Mission

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term for mission, seongyo (宣敎), means "to spread a teaching widely." In Christianity it refers to the work of proclaiming the gospel and establishing churches in a given region. In the Korean church, sharing the gospel with neighbors within the same culture is often called evangelism, while going out to other cultures or foreign countries is called mission. For this reason, the term "mission" is commonly used as a synonym for "overseas missions."

The scope of mission is understood differently depending on theological position. Evangelicals tend to center mission on the proclamation of the gospel and personal conversion. The ecumenical movement emphasizes the missio Dei ("mission of God," the concept that the agent of mission is God rather than the church) and includes social engagement, such as work for justice and peace, within mission. The Lausanne Covenant, adopted at the 1974 Lausanne Congress, gave priority to evangelism while also stressing the social responsibility of Christians.

Biblical and Historical Background

The passages most often cited as the basis for mission are the "Great Commission" of Matthew 28:19–20 (Jesus' command to his disciples to make disciples of all nations) and Acts 1:8. The modern Protestant overseas missionary movement also reached Korea. In 1866 Robert Thomas died on the Taedong River. In 1885 Horace Underwood and Henry Appenzeller arrived in Korea, marking the full-scale beginning of Protestant missions. Presbyterian missionaries adopted the Nevius mission policy, based on the principles of self-support, self-propagation, and self-government.

Practice in the Korean Church

The Korean church has changed from a church that received missionaries into one that sends them. The Independent Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, organized in 1907, sent Yi Ki-p'ung to Jeju. The Presbyterian General Assembly, organized in 1912, is reported to have sent missionaries to Shandong, China, the following year. Overseas sending increased sharply from the 1980s onward, and the number of missionaries sent by the Korean church is now reported to exceed 20,000.

The participants in mission and their methods are as follows.

• Denominations: Most denominations maintain a mission board or mission society under their general assembly that screens, sends, and oversees missionaries. The names and operating methods of these bodies vary by denomination.
• Local churches: A church may designate a missionary as a "partner missionary" and support that person regularly, or it may take up a separate mission offering and send missionaries directly.
• Mission organizations: Interdenominational organizations such as Korea Campus Crusade for Christ and Youth With A Mission also send missionaries.
• Short-term missions: Brief visits to overseas mission fields during school vacations, organized mainly by young adult groups, are widely practiced. After a group of Korean volunteers was kidnapped by armed militants in Afghanistan in 2007, discussion continued both inside and outside the church regarding visits to dangerous areas and the methods of short-term missions.

Other issues raised within the church include competitive sending among denominations and churches, retirement and old-age provision for missionaries, and the self-reliance of churches in the mission field.