Summer 2006/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive: July 3-14
EV565
Kim

EV565: EVANGELISM IN A KOREAN CONTEXT (Taught in Korean). Sunil Kim.


DESCRIPTION: This course is intended to provide Korean students with opportunities to think about ways to link the gospel to the cultural context of Korea by exploring theological approaches to and evangelistic dimensions of culture. Thus, it will examine a Christian perspective on culture, models of culturally relevant evangelism such as Celtic mission, Seeker-sensitive worship, Emerging church movement, and the like, and recent trends in Korean culture so as to form a foundation to make the gospel alive for a new Korean generation. A special emphasis in this course will be on addressing the historical modes of accepting Christianity in Korea and how the gospel is presented to Korean generations.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: It is hoped that this course will help students reach their learning objectives in three ways:

  1. to gain an accurate understanding of how culture interacts with evangelism;

  2. to sense the spiritual aspirations of unchurched people as shown in a variety of cultural manifestations; and

  3. to develop practical strategies to reach specific audiences with cultural sensitivity via church or para-church ministries.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Culture refers to a matrix in which we live, think, and interact with others. Culture is context-specific, and cultural understanding, whether consciously or not, is embedded in the manner we present the gospel. Many of the Western evangelism models have been developed out of specific cultural settings. Thus, it is necessary to understand the Korean culture on its own terms so as to explore the relevant ways to reach Korean and Korean-American communities.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet daily for four-hour sessions over a two-week period. Class sessions will consist of lecture, interactive class discussion, media, analysis of materials and case studies, and small group participation.

REQUIRED READING (all available in Korean):
Kim, Youngmyoung. Korean Title (A New Discourse on Korean Culture). Seoul: Ingansarang, 2005 (239 pp.).

Lee, Deokjoo. Korean Title (Stories of Conversion). Seoul: Institute for Korean Christian History, 2003 (470 pp.).

McLaren, Brian. More Ready Than You Realize [Zondervan, 2002]. Translated by Haeran Yoon. Mission World Library, 2004 (252 pp.).

Peace, Richard. Conversion in the New Testament: Paul and the Twelve. [Eerdmans, 1999] Translated by Taegon Kim. Good Seed, 2001 (440 pp.).

ASSIGNMENTS:
  1. Class attendance and participation in class small group discussions, reading of required texts to be reported in a reading log (20%).

  2. One book review to be submitted by July 7th (3-4 pages; 20%).

  3. A pop culture (movie, advertising, song, soap opera and so on) review for understanding the recent cultural trend in Korea to be submitted by July 14th (3-4 pages; 20%).

  4. A final project involving personal story of spiritual journey and theological translation of any gospel story or theme due by September 15th (8-10 pages; 40%).

PREREQUISITES: Korean (no English proficiency required).

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Evangelism (MIN 3).

FINAL EXAMINATION: No.