3059 Edition
October 11~17, 2010
Church Ministry News
Urban sprawl challenges PCT to keep up and make presence felt
Reported by Chen Wei-chien
Written by Lydia Ma
As part of its 80th anniversary celebrations, PCT Taichung Presbytery held a mission forum to discuss future endeavors and brainstorm ideas. This forum held on October 10, 2010, at Da-li Church drew about 60 people and featured former Taiwan Theological College and Seminary President Lin Hong-hsin as the main speaker. Lin used this occasion to remind his audience of the importance of keeping in step with the needs of the times.
Using Taipei and Taichung as examples, Lin said PCT buildings and ministries are very visible in the older, established areas of these cities. But in recent years, many new communities, such as Nangang District (Taipei) and east Taipei, have sprung up due to urban sprawl and these newer, more recent communities may not even have one PCT local church.
Lin underscored that if churches miss out in the early stages of a community as it is being built and defined, it will be much more expensive and challenging for Christians to start churches and ministries there after it has become fully grown and established. That’s why he urged his listeners to make use of every opportunity to share the gospel.
Taichung Presbytery Moderator Lai Hsin-song replied by pointing out residents settling down in the newer developments across Taichung were predominantly blue-collar workers. “That’s why we’re thinking of focusing on afterschool programs and more out-of-the-box ministry models,“ Lai said. He added that it was imperative to discern some church or ministry traditions that were turning into barriers for churches – such as insistence on what language to use during services. Lai pressed on the need to be more diverse in church ministries.
