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Young Adult Ministry
[Christian Life]A young adult ministry is an age-based church department that follows the church school years and gathers mainly college students and unmarried young adults in their twenties and thirties. Depending on the church, it may also be called a young adults' association or a college ministry.
Worship Team
[Christian Life]A worship team is a ministry group within a church that leads the congregation's singing in worship services and gatherings through vocals and instruments. It typically consists of vocalists along with keyboard, guitar, bass, and drums.
New Members' Class
[Christian Life]A new members' class is an introductory course, typically lasting several weeks, in which people who have newly joined a church learn the basics of the Christian faith and the life of that congregation. It is also called a new believers' class.
Church Retreat
[Christian Life]A church retreat is a gathering in which church members leave their daily routines and stay together for several days to focus on worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. In Korean Protestant churches, retreats are usually held by individual church departments during school vacations.
Bible Translations
[Bible]A Bible translation renders the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of Scripture into another language. Translations differ in how closely they follow the wording of the original or render its meaning in natural modern language. Korean churches use several Korean translations, including the New Korean Revised Version, the New Korean Standard Version, the Common Translation, and the Easy Bible.
Infant Baptism Controversy
[Controversies]A debate over whether baptism may be administered to infants who cannot yet profess faith for themselves. Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, and Anglican churches, among others, practice infant baptism, while Baptist and Full Gospel churches baptize (by immersion) only those who have professed faith.
Baptism by Sprinkling and by Immersion
[Controversies]A debate over whether the biblical mode of baptism is sprinkling or pouring water on the head or submerging the whole body in water. In Korean Protestant usage, the same Greek word is rendered by two different terms: Presbyterians, Methodists, and others use a term meaning a rite of washing, while Baptists and others use a term meaning a rite of immersion.
Tithing Controversy
[Controversies]A debate over whether the tithe, the giving of one-tenth of one's income, remains an obligation for Christians today.
The Sabbath and the Lord's Day
[Controversies]A discussion of whether Christians should observe the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath or the first-day (Sunday) Lord's Day, and whether the Lord's Day should be kept in the manner of the Old Testament Sabbath.
WCC Controversy
[Controversies]A controversy among Korean Protestant churches over whether to join and cooperate with the World Council of Churches (WCC). It was one of the causes of the 1959 division of the Presbyterian Church in Korea into the Tonghap and Hapdong branches, and it flared up again on a large scale when the WCC held its assembly in Busan in 2013.
New Apostolic Reformation
[Controversies]A charismatic movement holding that the offices of apostle and prophet have been restored today and should lead the church. Several Presbyterian denominations in Korea have adopted resolutions cautioning against it or prohibiting participation in it.
Assurance of Salvation
[Controversies]A discussion of whether a person who has once been saved can lose salvation, and of the grounds on which a person may be assured of being saved.
Megachurch
[History]A megachurch is a large Protestant church with an average Sunday worship attendance of 2,000 or more. In South Korea, megachurches multiplied rapidly during the period of industrialization and urbanization, chiefly in Seoul.
Heresy Designation
[Heresies & Cults]A heresy designation is a formal determination by a denominational general assembly or an interdenominational church body, made after investigating the teachings of a particular individual or group, that those teachings have departed from orthodox doctrine. Because each denomination makes its own determinations, conclusions and their severity can differ from one denomination to another.
Book of Job
[Bible]A book of the Old Testament belonging to the wisdom literature. It tells the story of Job, a righteous man who suffers for reasons unknown to him, debates with his friends, and encounters God, and it addresses the question of why the righteous suffer.
Pulpit
[Worship & Rites]A pulpit is a platform at the front of a church sanctuary, raised above the congregational seating, where the preacher stands to preach and lead worship. The term can also refer to the preaching stand placed on that platform or to the ministry of preaching itself.
Military Chaplain (Protestant)
[Church Offices]A military chaplain is a pastor who serves within the armed forces, overseeing the religious life of service members and providing counseling. In South Korea, the term refers specifically to a Protestant pastor commissioned as a chaplain officer.
School Chaplain
[Church Offices]A school chaplain is a pastor attached to a school founded on Christian principles who is responsible for worship, religious education, and counseling for students, faculty, and staff.
Doxology
[Worship & Rites]A doxology is a short utterance or song of praise that gives glory to the triune God. The term refers both to the words of praise that close Scripture passages and prayers and to the brief hymns sung at the beginning or end of worship.
Women's Evangelistic Society
[Organization & Polity]A Women's Evangelistic Society is a self-governing association formed by the women members of a church for evangelism, missions, and service. Methodist churches and some other denominations call it a Women's Missionary Society.