wfn.org | PCT reflects on past, present, future missions ministries

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2967 Edition

>January 5~11, 2009

PCT reflects on past, present, future missions ministries

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

According to the Associate General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church  in Taiwan (PCT) Lyim Hong-tiong, who also heads the PCT 21st Century New  Taiwan Mission Movement and the PCT Evangelism Committee, there has been  an increase in the number of people getting baptized since 2005.  Furthermore, the General Assembly, presbyteries, and local churches have  also cooperated closely in promoting overseas missions. Lyim hopes that  more believers can unite in praying, financially supporting, and  participating in missions ministries.

PCT churches traditionally use the third week of January to commemorate  missions and special offerings are taken for foreign and domestic  missions. This year, the PCT will host a forum focusing on  “one-on-one” missions as well as issue a Ministry Renewal  Handbook to help churches do some self-diagnosis. Another focus for this  year will be aboriginal ministries because 40% of aboriginal Taiwanese  have moved to urban areas, thus weakening rural churches and leaving  urban church leaders in need of training on how to reach aboriginals for  Jesus. The General Assembly hopes to promote closer partnerships between  urban and native or rural churches so that aboriginals will not leave  PCT churches once they move to cities.

With regards to PCT efforts in foreign missions, the General Assembly  partnered with Taipei presbytery to send Rev. Angel Wang to minister to  the Karen people in Thailand. It partnered with Taichung presbytery to  send Rev. Fu-Lan Ritter Chen to Ethiopia to raise awareness against  female genital mutilation. It also partnered with Hsinchu presbytery to  send Rev. Shou-Hui Chung to Manchester, England to minister to Chinese  students. Furthermore, it sent aboriginal pastor Divan Suqluman from  South Bunun presbytery to minister to the Ainu people in Hokkaido,  Japan. There are also other PCT pastors ministering to the Taiwanese and  Chinese people in Singapore, United States, Japan, Thailand, etc.

According to Lyim, the PCT has devoted itself to domestic and overseas  missions in recent years, but regular church members are usually not  very well-informed about missions ministries in the PCT. He hopes that  churches can encourage members to pray and contribute financially to  overseas and domestic missions so that these ministries can bear more  fruit. Lyim also points out that the Ministry Renewal Handbook was  developed by the United Methodist Church in the US and later adopted by  the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA). The handbook was instrumental in  helping the PCUSA grow, prompting the PCT to take a closer look and  analyze its contents. The handbook contains many useful tables and  surveys that help churches stay in tune with the needs of society and it  also contains advice on increasing the effectiveness of missions  ministries.

With regards to the loss of aboriginal members when they move to urban  areas once they reach adulthood, Lyim said that PCT research reveals  that the denomination loses 15 thousand aboriginals every year because  of this trend. Therefore, besides organizing short-term missions during  winter and summer vacations, the PCT is also urging cooperation between  urban and aboriginal churches to tackle the problem. For example,  Kaohsiung and South Bunun presbyteries have signed an agreement with the  help of the General Assembly that will enable the latter to set up an  aboriginal urban church within Kaohsiung Presbytery. Kaohsiung churches  are ready to provide service venues and time slots so that aboriginal  Christians dispersed throughout Kaohsiung can meet regularly for service  in their own native language.

Reflecting on foreign missionaries who gave their lives to spreading the  gospel and Taiwan, Lyim said it was time for the fully grown PCT to  emulate English and Canadian churches by sending out its own  missionaries. He urges PCT members to get acquainted with and support  the denomination’s missions ministries so that everyone can live  out the PCT theme of the year – “living out a healthy church and  practicing the love commandment”.

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