Tainan Christians stage largest Christmas rally and outreach in city’s history
Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan
Written by Lydia Ma
In the afternoon of December 19, 2010, a few hours after church services at most churches have ended, many Christians representing various churches in Tainan area assembled in the track-and-field court of Zhongyi Elementary School to hold a “Christmas Caroling Parade”.
The event, co-sponsored by Tainan City Council this year, drew more than 3,000 Christians. Participating churches and Christian organizations and Christian schools were divided into 7 routes to circle different sections of downtown Tainan and distribute gospel tracts, invitation cards, and greet people and passing cars with “Merry Christmas. Jesus loves you.”
Besides joint events, churches also planned their own outreach programs this year. For example, Edward Band Memorial Presbyterian Church asked children from its “Saturday Children’s Camp” to bring one new friend along to join them in a children’s Christmas caroling event held on December 18, 2010.
On the same day, outside Tainan Cultural Center, Dongning Presbyterian Church held an evangelistic music concert in the plaza right outside of the concert hall.
Two days prior, on the other side of the city, Tainan Theological College and Seminary (TTCS) staged a Christmas party and mini-carnival themed “If Jesus had been born in Taiwan”.
Along with leaders from Christian organizations such as World Vision and Ray of Hope, students set up booths for a charity bazaar. Aborigine Christians were also invited to spend Christmas together in Tainan and many got up to perform Aborigine dance and praised God.
TTCS President Wu Fu-ya reflected on this past year and said Taiwan had been through a lot of calamities and natural disasters. For many the future doesn’t look bright as the economy continues to sag and China’s threat still looms in the background.
With this in mind, TTCS faculty and students wanted to share with people the message of hope found in Christmas. Forming small groups, they walked to Tainan Train Station in the afternoon to distribute gospel tracts and tell people about the real meaning of Christmas.
