한국교회의 1907년 대부흥과 1970년대 교회성장 비교

Comparison of the Great Reviva1 of 1907 with the Church Growth of the 1970s in Korea

The revival movement in Korea began in 1903 and the Great Revival of 1907 in Pyongyang was the peak. The period of the revival was the time of political and social unrest. the mind of the people was deeply agitated, and it spread by the change of the national situation. Korean people desired to have a sense of stability and realized that the church was the only place to find peace of mind. The national unrest encouraged people to turn to God for answers. One cause of the revival was originating from the missionary prayer meetings and the Bible study. the Bible conference among missionaries in Wonsan in 1904 was developed a united meeting. The revival that began in Wonsan was continued in Pyongyang. The work of repentance during the revival meeting resulted not only in confession of personal sins, but also in a practical repentance movement in which people deeply regretted sins and apologized for social and moral wrong doings. The revival meeting provided improvement in morality. the tendency for reconciliation was formed. For example, the understanding between Korean believers and foreign missionaries was promoted. Through the revival, christianity secured a base in Korea. Christianity was rooted in the Korean Church. The revival movement established religious practice. The revival brought enthusiasm to the Bible study and prayer. the revival brought quantitative growth to the Korea Christian and the spiritual rebirth of the Korean church. Ultimately, the revival gave a light of new hope to the poor and the unstable society. On the other hand, the revival has some negative aspects. It has dedicatorial and deviational aspects. Missionaries did not allow political talks in the church. They distrusted Korean pastors and believers who participated in politics. Since then, the Korean church has avoided political comment and begun to concentrate on internal things of the church. There are some intriguing parallels between the Great Revival of 1907 and the phenomenal church growth in the 1970s in Korea. Along with the positive outcomes, there was also a lack of socio-political concern on behalf of the church in both period. In the early 1900s, the Korean people had experienced national crisis and Japanese political interference. In the 1970s the dictatorship of the military government was strongly oppressing people. Political and social unrest encouraged people to turn to God for answers. Another common thread was the church leaders neutral attitude toward the political authority. Those two events have dedicatorial and deviational aspects. Missionaries of the 1900s and pastors of the 1970s changed the direction of mission or ministry from national concern to spiritual dimensions, and from being against injustice to obeying authority. To do this, they strongly emphasized spiritual discipline, and the separation of church and state. As a result, the Korean church grew in numbers during those periods, but minimized its social concern and responsibility. The mission of the church cannot be restricted to the spiritual dimension, but should be extended to all areas of our lives. One of the important lessons is that. although people had a certain intention or plan, the Holy Spirit worked in different ways through those events.