33059 Edition
October 11~17, 2010
General Assembly News
Taiwanese and Japanese churches partner in youth ministries and missions
Reported by Lin Yi-ying
Written by Lydia Ma
Eleven delegates from Asia Evangelical Missionary Fellowship (AEMF) in Japan met with PCT leaders at Presbyterian Bible College in Hsinchu recently for a three-day seminar. The delegation was taken to visit various churches along Taiwan’s east coast and south coast besides touring Yu-Shan Seminary.
AEMF was founded in 1965 when more than 500 Christian denominations in Japan came together to form this church organization. It began having close contact and partnership with PCT around 2006 when the two organizations decided to found Makino Evangelical Japanese Institute (MEJI) together.
Since then, during the summer months of every year, MEJI will typically host a Japanese camp lasting 21 days which is open to Taiwanese youths and pastors aged 18-40. Besides touring Japanese churches and learning about missions in Japan, students also get to learn Japanese language and culture through spending 21 days in Japan. About 40 Taiwanese youths have participated in this camp in the past 5 years since MEJI’s inception.
The latest seminar focused mainly on missionary exchanges and women, youths, and seniors short-term and long-term ministries. Japanese church leaders also got an update on Taiwan’s international predicament and its struggles in joining the UN and the WHO and voiced their support for these causes.
