Date of Award

3-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Deborah Loyd, DMin

Second Advisor

Jeney Park-Hearn, PhD

Third Advisor

MaryKate Morse, PhD

Abstract

It is a well-known phenomenon in America that many young adults are disengaged from the Church, at the same time they are battling internal emotional conflicts while trying to understand their faith journey. Even though most of them grew up in the Church, participated in church programs, and learned about God, they are anxious, lonely, and struggling to discover their spiritual identity. What then, what are we missing? After conducting an anonymous online survey with Korean American young adults and gathering narrative research from Korean American young adults as well as Asian American English Ministry pastors, this paper explores the spiritual and emotional challenges of Korean American Christian young adults. This paper asks the question, “How can Korean American young adults in the Korean American immigrant church explore, reflect, and process their past life experiences in a creative way, while also growing in their God-given identity, self-worth, and spiritual faith. This paper proposes using art as a formative spiritual practice and the art-making process as one method to create the space necessary for Korean American young adults to experience spiritual formation. It explores both historical and theological understandings of art as well as psychological research on how art impacts the brain. Lastly, it explores art as spiritual formation and offers a four-part ART workshop that enables both individuals and groups to explore their inner world, integrate their faith, and their life journey in a tangible way.

Download

Share

COinS