'Younger congregants lead church reforms,' says a pastor

"The Youth Church is not about gathering only young people, but about young people trying to change the traditional churches that have lost their original purpose, trapped by traditions and institutions," explained Pastor Kim Dong-ju of Hansomang Youth Church. During an interview on Tuesday at Hansomang Church in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Pastor Kim discussed the rising trend of establishing 'Youth Churches' within the Christian community.

The concept of a Youth Church involves liberating the youth ministries from existing churches, allowing young congregants to manage their finances and administration independently. Hansomang Youth Church became independent from its parent church in January last year.

Pastor Kim also noted that young adults are often treated like children within traditional churches, which is a significant reason why many drift away. Despite being adults in their 20s and 30s and even unmarried individuals in their 40s, youth ministry members were often subjected to decisions made by pastors or older church members, with little input of their own. "When I first greeted the youth group in our group chat, only two out of 60 members responded with a simple 'hello,' showing their complete lack of engagement," he said.

Hansomang Youth Church is financially supported by donations from its young members. While they received some support during their initial establishment last year, they have been entirely self-sufficient since this year. They also independently plan and execute all ministry activities. Despite some denominations not recognizing female pastors or elders, Hansomang Youth Church is known for having women in most leadership positions, such as directors and team leaders. "I appoint the directors, but the directors choose the team leaders based on their previous activities and leadership, without any gender bias," Pastor Kim explained.

The transformation has led to an increase in the number of congregants. In 2021, before the establishment of the Youth Church, the average attendance was around 110. That number has now risen to approximately 350. Half the current members are young people who had left Hansomang Church but have since returned. At the same time, the remainder are primarily young adults who had previously stopped attending other churches. "Young people were disillusioned with the church but hadn't abandoned their faith," said Pastor Kim. "The changes have given them hope that they can return if the church is different."


Chin-Ku Lee sys1201@donga.com