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Theological Seminary
[Organization & Polity]A theological seminary, or graduate school of theology, is a graduate-level program whose primary purpose is the training of pastors. Its core program is the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), and many Korean Protestant denominations treat completion of this program as a basic requirement for ordination.
Non-Self-Supporting Church
[Organization & Polity]A non-self-supporting church is a church that cannot cover its pastor's living allowance and operating expenses from its members' offerings alone and therefore receives support from its denomination or from other churches. It is also called a "future self-supporting church."
Holy Week
[Feasts & Seasons]Holy Week is the week immediately preceding Easter, a period that commemorates Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem, his suffering, and his death on the cross. Korean Protestants commonly call it Passion Week, while Catholics and Anglicans in Korea generally call it Holy Week.
Denomination
[Organization & Polity]A denomination is an organized body formed by churches that share a common confession of faith and system of church government. Several denominations may exist within a single denominational tradition.
Church Year
[Feasts & Seasons]The church year is the church's calendar, which arranges a year of worship in sequence according to the life of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, beginning with Advent and continuing through the season after Pentecost. It is also known as the cycle of church seasons.
Lent
[Feasts & Seasons]Lent is a season of the church year lasting forty days before Easter, excluding Sundays, during which Christians meditate on the sufferings of Jesus Christ and prepare for Easter through repentance and self-denial.
Bible Sunday
[Feasts & Seasons]Bible Sunday is a Sunday set aside to reflect on the value of Scripture and to pray and give offerings for the translation and distribution of the Bible. In Korea, churches observe it each year on the second Sunday of December, with the Korean Bible Society leading the observance.
Church Finance
[Organization & Polity]Church finance is the work and system by which a church manages the money it receives through offerings and other sources, prepares and carries out budgets, and closes its accounts. The topic includes church accounting and financial disclosure.
Quiet Time
[Christian Life]Quiet Time (QT) is a personal devotional practice of reading a passage of Scripture, meditating on it, and praying at a set time each day.
Small Group
[Christian Life]A small group is a gathering within a church in which anywhere from a few to a dozen or so members meet regularly to share Scripture, pray, and care for one another. Depending on the church and denomination, such groups go by various names, including cells and classes; Korean churches also use terms such as guyeok (district), sokhoe (class), mokjang (pasture), darakbang (upper room), and sun.
Special Dawn Prayer Meeting
[Feasts & Seasons]A special dawn prayer meeting (teuksae) is a dawn prayer gathering that a church holds for a set period and around a chosen theme, with greater intensity than its regular dawn prayer meetings. The practice grew out of the dawn prayer tradition of Korean Protestantism.
Thanksgiving
[Feasts & Seasons]Thanksgiving is a Protestant observance in which believers thank God for the year's harvest and for the grace they have received. Korean Protestant churches generally observe Thanksgiving Sunday on the third Sunday of November.
Pastoral Visitation
[Christian Life]Pastoral visitation is the practice in which a pastor or church officer visits church members at home, in the hospital, at work, or elsewhere to worship with them, pray for them, and inquire about their circumstances. In Korean Protestant churches, a regular annual visit to every household is called the great visitation (daesimbang).
Easter
[Feasts & Seasons]Easter is the oldest and most important feast of the Christian faith, commemorating the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day after his death on the cross. It is also called Resurrection Sunday.
Reading Through the Bible
[Christian Life]Reading through the Bible is the practice of reading the entire Bible in order, from beginning to end, according to a set plan. In Korean Protestant churches it is widely practiced through New Year reading schedules for completing the Bible in one year, intensive Bible-reading gatherings, and audio and app-based reading.
Offering
[Christian Life]An offering is money that Christians give to God as an expression of gratitude and faith, or the act of giving it. It is usually presented during the offertory in worship. In the early Korean Protestant church it was commonly called yeonbo.
Prayer
[Christian Life]Prayer is an act of faith in which believers offer praise, thanksgiving, confession, and petition to God; Protestants commonly describe it as "conversation with God." Korean Protestant churches are known for their active prayer gatherings, such as early morning prayer meetings and praying aloud together (tongseong gido).
Intercessory Prayer
[Christian Life]Intercessory prayer is prayer offered to God on behalf of other people, the church, the nation, and the world. It is associated with the "intercessions" named in 1 Timothy 2:1.
Bible Study
[Christian Life]Bible study is a learning activity, undertaken individually or in groups, in which participants read the biblical text, learn its meaning, and apply it to their lives. In Korean Protestant churches it takes many forms, including district (guyeok) and class (sokhoe) meetings, discipleship training, and doctrinal instruction.
Evangelism
[Christian Life]Evangelism is the work of making the gospel of Jesus Christ known to those who do not yet believe and inviting them to faith. It takes various forms, including street evangelism, relational evangelism, and door-to-door evangelism.