The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate Orlando E. Costas' wholistic concept of church growth in order to build a new paradigm of church growth for the future of the Korean Church. His concept was a result of critical reflection for traditional theories of church growth centering around Donald A. McGavran. Whereas he accepts some positive views of those traditional theories, Costas also criticizes some negative contents. Costas' understanding of the church is based on images of the church portrayed in the New Testament. He sees the church as organism, community, and social institution. In his view, the two objectives of the church's call are worship and mission. He understands church growth from a perspective of wholistic mission: while church growth is a natural and imperative result of the wholistic mission of the church, it cannot be an end in itself and is nothing but a sign, a provisional and penultimate goal of God's mission. From a viewpoint of wholistic concept, church growth has complex and multidimensional characteristics that cannot be simply evaluated by some external aspects. The growth of a church should be critically evaluated on the theologically right basis. In this point, qualities and dimensions of growth present some useful insights for overcoming distorted thoughts of church growth and establishing its healthy model. On the one hand, he speaks of spirituality, incarnation, and faithfulness as qualities of growth, which are controlling variables; on the other hand, he speaks of numerical growth, organic growth, conceptual growth, and incarnational growth as dimensions of growth. The church growth movement that started from Donald A. McGavran has had a great effect on the development and the growth of churches around the world including the Korean Church. However, according to changes of the times and their cultural environments, new paradigms of church growth are demanded. In particular, such demand is urgent in the Korean society in which the characteristics of postmodern culture are becoming stronger more and more. In this context, Costas' wholistic concept of growth offers a valuable frame of thought for a new paradigm of the Korean Church's growth. However, his theories must not cease by simply suggesting some theological principles but must be developed into a practical tool for analyzing and evaluating churches in the field.

The study of church growth takes effective strategies of evangelism seriously, because of its theological foundation that ‘Church Growth is Faithfulness to God. ’ Church growth theorists believe that this growth of the church will be accomplished only through constant works of evangelism and proclamation. Such evangelistic endeavors will eventually produce the growth of the church In this study, therefore, the writer attempts to summarize a few important methods of evangelism which was dealt in the study of church growth. Moreover, based on constructive critiques from the holistic view of rnission, the writer attempts to present holistic strategies of evangelism, which leads to the concept of holistic church growth. The first strategy of evangelism developed by Church growth theorists is its emphasis on evangelism based on the concept of ‘people group.' The concept of people group has been firstly introduced by Donald McGavran and became the essential elements of church growth theory . Secondly, based on its new discovery of people groups, homogeneous unit principle became the most important strategy of evangelism in church growth theory. Thirdly, the theory of receptivity is examined and critiqued in its positive and negative contributions in the study of church growth. In spite of its significant contributions of discovering and utilizing strategies of evangelism, church growth theory is still open to valid criticism due to its too much emphasis on numerical growth. Therefore, based on new emphasis on holistic view of church growth, the writer attempts to employ Eddie Gibb’s dimensions of church growth and had adopted and developed these concepts for developing holi stic strategies of evangelism and church growth in this study. They are; 1) strategy of growing up of didacke, 2) strategy of growing together of koinonia, and 3) strategy of growing out of diaknoia. Based on these elements, the true and holi stic church growth will be accomplished.