Vision……………………………………………………………………………………77
Passion for the Lost…………………………………………………………………………………80
Maturation of Believers…………………………………………………………………………81
Jeon-Ju Antioch Church in Jeon-Ju, South Korea…………………………………82
History of the Jeon-Ju Antioch Church…………………………………………………82
Antioch Church in the New Testament and the Jeon-Ju Antioch
Church……………………………………………………………………………………………………83
Improvements of the Jeon-Ju Antioch Church………………………………………93
The Church of the Saviour in Washington D.C………………………………………94
The History of the Church of the Saviour………………………………………………94
Mission Ministry of the Church of the Saviour………………………………………95
The Potter‟s House……………………………………………………………………95
Colombia Road Health Service (CRHS)……………………………………96
Christ House………………………………………………………………………………97
Samaritan Inn………………………………………………………………………………97
Jubilee housing……………………………………………………………………………98
Manna Community Development………………………………………………98
Festival Center……………………………………………………………………………99
Dayspring Retreat Center……………………………………………………………99
Other Ministries………………………………………………………………………100
Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………100

CHAPTER FOUR: A CASE STUDY OF LORD-JESUS KOREAN
CHURCH…………………………………………………………………………………………………………101

The History of the Church……………………………………………………………………101
The Location of the Church…………………………………………………………………103
Attendance of the LJKC………………………………………………………………………104
Senior Pastor‟s ministry philosophy and leadership of the church………107
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Ministry of the Church…………………………………………………………………………108
Calendar for the Ministry in the LJKC……………………………………108
Worship……………………………………………………………………………………111
Fellowship…………………………………………………………………………………116
Education…………………………………………………………………………………117
Training for Maturity of Faith…………………………………………………117
Training for Sunday School Ministry………………………………………122
Training for the Next Generation………………………………………………128
Evangelism………………………………………………………………………………133
Social mission…………………………………………………………………………136
Vision………………………………………………………………………………………147
Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………148

CHAPTER FIVE: EVALUATION OF THE LORD-JESUS KOREAN
CHURCH ON ITS EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CHURCH GROWTH…………149

Main Principles of the Church………………………………………………………………150
Worship………………………………………………………………………………………………153
Education………………………………………………………………………………………………160
Mission…………………………………………………………………………………………………165
Social Mission………………………………………………………………………………………169
Fellowship……………………………………………………………………………………………176
Analysis of the Overall Result………………………………………………………………180
Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………183

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………184

APPENDIX A…………………………………………………………………………………………………197
APPENDIX B…………………………………………………………………………………………………198
APPENDIX C…………………………………………………………………………………………………199
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………………207
VITA………………………………………………………………………………………………………………215
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures
1. Korean American‟s religious affiliation…………………………………………………………4
2. A number of Korean-American churches in top five areas………………………………5
3. The comparison between a shepherd and a rancher………………………………………43
4. Discipleship life cycle……………………………………………………………………………………46
5. Characteristics of a good leader……………………………………………………………………73
6. The presentation of the vision in the church…………………………………………………79
7. Comparison between Antioch Church in the New Testament and Jeon-Ju
Antioch Church in South Korea……………………………………………………………………84
8. Transportation time for the members to come to church……………………………104
9. The attendance of the LJKC………………………………………………………………………105
10. Number of disciple training for new members……………………………………………106
11. Worship and event plan of the LJKC…………………………………………………………111
12. Worship time of the LJKC…………………………………………………………………………113
13. Structure for the training of the adults………………………………………………………118
14. Steps for the mobilization of the laity members…………………………………………120
15. Daily schedule of the Mu-Kung-Hwa Korean School…………………………………130
16. Daily schedule of Summer Culture School…………………………………………………132
17. What is the age group that you belong?………………………………………………………150
18. Does my church seriously ask the will of God in a process of
decision-making and try to obey the will of God?………………………………………150
19. Is there a caring and serving atmosphere among the members of the
church?………………………………………………………………………………………………………151
20. Does my church set a point in playing the role of the salt and the light in
this world rather than just running the administration of the church itself…152
21. Does my church have suitable programs for fulfilling the purpose of the
worship?……………………………………………………………………………………………………155
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22. Is the process for planning and implementing the worship for fulfilling
the purpose of the worship effective?…………………………………………………………156
23. Does my church have people who have talent and capability for the
worship?……………………………………………………………………………………………………158
24. Does the worship bear the fruit of fulfilling the original purpose of the
worship?……………………………………………………………………………………………………159
25. Is the purpose of the education established clearly and shared among the
members?……………………………………………………………………………………………………161
26. Are there suitable programs for fulfilling the purpose of the education in
the LJKC?…………………………………………………………………………………………………163
27. Does the process for planning and implementing the education for
fulfilling the purpose of the education effective?………………………………………164
28. Does the education bear the fruit of fulfilling the original purpose of the
education? …………………………………………………………………………………………………165
29. Does my church‟s mission coincide with the church vision? ……………………166
30. Are there suitable programs for fulfilling the purpose of the mission? ………167
31. Are there people who have talent and capability for the mission? ……………168
32. Does the mission bear the fruit of fulfilling the original purpose of the
mission?……………………………………………………………………………………………………169
33. Does the purpose of the social mission is established clearly and is
shared among the members?………………………………………………………………………171
34. Are there suitable programs for fulfilling the purpose of the social
mission?……………………………………………………………………………………………………172
35. Are there people who have talent and capability for the social mission?……173
36. Is the process for planning and implementing the social mission for
fulfilling the purpose of the social mission effective?…………………………………174
37. Does the social mission bear the fruit of fulfilling the original purpose of
the social mission?………………………………………………………………………………………175
38. Does my church‟s fellowship coincide with the church vision?…………………176
39. Is the purpose of the fellowship established clearly and shared among
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the members?………………………………………………………………………………………………177
40. Are there suitable programs for fulfilling the purpose of the fellowship?…178
41. Does the fellowship bear the fruit of fulfilling the original purpose of the
fellowship?…………………………………………………………………………………………………179
42. Is the church ministry as a whole effective through the connection of
worship-fellowship-education-mission-social mission?……………………………180
43. Does the church‟s ministry model (worship, fellowship, education, mission,
and social mission) reflect the main principles of the healthy church?………181
44. Does my church effectively place the laity members in each ministry
according to their ability and capacities?……………………………………………………181

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