Spiritual Mapping

Definition and Meaning

Spiritual mapping (Korean yeongjeok dohae) literally means "drawing a spiritual map." It attributes the difficulty of spreading the gospel in a given city or nation to the influence of evil spirits believed to rule that area. Practitioners therefore investigate a region's history, religions, traces of idolatry, and collective sins, and on the basis of their findings they identify specific targets for prayer. The method is commonly associated with the idea that particular regions are governed by "territorial spirits" and with the concept of "strategic-level spiritual warfare," in which believers confront such spirits through prayer. "Land-treading" (ttangbalgi), in which participants walk through the surveyed area while praying, is known as the on-site application of this method.

Biblical and Historical Background

Proponents cite the following passages as support:

• "The prince of the kingdom of Persia" and "the prince of Grecia" in Daniel 10:13, 20
• "Spiritual wickedness in high places" in Ephesians 6:12
• "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon" in Joshua 1:3

The terminology and method were systematized in the United States around 1990. The mission researcher George Otis Jr. popularized the term, and C. Peter Wagner, then a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and others introduced it as a strategy for church growth and world mission. It subsequently spread within the Charismatic movement and the New Apostolic Reformation. Within evangelical circles, more cautious voices argued that the doctrine of territorial spirits has weak biblical support, and critical discussion of the subject is also reported to have taken place within the Lausanne Movement.

Practice in the Korean Church

Spiritual mapping was introduced to Korea in the 1990s through translated books and seminars. Some mission organizations, intercessory prayer groups, and short-term mission teams practiced it in the form of "prayer for the city" or "land-treading prayer." Rather than being officially adopted at the denominational level, it has more often been used by individual churches and organizations.

• Pentecostal and Charismatic groups: Some churches and organizations have adopted and practiced it as a method of spiritual warfare.
• Presbyterian denominations in the Reformed tradition: These hold a strongly critical view. When several Presbyterian general assemblies passed resolutions warning against the New Apostolic Reformation, spiritual mapping and land-treading were reportedly identified as problems as well.
• Methodist, Holiness, and other denominations: Official denominational positions are not widely documented.

Critics raise the following points:

• Scripture contains no command to discover the names or territories of demons.
• Daniel did not fight demons directly; he simply prayed to God.
• Such methods resemble magical thinking and may come across as disrespectful toward other religions.

Indeed, in 2010 public criticism arose after a video circulated showing a group of young Protestants performing land-treading prayer at a Buddhist temple. Proponents maintain that spiritual mapping is merely a tool that helps give prayer a concrete focus and that its value lies in leading people to repent of a region's painful history and sins.