[3078] PCT local churches encouraged to add Mandarin worship services

3078 Edition
February 21-27, 2011
Church Ministry News

PCT local churches encouraged to add Mandarin worship services

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

Written by Lydia Ma

Taiwan Theological College and Seminary’s Missions, Research and Development Center held a seminar on February 21, 2011, focusing on the theme “Renewing Mandarin worship services”, drawing about 50 attendees ranging from pastors to elders to laymen.

According to the speaker of the seminar, Rev. Tsai Hsin-sheng from Tachih Presbyterian Church, PCT churches that want to grow must embrace diversity, which includes, notably, being open to the possibility of adding a Mandarin worship service. He underscored that a Mandarin service was a great option churches engaged in PCT’s “One-leads-one New Doubling Movement” could seriously consider.

Rev. Yang Chi-jen from Ilan Presbyterian Church was invited to share his experience in starting Mandarin worship services at his church. He said his congregation grew from 152 people in 1999 to 345 people in 2010, and average attendance at worship services grew from 155 people in 1992 to 279 people in 2010.

Yang maintained that a major factor for these increases was the addition of Mandarin services at his church and went on to explain how the idea came about in the first place.

He said a few years ago, 3 Aborigine Christians began attending his church, and they would sit on the back row every Sunday. When he greeted them one day six months later, he asked them if they understood Taiwanese. When they replied that they didn’t, he began to refer them to a Mandarin-speaking church in the area.

To his surprise, they replied, “But we are Presbyterians!” It was then that he realized Aborigines living in urban areas really wanted to attend PCT churches – because they grew up in PCT churches at home – but most PCT churches only had service in Taiwanese.

This encounter led Yang’s church to start an Aborigine fellowship and hire an Aborigine associate pastor. In October 1997, the church finally added a Mandarin service, and membership began to grow steadily from that time onwards.

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