| abstract |
The purpose of this study is to analyze the intensifying phenomenon of youth disengagement from the Korean church not as a mere generational conflict or a byproduct of socio-cultural shifts, but as a fundamental 'ontological crisis' facing the ecclesial community. To this end, this research adopts the ontological theology presented in Paul Tillich's Love, Power, and Justice as its core theoretical framework. By integrating a biblical understanding of the nature of the church with Thom S. Rainer's empirical research on church decline and revitalization, this study proposes a theological model for rebuilding the next generation.
Adopting a qualitative case study methodology, this research provides an in-depth analysis of 'Y Church', which is currently experiencing a decline in its youth community. The findings indicate that the crisis of the church originates from a structural contradiction where 'Love, Power, and Justice'—the essential pillars of the community— function only mechanically and in isolation.
According to Tillich's ontological insights, 'Love' is the dynamic principle that reunites what is separated, 'Power' is the possibility of self-affirmation that overcomes the threat of non-being to sustain existence, and 'Justice' is the internal form and order that ensures love and power are realized without distortion in reality. In the case of Y Church, the separation of these three principles led directly to the loss of the community's ontological significance.
Based on this analysis, the study synthesizes biblical values, Tillich's theology, and Rainer's pastoral alternatives to propose three rebuilding strategies: first, 'recovering worship-centeredness' aimed at the reunion of separated being; In which, 'restructuring the space of being' where the value of youth's existence can be affirmed; and third, 'establishing a just communal order' that provides the institutional form to prevent love from becoming an empty slogan.
In conclusion, this study asserts that rebuilding the next generation is not an optional task for the future expansion of the church, but a vital theological criterion for determining whether the church can continue to exist as a living faith community in the present age.
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