Taesinja

Definition and Meaning

Taesinja combines tae (胎), meaning "womb" or "to conceive," and sinja (信者), meaning "believer." Just as a mother carries a child in the womb until birth, a church member keeps a particular person in mind, praying for and caring for that person until he or she comes to faith and begins attending church. Put simply, a taesinja is a person an individual member has chosen as the focus of personal evangelism. When a taesinja first registers at a church, he or she is called a new believer or a "new family member."

The term is generally understood to have originated in Korean churches, although neither who first used it nor when has been clearly established. Depending on the church, related expressions such as "evangelism prospect," "soul held in the heart," or "VIP" may also be used.

Biblical and Historical Background

The expression taesinja does not appear in the Bible. Those who use the term, however, find its basis in Galatians 4:19: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." In this verse Paul likens the labor of bringing forth believers to childbirth. Also cited as examples of evangelizing those close to oneself first are Andrew bringing his brother Simon to Jesus (John 1:41–42) and Cornelius calling together "his kinsmen and near friends" (Acts 10:24).

Practice in Korean Churches

In Korean churches, taesinja are generally chosen and cared for in the following sequence:

• Commitment: A church member selects several people from among family members, neighbors, and coworkers and writes their names on a "taesinja commitment card," which is submitted to the church.
• Prayer and relationship building: For a set period, the member prays for each person by name through committed prayer or intercessory prayer and builds the relationship through shared meals, gifts, and regular contact. Members may also pray together for one another's taesinja under a district leader or within a small group.
• Invitation: The person is invited to church for an evangelistic event such as Total Mobilization Sunday or a "New Life Festival."
• Integration: Once the person begins attending, he or she is directed to a new family class, and pastoral visitation helps the person settle into the congregation.

The term is widely used in churches of many denominations, including Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, and Full Gospel churches. Because it is not a term defined in any denominational constitution or doctrinal statement, its meaning does not vary by denomination. Whether it is used, and how the practice is carried out, depends on the pastoral policy of each individual church.

Supporters of the practice cite as its strength that it leads members to pray for and serve specific people rather than engage in vague, general evangelism. Critics both inside and outside the church, however, argue that when the number of people committed to and the number who actually attend are tallied like performance figures, people come to be treated as numbers, and friendships and neighborly relationships can become mere instruments of evangelism.