Care as mission in super-aged societies: Theology and practice of the care-as-mission paradigm

Abstract

Rapid population ageing has confronted numerous societies, including South Korea, with a severe crisis of elderly isolation, poverty and care deficits. However, existing mission paradigms have failed to provide theologically adequate responses to this care crisis. This study aims to establish the Care-as-Mission Paradigm (CMP) as a theological framework for addressing the care crisis in super-aged societies and to explore its practical applicability. This research originates from the Korean context, which has become the world’s fastest-ageing society, and analyses elderly care practices in British churches as comparative cases. The study critically integrates four theological traditions – Missio Dei, incarnational theology, diakonia and care ethics – to construct the theological foundation of CMP and qualitatively analyses cases from British churches. Care-as-Mission Paradigm derives three core components: Incarnational accompaniment, vulnerability-based mutuality and public engagement. British churches’ collaboration with the National Health Service (NHS) Social Prescribing system demonstrates the practical validity of CMP. Care is not a subsidiary means of mission but an essential mode of participating in God’s mission. Care-as-Mission Paradigm provides an integrative framework through which churches can respond to the care crisis of super-aged societies in theologically legitimate and practically effective ways.
Contribution: This article contributes to the intersection of missiology, diakonia studies and care ethics by reconceptualising care as an essential dimension of mission, thereby offering a theological response to the emerging missional context of super-aged societies. This aligns with HTS’s multidisciplinary and public theological concerns, particularly expanding discussions on the church’s public role in non-Western contexts.