Trained PCT volunteers needed in domestic missions and outreach

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

      Taiwan Church News

      3054 Edition

      September 6~12, 2010

       

       

      Trained PCT volunteers needed in domestic missions and outreach

       

      Reported by Lin Yi-ying

      Written by Lydia Ma

      Photo by Sam Lee

       

       



      PCT is increasingly devoting attention and resources to 
volunteering as a means of sharing 

      the gospel and doing domestic missions. This trend began in the 
aftermath of the 921 

      Earthquake in 1999 and peaked again in the wake of Typhoon 
Morakot in August 2009.

       



      After experiencing severe natural disasters and seeing so many 
Christians step up to the 

      plate in response, PCT realized that volunteers needed a set of 
standard operational 

      procedures and a streamlined system so that rescue and relief 
efforts could be more effective and professional.

       



      According to PCT officials, training for volunteers is only the 
beginning of a series of training 

      programs in the horizon. There will soon be training for lay 
reporters as well. Some church and 

      social organizations have agreed to streamline and share 
resources and information so that 

      Christians can use their expertise to benefit their communities 
and proclaim Christ.

       



      “I joined the ranks of staffs entrusted to train volunteers 
when I saw there simply weren’t 

      enough chaplains in Christian hospitals to reach out to 
patients since many hospitals were 

      trimming their budgets to minimize expenses. Cutbacks forced a 
lot of them to rely on 

      laypeople to fill the gaps,” Chen Mei-hui said. 

       



      Chen was formerly Changhua Presbytery moderator and now works 
as a chaplain at MacKay 

      Memorial Hospital. She previously travelled to the US for 
training and took some courses on 

      Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). She now stresses that being 
a passionate person isn’t 

      enough because passion without knowledge can often get 
volunteers in trouble and even 

      drown out the gospel message. 

       



      CPE courses focus on every volunteer’s personal relationship 
with Christ, nurturing a healthy 

      dose of self-understanding, and empathizing with patients. Chen 
said that skills gained from 

      classes similar to CPE could go a long way in helping 
volunteers become more efficient in 

      their work and more effective in their ministry.

       



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