[3138] Hakka mission ministries and new Hakka Bible highlight start of 57th PCT Annual Convention

Hakka mission ministries and new Hakka Bible highlight start of 57^th PCT Annual Convention

Reported by Simon Lin, Chen Yi-hsuan

Written by Lydia Ma

PCT has officially designated 2012 as “Hakka Mission Year” during the 57^th PCT Annual Convention. The occasion was made even more special with the publication of the “Hakka Bible: Contemporary Taiwanese Hakka Version” this month after 28 years of hard-work.

A “Hakka Bible Thanksgiving and Offertory Worship” service was held on April 12, 2012, the second day of the convention, and ministers from various Christian denominations attended the service to witness and give thanks for God’s grace and provision. These church leaders also reviewed the past 140 years in terms of ministry and evangelism among the Hakka people, concluding that much more could have been done.

“I am Hakka, but I have never had an opportunity to do something for my Hakka brothers and sisters,” said Rev. Peng Te-hsiu who is a member of the team of translators entrusted to translate the Hakka Bible. He added that he was very glad to be part of this team as it was a means for him to express his gratitude. But Peng also underscored that translating the Bible into Hakka was an arduous task because of the lack of resources. Hence, the completion of this Bible is a testimony of God’s grace.

An ethnic group without a Bible in its own language is a great impediment to evangelism, said former Chairman of the Christian Hakka Evangelical Association Rev. Tseng Cheng-chung. He added that this was one of the reasons why the number of Christians among Hakkas is merely 0.4%. Tseng hoped that the new Hakka Bible would not only let Hakkas know that “God also speaks Hakka and God loves Hakka people” but also help them to know God using their own mother tongue.

As a token of appreciation, PCT General Secretary Andrew Chang presented Rev. Paul McLean with a Hakka Bible to thank him for his help. MacLean is a pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and came as a missionary to Taiwan in 1983. He has been involved in the translation of the Hakka Bible since then. Moreover, McLean’s son, Peter McLean, rode his bicycle across Canada to raise funds for the translation of the Hakka Bible. News of Peter’s journey from the Pacific Ocean in British Colombia to the Atlantic Ocean in Newfoundland was published in Taiwan Church News earlier.

One distinguished guest invited to give a keynote speech at the service was Lee Chiao – a renowned Christian author and Hakka culture preservationist. Lee lauded PCT’s longstanding efforts in contextualizing the Christian faith and its contributions leading to social changes in Taiwan. He said that he struggled a lot about whether or not to get baptized when he was 60 years old because of issues related to ancestral worship.

Speaking from personal experience, Lee said that it was very important for Christianity to be explained in a way that Hakka people can understand and accept. Because of this ethnic group’s extreme reverence for their ancestors, it is vital that churches think of ways to connect this reverence with reverence toward God.