- Churches need to take the lead to revitalize the spirit of community and make a warmer society
- 5C Mission Work promoted by President Chang was introduced, to enhance evangelism
On July 8, President Soon-Heung Chang delivered a special lecture, ‘Overcoming the Crisis of Korean Churches’ at the ‘2016 Spiritual Retreat for Elders’ held at Vivaldi Park, Hongcheon, Gangwon Province by Korean Methodist Church.
In this lecture with 2,500 participant elders, President Chang mentioned, “The problems of Korean churches need to be understood from the perspectives of individual redemption, and social function. The Korean churches are faced with challenges such as the low birth rate, the number of youth Christian are decreasing, internal conflicts within churches, and the diminished social influence of Christianity. These issues need to be resolved with passion so the Church can become Light and Salt in this society to restore hope and happiness. In particular, we must build a warm and kind society through love and devotion to spreading the gospel.”
President Chang introduced the 5C Mission Work idea with five categories for five minutes: CREATION (Creation, God, the Beginning), CRIME (Sin, Adam, Human), CHRIST (the Savior, Jesus, Redemption), Church (Church, Holy Spirit, Expansion), Completion (Completion, Resurrection, Haven). The 5Cs are considered an effective way to deliver the essence of the Bible not only to Christians but also to non-believers. President Chang, also shared experiences and testimonies of spreading the gospel with this method.
Last, President Chang added, “The churches in this land must have the spirit of community and passion. Let’s change the world by speaking loving and a warm words to others, pastors, and believers. Personally I want to urge all the 2,500 elders who are playing a vital role in churches to resolve the current challenges of Korean churches actively, willingly and with responsible actions.”
