Composition of Worship Space in Megachurches

대형교회 예배공간 구성

Within a short period of time of evangelical activities in Korea, the Korean Christianity has been explosively grown since 1884. Now Korea became one of the top countries exporting many missionaries to other countries. We call the 1970s and after as the time of diversity in Korean churches and those buildings. In this period, Korean churches have grown larger and bigger, so called mega-churches. Including Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul with 10,000 seats, there are 22 mega-churches in Korea out of the world top 50 mega-churches. Having the necessity of knowing the composition of worship space of mega- or super-mega-churches, we analyzed and classified the information of mega-churches which were built after 1970s. We collected resources through blueprints, visitations of buildings, and interviews by phone, For this study and research, we selected total 66 churches. Based upon the existing theories, we categorized the plane of worship space, its axis, the arrangement of attendant seats, the location of the choir, and the pattern of a cross section of buildings. We also brought the conclusion of specific characteristics given through the analysis according to the time period, the style, and the denomination of megachurches.