Mission starts with the love of God for the world. God’s love extends toward wholistic dimensions, through the entire world and the universe itself. The church that puts such love of God into action must also embrace the world in its mission as God does. Our own mission is only a small part of God’s complete design. But just as each pieces of a puzzle gather to complete a picture, as we remain faithful to the calling of our generation, our small acts of commitment and service will undertake a precious part of the expansion of the Kingdom of God. Today’s mission context differs from that of the 19th century. Churches today have been built all over the world. In this context, there is as pecific calling for this generation of the Korean church. The church must find it sessencein the ecclesiology of mission-of being sent into the world. That is how al lchurches are to be “the Church that embraces the world.” In addition, today’s mission calls for churches around the world to work in concert with one another. The Korean church is to learn from the traditions and experiences of the western church that has handed us the baton, while at the same time, we ought to be able to humbly share our given resources with other churches. The most appropriate mission for today’s world, and the greatest need of the Korean church, is the spirit of cooperation, and togetherness in mission activity. The driving force of mission comes from our trust in God. This power is actualized as we confess our own weaknesses. We find the future direction for the Korean church from the words of a missionary who said, “There is no mission stronger than confession.” Mission is the essence of the church. This means that mission is not merely one of the many duties that churches must undertake, but that everything that the church does must be done from the missiological point of view. If a church does not work with a missiological perspective in all areas, however much work it may do, it will only serve to benefit that one church itself. In the end, the church becomes a self-centered organization pursuing its own betterment. So mission is what makes the church worthy of its name by pushing it beyond its boundaries and leading it out into the world. In this process, mission helps in the formation of a healthy church, and a healthy church carries out true mission. Therefore a healthy church and appropriate mission activity are in a mutually complementary relationship. This work seeks to assert the necessity of continued inner renewal of the church to carry out appropriate mission activity by reflecting on the relationship between the Korean church and mission. Examining the work of mission is not meant to be a criticism leveled against mission itself or the church that carries it out, but rather stems from the passion to point the church and mission to the right direction through diagnosis and analysis of the present situation. Just as a doctor conducts a physical examination to diagnose a disease and understand its cause in order to treat the patient, so also may the church and its mission, in hope, also look toward a healthier state being through a continued and long-term diagnosis and assessment.

• 한국일(장신대 교수ㆍ선교학) | Han Kookil