3059 Edition
October 11~17, 2010
Headline News
Survey highlights increase of Christians and effectiveness of church community programs
Reported by Sam Lee
Written by Lydia Ma
A recent survey on people’s views about Christianity conducted by Election Study Center at National Chengchi University showed a surprising 10.4% of Taiwanese people believed in Jesus. But a closer look revealed only 6.6% checked “Christianity” as their religious affiliation, indicating that about 3.8% of these 10.4% respondents who believed in Jesus were arguably “closet Christians”.
Most of the 6,011 respondents who participated in this survey said what they appreciated most about churches was getting great tips on parenting and getting personal counseling. They also indicated they most wanted to go to church when invited by a friend, during Christmas season, during a rough patch in life, and for weddings.
This survey conducted by a national university once again affirmed that PCT’s evangelistic strategies and mission goals continue to be on track, observed PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang.
He added that PCT has been focusing on parenting, emotional wellness, and family for a few years now and has sponsored many events promoting these, including publishing Life Education curriculum, hosting spiritual retreats across Taiwan, and inviting German best-selling author Anselm Grun to speak at various conferences this month.
Though he acknowledged that weddings are often great occasions to bring non-Christian families and friends to church as indicated in the survey, Chang urged Christians not to underestimate opportunities to share the gospel during funerals as well.
Since funerals force people to ponder on life and death, such occasions are great opportunities to share the gospel and tend to be more conducive to result in an actual commitment to Christ. As many people have come to the faith through funerals in his experience, Chang urged pastors and Christians alike to double their outreach and witnessing during such occasions.
