A Biblical and Chosun Church

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A Church that is Completely Chosun and Completely Biblical

What kind of church does the Lord want to see in the North? A church in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) should reflect Chosun culture and also be like the church in the New Testament. The Lord wants the church there to grow in depth and quality. He wants it to be light and salt in that culture. He wants it to grow in number. He wants it to please the Head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to see the day when people in that land can worship and praise Him openly. Let’s think and dream about God’s plan for the church in the DPRK.

A few months ago, I was with a Christian worker in Thailand at a small church he planted there. He said, ‘I want to help them discover what church is and become that.’ We know what church isn’t. Church isn’t necessarily buildings, meetings, robes and little cups for communion. So what is it? Church is a group of Christ’s disciples, meeting together regularly for worship, fellowship, teaching and prayer. Church is a group that baptizes new believers and celebrates the Lord’s Supper together. Church is those people proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others in their world and challenging them to respond. Church is Jesus’ disciples living like He wants them to live in their community.

What kind of church does the Lord want in the DPRK? He wants a church that shows Jesus’ love. “By this will all people know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jesus Christ, John 13:35). He wants a church that shows God’s ethical and moral standards. He wants a church that will be salt and light in her society and hence attracts others to God. “You are the salt of the earth … you are the light of the world” (Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:13, 14). He wants a church that shows God to their community. He wants a church that meets together. Jesus Christ’s church does not necessarily have to meet in buildings, but the Lord does want it to meet regularly (Hebrews 10:24-25). He wants a church that reads, discusses, teaches and lives out the Word of God. In order to do that, they first need the Word of God in a language they can understand. The Bible is available in Korean language. Fifty years of living under an entirely differently political and social system, though, means people in the DPRK have some different words and different concepts, even with the same basic language. For now, might there be a need for a Korean Bible to be adapted to the language that people in the North use? A few months ago, I talked with some Chinese people in Singapore who had visited the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Singaporeans said, “The Chinese language in the PRC is different than the Chinese we use in Singapore.” I said, “So you would understand that the Korean language of the DPRK is different than the Korean language of the ROK.” Let us pray for a Korean Bible that is adapted to the language that is spoken in the DPRK.

The Lord wants a church in the North that has small groups with local leadership. I read a historical novel about the church in the People’s Republic of China (Safely Home, by Randy Acorn, 2001, Tyndale). The small groups of believers that met in the PRC were so structured that if one leader had to leave, the next person in the “leadership line” could easily become the leader of the small fellowship. I believe the Lord wants that for the churches in the North, too. He wants the church there to live as good citizens as much as possible and to work for the good of the people. Paul, in Romans 13, taught the church in Rome to live as good citizens as much as possible. The Lord wants this for the church in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, too.

The Lord wants the church in Chosun to be planting other churches. This is a principle of church growth in the New Testament. When Paul planted a new church, he taught that church and wanted it to start other churches in its area. The Lord wants the church in Chosun to be sending out workers to other areas, like the church in Antioch in Acts 13 did. Will the church in the North someday send out workers? The Lord can bring that about. I believe the Lord wants the church in Chosun to have prison ministry and proclaim the Gospel to people in prison there.

“Context” is an important word when thinking about church growth. The church needs to fit its context. The Lord does not want an American church in the middle of Mongolia. He wants a Mongolian church in the middle of Mongolia. The Lord wants a Chosun church in Chosun. The Lord Jesus wants the church there to live out Bible truths in that culture, ‘wearing Chosun clothes,’ as it were. The Lord wants the church there to think about values from a Biblical perspective. What does the Bible teach about sharing? What does the Bible teach about government leadership? What does the Bible teach about education? What does the Bible teach about being self-sufficient as a nation? What does the Bible teach about how workers should be treated? These are important concepts. What does the Bible teach about those concepts? The Chosun church needs to think deeply about that. What does the Bible teach about the value of human beings? The church in the North needs to look at its context, consider the issues they are facing in their society and ask, “What does the Scripture teach about that?” This is part of ‘doing theology’ for themselves.

Another part of having a Chosun church in Chosun is the ‘three selfs:’ self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating. The church there needs to lead itself. The church needs to support itself (i.e., not depend on money from outsiders). The church needs to grow itself. The church needs to worship in ways that fit its culture. The church needs to develop its own music that reflects their contemporary music. They should express the aspirations of their heart and worship God in their own words, using their contemporary forms. The church needs to do all this in ways that are part of its culture. They need to be able to care for themselves and also be a part of the worldwide body of Christ.

What kind of church does the Lord want in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea? I believe He wants the education of church leaders to be more Bible-based, not institution-based. We can pray for the training of church leaders in the North to be more Bible-based.

If outsiders help with the building of the church in Chosun, they need to evaluate all they do with this question: “Can this be reproduced by local believers, in the circumstances they are in?” The goal is to help them build a church that is theirs, that belongs completely to them and completely to the Lord Jesus. The Bible needs to be the authority for these kinds of churches. Any outsiders need to teach local believers how to dig from the Bible for themselves, and then how to teach other local believers how to dig from the Bible for themselves. The Lord wants a church that is made up of enthusiastic disciples who disciple others who can then disciple others (2 Timothy 2:2).

The Lord knows that the church in Chosun will suffer (2 Timothy 3:12). He wants the church there to endure for the sake of Jesus Christ with a thankful, joyful attitude. Many people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea need more hope for the future. So the Lord wants His church to offer hope to disciples and other people there. May the Church of Jesus Christ grow and reflect the God of the Bible to the people of Chosun! Amen.

Produced by OMF International ( www.omf.org )

Download 31 Prayer Points for North Korea Jul Aug 07 PDF 30KB

For more information, write to northkoreanews@omf.net .