| dc.description.abstract | Following the collapse of Communism in the former
Soviet Union and the new amendment to Russia's Religious
Freedom Act in 1990, political barriers to the Christian
mission vanished. With the crumbling of those barriers, the
Christian gospel was carried into the former Soviet countries via
various denominations, among them, Seventh-day
Adventists. The island of Sakhalin was one target area for
those mission efforts in which the people of South Korea
were especially active.
From 1990 to 1993, the advance of the gospel in
terms of membership growth was progressive in Korean
Seventh-day Adventist churches in Sakhalin. But since 1993,
the growth rate has declined and there has been no
remarkable increase in membership. At the same time, local
church members in Korea are losing interest in and support
for Sakhalin. This study addresses the problem of declining
church growth in Korean Adventist churches in Sakhalin.
Based on the foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist
mission, the socioanthropological background of Russian
Koreans in Sakhalin, and the historical development of the
Korean Adventist mission in Sakhalin, this research offers a
missiological approach as a solution to the problem.
The study affirms that the Korean mission should
develop greater relevance to Russian Korean culture and the
needs of the people in Sakhalin. This goal is inherent in
the expanded mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church--to
offer a gospel message that is relevant to all humankind.
Such a worldwide mission relates to the unique social
background of Russian Koreans in Sakhalin. Such a goal may
also provide an answer for the Korean SDA mission in its
concern for Russian Koreans in Sakhalin, and for the limited
growth of the church there.
The findings of this study suggest that the Korean
Adventist mission needs a new missiological approach to
Russian Koreans in Sakhalin, based on a field-centered
mission with cooperative mission support from local churches
in Korea. This approach may improve missionary strategies,
strengthen the financial base, accelerate church growth, and
foster a sense of unity and Christian fellowship among
Russian Koreans in Sakhalin. | en_US |
