A Catechumenate for the Korean Methodist Church

No one will throw a doubt on the diagnosis that the Korean Protestantism is in crisis. This crisis is being explicitly expressed in its decreasing numbers. Its internal and essential reasons come from the negative views against the Korean Protestantism by Korean people. There are various reasons for the negative perspectives, but this thesis regards the influences of Korean traditional religions (shamanism and Neo-Confucianism) and Western secularism as main causes of the crisis. To overcome this crisis, the Korean Protestantism, this thesis asserts, needs to focus on newcomers of the church and the process of their baptismal preparation, through which they can overcome the influences and be built up as truly devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. This thesis researches the baptismal preparation process of the first five centuries of the Christian church, of the Roman Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, and of the United Methodist Church in the United State. It suggests, based on this research, a new process of the baptismal preparation for the Korean Methodist Church.