Church leaders start off Christmas season by reaching out to “the least of these”

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

3117 Edition

November 21-27, 2011

Church Ministry News

Church leaders start off Christmas season by reaching out to “the least of 
these”

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong, Chen Yi-hsuan

Written by Lydia Ma

Yung-hsin Law Firm director Lin Yung-song once said, “Christmas and Advent are 
times when churches celebrate the birth Jesus. There are many people who need 
Jesus but don’t know him yet because nobody has shared the gospel with them.” 
He added that Christians should heed Jesus’ parable regarding goats and sheep, 
which admonishes Christians to reach out to the poor and the needy.

As one of the proponents of the Legal Aid Act, Lin believes that it’s 
imperative Christians step out of walled churches and get to know marginalized 
groups who need to hear the gospel preached to them. One of these groups that 
come to his mind are those burdened by credit card debt. He knows from 
experience that credit card debt is a serious problem in Taiwan. “There are 
many reasons why people get into credit card debt and the most prominent reason 
is poverty.”

As a Christian, Lin believes that God gives every person spiritual gifts. His 
gift enabled him to excel as a lawyer, which in turn led him to many manual 
workers struggling with work-related injury claims or credit card debtors 
struggling with massive debt. He feels called to assist them using his 
expertise and he also feels very strongly about changing an unjust legal system 
when he sees one.

Prompted by such convictions, he has helped many people who would have 
otherwise been unable to obtain legal counsel and he has assisted them to 
manage and get rid of their debts through debt clearance regulations. 

“Why should people who don’t have credit card debt care about credit card 
debt?” asked Lin. “Well, it’s because an unjust economic system is a 
destabilizing factor in society. We don’t want a society where a booming 
economy perpetuates poverty and widens the gap between the rich and the poor.”

With that in mind, he went on to ask, “Are churches speaking out on behalf of 
those who are marginalized financially? Have Christians spoken out against an 
economic system gone haywire?” Lin believes that though the gospel cannot 
magically get rid of financial debt, it offers hope and strength to those so 
burdened by credit card debt that they feel hopeless and unable to go on.

Lin hopes that the Statute for Consumer Debt Clearance will be successfully 
amended before the end of this year so that credit card debtors can receive 
better assistance in paying their debts. He also hopes that churches can do 
more to reach out to those who are struggling financially so that these people 
can enjoy peace, hope, and joy, as well as hear the gospel. 

In related news, on the other side of Taipei is an organization that takes 
seriously Jesus’ command that Christians ought to feed the hungry and care for 
strangers as doing it unto him and as a means to share the gospel. Christian 
Homeless Shelter was founded by an architect in 2004 to help homeless people. 
It has now expanded to 11 different locations around Taiwan, offering 2 meals a 
day to homeless people. 

This shelter has planted 16 churches since 2004 and 11 of them have continued 
the shelter’s mission by running a soup kitchen of their own. Additionally, 
about 8 churches also offer rooms for homeless people to spend the night. Last 
year, Christian Homeless Shelter set up a free clinic near Taipei Train 
Station. An organization was created shortly after this clinic’s founding where 
more than 70 physicians take turns volunteering and offering basic medical 
services to those who can’t afford to pay their monthly national health 
insurance fees. 

In the span of a few years, Christian Homeless Shelter has grown tremendously 
and has even planted new churches. However, when interviewed by Taiwan Church 
News, Lee Cheng-lung revealed his mixed feelings about this phenomenon. He said 
though he is pleased that his ministry has grown tremendously, such rapid 
growth reveals disturbing national trends, including Taiwan’s ever-increasing 
level of poverty. 

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