wfn.org | TCN: PCUSA visits PCT to discuss theological education partnership possibilities

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

>      Taiwan Church News

>2979 Edition

>March 30~April 5 2009

PCUSA visits PCT to discuss theological education partnership  possibilities

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

Members from Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) visited Presbyterian  Church in Taiwan (PCT) and Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary on  March 23. According to reports, the delegation came to Taiwan mainly to  explore the possibility of sending native Vietnamese pastors to Taiwan  for theological training.

The PCUSA delegation hailed from Seattle Presbytery’s Mercer  Island Church, and included Rev. Dale, Vietnamese pastor Rev. Binh,  Church Administrator Glo, as well as retired pastor Rev. Wang Shun-Ji  and his wife. They had stayed in Vietnam for three weeks before coming  to Taiwan for a brief three-day visit.

During their visit, they stopped by PCT headquarter office to  visit PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang and Ecumenical & International  Committee Secretary Stephen Hsu before heading to Yu-Shan Theological  College and Seminary for a meeting with its Academic Dean Chen Nan-Jou  to discuss the possibility of sending Vietnamese pastors to Taiwan for  training.

According to reports, PCUSA has been working with underground  churches in Vietnam for the past nine years. It all began when a doctor  from Mercer Island Church went to Vietnam to help patients with new  prosthesis and then partnered with local Catholic nuns to offer free  medical services. Through this ministry, they were able to introduce the  gospel to Vietnamese aboriginals and slowly build an underground church  system.

The Vietnamese government continues to persecute and destroy  underground churches in Vietnam, so PCUSA pastors were unable to discuss  details about their trip. However, there are hundreds of underground  churches in Vietnam today and over ten thousand believers meet for  worship and fellowship across the country both regularly and  periodically.

Because there are increasingly more believers, the need for more  pastoral care has also risen and PCUSA pastors have been actively  involved in training new Vietnamese pastors in recent years. Since  underground churches have also increased spontaneously with the rise of  new believers, there is now an urgent need for pastoral training in  Vietnam. Hence, PCUSA is seeking the help of PCT in assisting Vietnamese  pastors and several PCT pastors have already gone to Vietnam in recent  years to help and train Vietnamese pastors.

Since many foreign students are already studying at Tainan  Theological College and Seminary, the PCUSA delegation chose to visit  Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary this time and see if the school  would be able to accommodate and equip native Vietnamese pastors. The  meeting was considered introductory and fact-finding in nature, as both  parties still need to collect more information about each other, go over  details, and pray for God’s guidance before working on a formal  proposal.

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