“One-leads-one – New Doubling Movement” – a look at PCT churches in action

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

3073 Edition

January 17-23, 2011

General Assembly News



“One-leads-one – New Doubling Movement” – a look at PCT churches in action



Reported by Lin Yi-ying

Written by Lydia Ma



According to PCT statistics, 6,797 people were baptized in PCT churches in 
2005, 7,581 people were baptized in 2006, 9559 people were baptized in 
2007, and 9852 people were baptized in 2008. These statistics would place 
PCT at the top of the list of Christian denominations in Taiwan with the 
fastest growth rate.



Every third Sunday of January is PCT’s “Missionary Sunday” and 
congregations are encouraged to participate in missions. In 2010, PCT 
General Assembly Evangelism Committee began promoting a new movement called 
“One-leads-one, New Doubling Movement” to highlight the importance of 
evangelism and missions. This movement has four key aspects:



1-    Build a community of faith: More Bible-reading time and more prayer 
meetings

2-    Build a life of faith together: Encourage one another through 
seminars and participating in “One-leads-one, New Doubling Movement”

3-    Increase the number of domestic and overseas mission partner churches

4-    Promote vocational training for seminarians and pastors



Every pastor in PCT – from the General Assembly to every local church – is 
excited “One-leads-one” movement and hoping it’ll help PCT members increase 
in number and in wisdom. But past experiences have also left many clergy 
wondering why previous evangelistic methods or tools have yielded minimal 
success – especially since PCT is renowned for quality Sunday School, Bible 
studies, and outreach programs. Many church leaders have wondered if the 
answer lies in inadequate evangelistic training or some other key component.



If a PCT pastor were to encourage church members or elders to share the 
gospel today, most of them would probably assume the pastor wasn’t 
referring to them, but someone else who seems more gifted in sharing the 
gospel with friends and strangers. 



Such a reaction is the reason why Chiayi Presbytery’s Living Stone Church 
pastor, Rev. Lin Ching-yi, is convinced that more than mere intellectual 
knowledge is needed when sharing the gospel with others. Much like learning 
to drive a car, Lin says individuals need practice to master the 
nuts-and-bolts of how to share the gospel with others. Hence, she suggests 
that pastors take the lead by encouraging members to accompany them and 
watch them in action as they share the gospel with others.



Seeing her church grow from 20 adults and 10 children to 40 adults and 25 
children in the past 2 years, Lin underscored that whatever evangelistic 
strategy churches adopt must first and foremost be a strategy that all 
elders and deacons can agree on so as to minimize obstacles and conflicts 
from within.



Lin reported that many in her congregation who thought they were ready 
later discovered what they knew intellectually about evangelism differed 
vastly from what they experienced in real life when they tried to share the 
gospel. These experiences prompted many of them to sign up for more 
discipleship courses at church and helped them encourage others by sharing 
experiences. Some even began to read the Bible together on a regular basis.



Rev. Yeh Chi-hsiang from Linsheng Road Presbyterian Church in Tainan noted 
that newly-baptized Christians are usually the ones most motivated and 
excited to share the gospel with others. That’s the reason why Yeh cannot 
emphasize enough on the importance of training or discipleship programs in 
churches.



In another part of Taiwan, Rev. Chang Jui-hsien of Taipei City Revival 
Church (Taipei Presbytery) recounts how he saw his church grow from 1 
person to 80 people. Chang began by reaching out to a college student 
studying at Aletheia University and encouraged this student to invite 
friends to church for a meal and casual get-together. Though a small cell 
group was born from this meeting, the story didn’t end there.



Chang added that one of the students at this cell group gathering studied 
at Tamkang University, another university in Taipei. After he got to know 
this student and encouraged the latter to bring friends along, a new cell 
group for Tamkang University students was eventually created.



Chang’s outreach tool has been to make use of meals, casual chats, fun 
group activities, and fellowship meetings to reach out to students and 
share the gospel with them. Though every church’s approach may differ, he 
believes the key to sharing the gospel successfully is to show genuine love 
and concern for others because it softens and melts people’s hearts and so 
that they become more receptive to the gospel.



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