Korean Missions in Wake of Hostage Crisis
By Heather Sells and Steve Little
CBN News
August 3, 2007
CBNNews.com - South Korea's churches send more missionaries than any other country except the U.S. and many of them go to the Muslim world.
Some are asking how the crisis in Afghanistan will affect their work.
A Passion for the Gospel
South Korean missionaries share a passion for taking the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth.
The Korean church has sent about 14,000 workers to some 160 nations in recent years. Out of these missionary groups, 30 focus solely on Muslim nations.
Sadly, the kidnapping and murders of South Korean workers in Afghanistan are a reminder of the dangers they face.
Click Play to watch part of this report and to hear Dr. Pat Robertson interivew with the president of Christian Freedom International Jim Jacobson.
"There's always a greater risk and those who are planning on going and serving in those areas need to take that into account and be willing to count the cost," said a missionary who wishes to protect his identity.
He has hosted many short-term mission teams and says the best way for them to stay out of danger is to rely on the advice of local Christians.
"Going to areas such as Afghanistan, I would say you have to rely on those people 100 percent, because they know what's going on on the field; they know what's going on on the ground," he said. "Only go to the places the local workers know are as safe as possible. So they shouldn't go into places where the teams that live there would never go to."
Teams can also keep a low profile by traveling in small groups.
"If you go in large numbers you are going to draw a lot attention to yourself and make the nationals uncomfortable, because they don't know what your agenda is," he said.
There are few hard and fast rules, and he says the key to making good decisions takes a divine wisdom.
"It changes from time to time, to place to place, from situation to situation.all those guidelines, basically you have to have the wisdom of the Lord to know what to do," he said.
Churches Under Fire
Since the abductions, Korean society has sharply criticized churches for being too aggressive.
"Religious groups should realize once and for all that dangerous missionary and volunteer activities in Islamic countries, including Afghanistan, not only harm Korea's national objectives, but also put other Koreans under a tremendous amount of duress," said one editorial from the Chosun Ibo newspaper.
Park Eun-jo, pastor of the Saemmul Church has apologized to the Korean public for the crisis.
He said the group's work was misinterpreted and they were only there to help in hospitals and schools.
Park has suspended volunteer work, but it's unclear if other Korean missions agencies will curtail their work in Muslim countries.
Many missionaries believe that God sometimes puts people in dangerous situations to fulfill a larger plan.
Park said, "Whether it's for the purpose of demonstrating the devotion, the sacrifice, that Christians, that believers are willing to give in order to spread the gospel. but I hope that's not the case, we want these brothers and sisters to live and to come away with great stories and testimonies."
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