The contemporary Korean church faces a dual crisis: a precipitous demographic decline and a structural failure to engage with the existential reality of the younger generation. This study diagnoses that the traditional ecclesial structure-characterize...
The contemporary Korean church faces a dual crisis: a precipitous demographic decline and a structural failure to engage with the existential reality of the younger generation. This study diagnoses that the traditional ecclesial structure-characterized by hierarchical clericalism, growth-centric expansionism, and rigid institutionalism-has lost its plausibility structure within the context of what Byung Chul Han terms the "Fatigue Society." Consequently, the younger generation is experiencing a profound loss of narrative, drifting away from a church that fails to offer authentic communal life. Against this backdrop, this dissertation aims to propose a "New Ecclesial Structure" that is both theologically robust and culturally relevant, conceptualized here as the "Platform Church.“
Theoretically, this research is grounded in Missional Ecclesiology, reconstructing the essence of the church not as a static institution but as a living organism, a relational reality, and a dynamic movement. Drawing upon Victor Turner’s concept of Communitasand Walter Brueggemann’s Prophetic Imagination, the study redefines the church’s identity as a "Counter-narrative Community." This identity requires the church to resist the dominant social narratives of competition and consumption, instead performing the alternative script of the Kingdom of God. Furthermore, the study adopts the "Holistic Mission" of the Lausanne Movement as a methodological framework to address the total existence of youth.
As a concrete structural alternative, this dissertation formulates the "Platform Church" model, governed by three dialectical principles:
1. Organicity: A shift from a "religious service provider" model to a participatory organism where young people are empowered not as passive consumers but as active producers and key agents of ministry.
2. Flexibility: A transition from high-cost, building-centered approaches to fluid forms of community that transcend spatio-temporal limitations, penetrating the everyday life-worlds of youth (e.g., shared spaces, third places).
3. Universality: A move from isolated congregationalism to a connected "ecclesial ecosystem," embodying a "mixed economy" where established churches (modality) and fresh expressions (sodality) coexist and collaborate.
Methodologically, this study employs a Qualitative Case Studyapproach, providing an in-depth analysis of "Beyond Church,"a missional community planted by the researcher. The findings demonstrate that Beyond Church functions effectively as a missional platform, bridging the hermeneutical gap between the Gospel and contemporary youth culture through space-sharing missions, horizontal governance, and deep cultural engagement. Additionally, a comparative analysis with six other alternative communities confirms the replicability and missional potential of these platform principles.
In conclusion, this dissertation argues that the transition to a "Platform Church" is not merely a strategic adaptation for survival but a theological imperative to recover the essence of Ekklesia. It offers a constructive roadmap for the Korean church to evolve from a maintenance-oriented institution into a reproductive movement, thereby becoming a "new wineskin" capable of faithfully carrying the missional vocation toward the next future of the church.