LTKC: Our History (Part 5)

LTKC: Our History (Part 5)

The Korean American Church is marked with a multidimensional experience. For many, the Korean American Church experience is synonymous with their 2nd generation immigrant experience all together. As Koreans began to immigrate to other metropolitan cities, these cultural enclaves started to grow and burgeon as the immigrant influx only increased in the 90’s and beyond. 

The late 80’s and 90’s were marked with true revival movements in the major cities specifically with the 1.5 generation, or those who had immigrated at a very young age. 

Dr. Min Chung describes revival as “a Sovereign work of God in which a whole region of many churches/Christians are lifted out of Spiritual indifference and worldliness into conviction of sin, earnest desire for more of Christ and his Word, boldness in witness, purity of life, conversions, joyful worship, and renewed commitment to missions”. 

In essence Dr. Chung describes it as a “deep spiritual change in a wide scale which has lasting impact for a generation”. 

And this is precisely what marked this generation of Korean American Christian believers. There are countless testimonies of those from the Chicago, Southern California, DMV, and the Southeast of moves of God’s Spirit that seemed to sweep through the entire region, specifically in the Korean American Church. Out of these moves of God came the calling to full time ministry where Korean American’s began entering into further theological education in growing numbers. This was the advent of what many recognize as the birth of Second generation ministry or better known as English Ministry. 

Their work is recognized as faithful service to God. English ministries started to grow and develop in the more highly populated regions of America which are still in existence to this day. 

However, if one is to be truthful and authentic to the storyline, there was another phenomena that would later set in the Korean American Church. This would later be coined as the “Silent Exodus”. 

The reality of the Silent Exodus was really a coined term to identify the statistical reality of the once strong Asian-American church attendance, only to discover that almost 90% of those who had grown up in the church were no longer attending post-college and even worse, those who had walked away from the faith all together. 

This reality will be examined more in depth in a later post, but it is worth noting to help us to understand our current moment in time. 

The Church in Korea:

It would seem that the 90’s and 2000’s would not only bring prosperity to the Nation of South Korea but to the Korean Church as well. Some may say that what could be seen as a blessing could eventually become a curse if it causes us to lose sight of God. 

If you are to walk through the halls of the biggest mega churches in Korea today, you will see that the buildings are still in tact. The prayer mountains are still available and are visited by the thousands globally every year. You will see Sunday services still taking place and from the outside everything looks as though the Church is still thriving. 

However, upon a deeper examination, one must come to the conclusion that something very amiss is taking place. There are virtually no longer any young people in the Church in Korea. 

As one article puts it, the decline in youth in the South Korea over the last 20 years has not only been gradual but on a steep decline. There are various factors that can be considered in this equation such as the birth rate decline. However what seems to be absolutely and soberingly clear is that the Korean youth are deserting the churches. In many congregations they are virtually non-existent. 

There may be many real reasons to this phenomena. On one hand, with the prosperity of the nation, the Church in Korea can be seen gradually adopting and adapting to the world. To put it frankly, much of the Korean church has found itself still going through the motions of the past, however becoming increasingly worldly in its perspective and messaging. 

The change in Korean Culture, primarily in the metropolitan cities is undeniable. This small hermit kingdom that once was considered the poorest nation on the eastern hemisphere has transformed itself into the 13th largest global economy in the span of 100 years. Many economists call this the “miracle of South Korea”. 

There is no doubt that with the changing culture, that the special interest and even idolatry of education came along with the package. As a desire to move ahead in the world and in the highly competitive work environment of Korea, Baby boomer and Gen X parents began to put heavy emphasis on education above spiritual life. After all, the Korean Churches were now in mega buildings and church attendance seemed to be at an all time high. Some may argue that from the outside everything seemed great, and this is primarily where we see the decline of Christianity in Korea. 

Growing worldly influence in Korea has also been an undeniable social trend in the last 20 years. With the onset of the internet, entertainment industry, there is no wonder why the young people of Korea have been incredibly enticed by such things. Combining these with the societal and cultural pressures put on the younger generation, it seemed to be a concoction for Korea’s own silent exodus. 

In 2011, it was recorded that the number one cause of death in South Korean amongst youth age 16-25 was none other than suicide. 

By every meaning of the word, the Korean Church has found itself in a state of both emergency and crisis. Church statisticians record that when the youth of a church population hits the point of less than 6 percent, it is almost inevitable to see complete extinction. 

Unless.