What Is the Opportunity?

Korea was known as the “Jerusalem of the East” a century ago. Today, South Korea is the stronghold of Protestant Christianity in Asia with around 20 percent of people identifying as Protestants, some of the biggest churches in the world, and large evangelical mission organizations. Churches are a visible part of the community in South Korea. The number of missionaries sent out by South Korea is second only to the United States.¹

However, like countries in the West, South Korea has become increasingly secular as nearly half of its population is classified as nonreligious. While Korean Christian leaders are facing waves of theological challenges that compromise essential biblical teachings, many South Korean Christians lament an increasing lack of theological depth and maturity in the church.

By the grace of God, new spiritual reformation has been taking place in Korea in recent years. South Korea also enjoys a culture of reading, and Reformed doctrines are spreading as trustworthy books and commentaries become more widely available. This has been furthered to a great extent by the growth of the publishing industry in South Korea, much like during the sixteenth-century Reformation across Europe.

We believe that the production and distribution of reliable theological resources are essential for the health of the local church. With this in mind, we seek to translate titles that will be widely used for teaching, study, and discipleship among Korean-speaking people.

How Is Ligonier Meeting These Needs?

We strive to reach Korean-speaking pastors, laypeople, and unbelievers from all walks of life through the following outreach efforts:

Online Outreach

Our dedicated website, and social media channels are providing Korean-speaking people ready access to trustworthy teaching, including freshly-translated articles, books, and historic creeds and confessions.

The Ligonier Statement on Christology

Confusion abounds regarding Christology—the doctrine Christ—around the Korean-speaking world. As the church continues to grow, it is imperative that believers learn the truths of Scripture as summarized in the great confessions of faith. We produced The Word Made Flesh: The Ligonier Statement on Christology to help Christians know what the church has historically taught and regain clarity regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to distribute this statement worldwide, and it has already been translated into numerous languages, including Korean.

The Reformation Study Bible

Our Reformation Study Bible helps to deepen Christians’ study of God’s Word, and it is a joy to know that this seminal work is available in Korean. As with the English edition, the Korean Reformation Study Bible has more than 1.1 million words of verse-by-verse commentary and topical explanations, award-winning maps and visual aids, trusted contributions from seventy-five distinguished scholars, theological summaries from R.C. Sproul, and nearly two thousand years of creeds, confessions, and catechisms. As Dr. Sproul said, “The light of the Reformation was the light of the Bible.” The same is true today.

Books

Growing interest in the Reformed faith has sparked an eagerness for more resources from R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries. Our plans include translating, printing, and distributing the following titles:

• A Field Guide on False Teaching
• Crucial Questions booklet series by R.C. Sproul
• Facing the Last Enemy: Death and the Christian by Guy Waters
• The Heart of the Reformation
• Lessons from the Upper Room by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Necessity of Reforming the Church by W. Robert Godfrey

Books Available

• 5 Minutes in Church History by Stephen Nichols
• A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin
• By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by Sinclair Ferguson
• Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul
• Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul
• Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology by R.C. Sproul
• Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification by R.C. Sproul
• Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching by various authors
• Growing in Holiness by R.C. Sproul
• The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
• How Then Shall We Worship? by R.C. Sproul
• In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Invisible Hand: Do All Things Really Work for Good? by R.C. Sproul
• Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul
• The Last Days According to Jesus: When Did Jesus Say He Would Return? by R.C. Sproul
• Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel Beeke
• The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men by Richard Phillips
• The Mystery of the Holy Spirit by R.C. Sproul
• Not a Chance: God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason by R.C. Sproul and Keith Mathison
• Parenting by God’s Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace by Joel Beeke
• Pleasing God: Discovering the Meaning and Importance of Sanctification by R.C. Sproul
• The Prayer of the Lord by R.C. Sproul
• The Promises of God: Discovering the One Who Keeps His Word by R.C. Sproul
• Saved from What? by R.C. Sproul
• Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible by various authors
• Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life by R.C. Sproul
• Truths We Confess, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 by R.C. Sproul
• The Unexpected Jesus: The Truth Behind His Biblical Names by R.C. Sproul
• Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons by R.C. Sproul
• Willing to Believe: Understanding the Role of the Human Will in Salvation by R.C. Sproul
• Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims by Daniel Hyde
• Five children’s books by R.C. Sproul: The Barber Who Wanted to Pray, The Donkey Who Carried a King, The Lightlings, The Priest with Dirty Clothes, and The Prince’s Poison Cup
• What Is Faith? by R.C. Sproul
• Who Is Jesus? by R.C. Sproul
• Does Prayer Change Things? by R.C. Sproul
• What Does It Mean to Be Born Again? by R.C. Sproul
• Can I Know God’s Will? by R.C. Sproul
• What Can I Do with My Guilt? by R.C. Sproul
• Does God Control Everything?, How Should I Live in This World?, and Can I Have Joy in My Life? by R.C. Sproul

Teaching Series

Our video teaching series help promote theological education in the Korean-speaking world. The following teaching series have been subtitled into Korean.

Translated Teaching Series

• Justified by Faith Alone with R.C. Sproul
• Marks of a Healthy Church with Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman

What Is Needed?

• Digital outreach — $31,824 USD (annually)
• Dubbing select video teaching series and study guides — $34,356 USD (annually)

Funding needs reflect quoted estimates based on February 2024 foreign exchange rates and current translation fees. You can donate here.

How Do Your Gifts Help?

These are a few of many international outreach projects underway, and we ask you to prayerfully consider supporting this effort through financially giving or simply through praying for the Korean-speaking and global church. Your generosity helps us translate, print, and distribute trustworthy resources, providing countless opportunities to reach people of varying ages and callings. You can donate here.

Our policy is to apply gifts given toward a specific program. If we receive more contributions than can be wisely used for a given project, we apply these funds to meet other pressing needs in our outreach efforts. We are committed to stewarding all gifts wisely toward the goal of proclaiming the holiness of God to as many people as possible. Ligonier Ministries is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

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¹ See https://www.challies.com/articles/how-to-pray-for-your-brothers-and-sisters-in-korea/ and https://www.challies.com/articles/which-country-sends-the-second-most-missionaries/ as at Aug 8, 2018