Title: Many Presbyterian Congregations in Taiwan Have No Resident Pastors
Taiwan Church News 2853 30 October to 5 November 2006
Reported by Li Hsin-ren. Written by David Alexander
Recent statistics gathered from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) indicate that over 270 congregations have no resident pastoral leadership. In response to this shocking news, the editorial committee of the Taiwan Church News conducted an investigation into the facts behind the number, and sought opinions from leaders of the Taipei and Kaohsiung Presbyteries (Districts). The hope is that by “tossing a brick we might find a piece of jade” and come to a better understanding of the situation.
A recently published report of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) indicated that in 2005 the number of members and adherents of the PCT had increased by 3.63%. This included 5,129 baptisms during that year. But of the 1204 PCT congregations nationwide, more than 200 were found to be without resident pastoral leadership, and over 100 ministers were listed as “available for assignment.” The fact that there are many churches “vacant” as well as many clergy who are not able or willing to “fill vacant pulpits” presents a barrier to healthy future church growth.
Looking at the bare numbers, one sixth of PCT churches are without pastors. But behind those numbers there are special situations. Few churches in Taiwan, and fewer in the PCT, are comprised of over 1000 members. There is no single model of a PCT congregation. They are spread all over Taiwan. But one thing is fairly common, the pastor is the main instigator of mission in the local church. Churches without pastors do very little growing.
According to the statistical table of the PCT, the church’s footprint in urban areas is not that big. Only one in twenty churches in Taipei is PCT affiliated. Sixty percent of PCT congregations are found in Aboriginal Villages, rural towns, seacoast areas or on remote islands. They are in areas that are experiencing depopulation. Urban churches, in contrast, are growing.
Among the congregations without pastors, several are currently in the search process. Vacancies occur because pastors are initially engaged on four-year contracts. Some depart when their time is up, others find that their contracts are not renewed. Many churches that take in a newly graduated theological student on a 2-year probationary term discover that their pastor has only intended to stay two years, or that another church extends a call to their pastor now that “someone has initiated him or her.” Family matters or children’s education often induce a pastor to transfer to another church or agency for Christian service. And there are congregations which, having been without a resident minister for several years, have become accustomed to operating without benefit of clergy, so have given up the search.
As remote Aboriginal villages, rural towns and seacoast settlements depopulate, local churches often find themselves financially strapped and unable to support a minister even for a short term. This is particularly true in Aboriginal villages where the working age people have left for jobs outside of the mountains.
Ministers in urban churches enjoy church memberships which have relatively higher incomes and educational backgrounds, some members may even be prominent members of local society. When there is a conflict over church matters, ministers may leave, but word gets around, and congregations can develop reputations as “hard to serve churches” or “congregations that don’t listen.”
On reflection, some churches are very zealous at publishing the notice of their need for a minister. They operate through informal networks of clergy and elders. But pastoral search is a sensitive affair because both the potential pastor and the congregation are involved in finding out each others’ secrets! Some churches feel that they don’t need to listen.
Facing the problem of congregations without pastors, and pastors without churches, the PCT evangelism committee has been enlisting the aid of retired clergy through the board of pensions. A “bulletin board” service to match available retired pastors with vacant churches has been set up. Ministers in specialized agencies are also made available for pastoral care functions at the congregational level through this device.
Elder Lin Un-chen, the secretary of the pension fund, has said that if one takes into account the full number of retired ministers who are still capable of serving plus the ministers without pastoral charge in the PCT, there are enough to go around. A human resources bank is the next project he envisions, hoping that all may be served, and that the growth of the church may not be hindered.
For more information: Lin Un-chen etlin@mail.pct.org.tw
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