wfn.org | TCN: Churches across Taiwan unite to pray for transformation

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

>      Taiwan Church News

>2988 Edition

>June 1~7, 2009

Churches across Taiwan unite to pray for transformation

>Reported by staff

>Written by Lydia Ma

Churches across Taiwan marked Pentecost and Global Day of Prayer  on May 31st with

prayer rallies and worship as they sought God and prayed for  transformation in Taiwan.

Christians in Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas, regardless of  denomination, filled Kaohsiung

Arena, a venue with a capacity of 15,000 people.

Catholics and Protestants prayed for church unity, family harmony,  the upcoming World

Games, and overflow of love to fill southern Taiwan. They also  prayed for the Holy Spirit to

transform Taiwanese society, reinvigorate the economy, and change  people’s hearts.

What made this venue special was that physically disabled people  could attend the prayer

rally without hassle because wheelchairs and special parking for  electric vehicles were

readily available inside the arena for those in need.

Catholics were also present at the prayer rally and Kaohsiung  Bishop Peter Liu said that

he was praying for the Holy Spirit to move and transform Taiwan.  He also stressed that

unity among Christian churches would be Taiwan’s biggest  blessing.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu also attended the rally and was deeply  touched by how many

people were praying for Kaohsiung and the upcoming World Games.  She told the crowd

she was confident that with the support and blessing of so many  people, Taiwan would find

>a way to embrace the world.

In Tainan city, Christians gathered inside Tainan Holiness Church  for prayer and

encouragement. The speaker of the day encouraged Christians to be  God’s witnesses to

this generation by praying more fervently, proclaiming the gospel  more boldly, and growing

>in knowledge and perspective.

According to reports, there are 130 churches across Tainan city  and 327 local temples.

Besides eastern Tainan, which has 47 churches and 47 temples, the  rest of the city has far

more temples than churches. In other words, there are still many  people in Tainan that need

to be reached as God also loves and cares for them. The speaker of  the day encouraged

Christians to look beyond their own personal needs and the needs  of their own churches

>and reach out to the lost.

The prayer meeting concluded with a prayer for all 27 pastors in  attendance. Tainan

Holiness Church Senior Pastor Kao Min-jyi said, “We believe  revival is coming to Tainan.

We need a lot of pastors during times of revival. Therefore, we  must prepare ourselves

now.” Many people raised their hands on that day to commit  their lives to God by becoming

pastors.

In Taichung, Global Day of Prayer was celebrated ahead of time on  May 24th at a local

high school and more than a thousand people participated.

This year’s theme was “Preparing for challenges during  end times”. Participants prayed for

issues such as global-warming, current national and international  events, H1N1 virus,

Taichung city, family, marriage and more. Many participants were  glad that this year’s

prayer items were relevant social issues they were also concerned  about.

The meeting’s convener, Taichung Grace Church Senior Pastor  Du Ming-da, remarked

that events such as famine, epidemics, and war were signs that we  are closer to the end

times when Christ will come again as promised in the Bible.  Therefore, God’s children

>must be prepared and pray fervently.

About 600 Christians in northern Taiwan gathered on the 84th floor  of Taipei 101 on May

31st at 3:00 p.m. to pray for the transformation of their country,  society, and churches.

Taipei Bread of Life Church Senior Pastor Chow Shen-chu commented  that in his 45 years

of ministry in Taipei, he hasn’t seen a breakthrough in the  number of Christians in the city.

However, this past year, the percentage of Christians in Taipei  has crept up to 9%. He is

confident that Taipei is about to witness more residents coming to  Christ and urged

churches to keep praying and cooperating as they experienced this  harvest.

Chow pointed to the story of Moses leading the Israelites into  Canaan as reference and

emphasized that no church must be left behind as Taipei enters  this season of harvest. He

urged churches to stay united as they entered this “Promised  Land” or season God had set

before them to win an unprecedented number of souls for Christ.

Chow also warned that many people would begin to have reservations  during this season

as we often tend to focus on our weaknesses and forget God’s  power. This hesitation by

some Christians could have a reverberating effect among churches  and cause many to

give up and forego what God had promised them. Chow cautioned  churches to be mindful

>of this trend.

Chinese Christian Relief Association General Secretary Rev. James  Shia remarked that

Taipei is a suffering city in need of God’s healing. He urged  Christians to pray that God

would take away people’s distressed and depressed spirits and  replace them with God’s

>peace and salvation.

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