wfn.org | Taiwan’s first street-based church set to begin on February 28

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3023 Edition

>February 1~7, 2010

Taiwan’s first street-based church set to begin on February  28

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

Taiwan’s first street-based and open-air church will hold its  first service and opening

ceremony on February 28 at Taipei 228 Memorial Park.

Justice-in-Action Church began when a bunch of Urban Rural Mission  (URM) lecturers and

students got together and envisioned creating a place where all  social activists could meet

and work together. One of the main goals of this new church will  be to help social activists

realize how close their worldviews align with the basic tenets of  Christianity and share the

gospel with them through dialogue, interaction, and cooperation.

URM is a movement rooted in the Christian faith (while working  together with people of other

faiths) and committed to being in solidarity with the struggles of  oppressed people for justice

and liberation. It aims to link urban and rural community  organizations, people's movements

and networks together with churches and mission bodies,  nationally, regionally and globally.

According to Rev. Omi Wilang, one of the church’s founders  and current PCT Indigenous

Ministry Committee Secretary, in the early years of URM, most  members were non-Christians.

Many of them later went on to become important figures within the  Democratic Progressive

>Party (DPP).

URM became inactive when DPP came to power, but in light of  Taiwan’s recent political and

social turmoil, many members felt it needed to be resuscitated.  This time around, most

members are PCT pastors and members. During a recent discussion,  URM members,

including some non-Christians, agreed on the need to start a  street-based church.

“Lord God, you have heard us in our hunger and you have fed  us and satisfied us. We thank

you!” prayed many non-Christians. For Wilang, such prayers  couldn’t be more genuine and in

tune with the Christian faith. They were also prayers emerging  from the grassroots levels of

society and from people hungering for justice. As Christians, God  also calls us to pursue

>justice.

As for whether this new church will lead people to accept Christ,  Wilang believes this will be

the work of the Holy Spirit. However, it is only when churches  reach out and empathize with the

wounds and sorrows of the common people that dialogue can truly  take flight. With dialogue,

there will be plenty of opportunities for people to hear the  gospel and accept Christ.

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