Thank you everyone who has showered this impossible task and unimaginable outcome in prayer.  It has been the platform on which we have been able to see first hand God working for his name’s sake!  We are now praying forward over the next few months as we finalize lease agreements, small renovations and installations, and moving.  Our church hopes to complete the moving process and  come together to worship for the first time in the new location for Easter 2010.

134 LiSing Rd

Please continue to shower the new location in prayer that God will make it a place where many people will know his salvation and learn to follow him as disciples.

The need in Taiwan is apparent in only viewing the people worshipping at one temple in Taipei, but throughout the island there are thousands of other temples people are fearfully worshipping ancestors and gods.  Ed interviews a church planter about his heart and call about sharing making the name of Jesus know in Taipei.

He was also able to interview several other pastors and missionaries while visiting Taipei.  Check out some of the links below to connect to his website and view the videos.

Meeting Pastor Chen

Ancestor Worship

Knowing Taiwan

Taxi Interview with Ray

Mission Strateges

The seminar concentrated on our relationships with God, others, and how Satan may attempt to disrupt relationships.  Some of the key points I took home from the weekend focused on our responsibility as Christians to go and try to make a relationship that is hurting or in conflict better.  The responsibility is not only for the person who committed a wrong to forgive, but also the person that was wronged to go share how they were hurt (Matthew 5:23-24 and Matthew 18:15).  This is also above and beyond the commandment by God to make every effort to keep unity in relationships (Ephesians 4:3).   I think this generally is a very unnatural approach to dealing with hurt relationships; most people commonly run away, try to ignore, or assign blame when confronted with hurt and conflict.  The true Biblical approach is to see the conflict as an opportunity and assignment from God which can produce spiritual growth through the discovery of sinful attitudes and practices.

Ultimately, the only answer for relational healing is through forgiveness.  Forgiveness involves releasing another of a liability, canceling a debt, offering a pardon without resentment or desire for revenge.  Completely reflecting what Jesus did in love for every sinner by dying on the cross.  I pray that I can continue to learn how to apply this throughout my life since it is impossible to live life without relationships!

John 13:34-35  ”A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Bill thinking over an inquiry during the Q&A time.

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American and Taiwanese Eric with a student from Taiwan University.

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Navigator staff from around the island and US at lunch.

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‘Sisters’ from Taichung, Changhua, and Jhongli.

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Bill, Cathy, Terri, and Dave receiving a thank you from Terry (co-president of the Taiwan Navigators).

Religion in Taiwan is extremely complex. it is a mixture of folk religion and traditional Chinese religion.

Folk religion in Taiwan may be described as animistic, polytheistic and syncretistic. It is animistic because Taiwanese people firmly believe that spiritual forces have power over their daily lives. It is polytheistic because people believe in and worship multiple gods. It is syncretistic because Taiwanese have blended many varied and even contradictory religions and folk beliefs.

Various occult practices like fengshui, fortune telling, buying amulets, conversing with spirits, and spirit possession are extremely common.

Traditional Chinese religion is a combination of ancestor worship, Taoism, and Buddhism. Although each religion has its own deities and teachings, they are often mixed so thoroughly that it becomes impossible to determine what is Taoist and what is Buddhist. For example, the Taiwan folk deity, Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) and the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, Kuanyin, are frequently worshipped in the same temple.

More than 16,000 registered temples cater to the spiritual needs of Taiwan’s people. In fact, Taiwan has more temples per capita than any other country in the world.

The Taiwanese working class also believe in ghosts. They believe that every person who dies becomes a ghost. There are happy ghosts and hungry ghosts. Happy ghosts are those who are “fed” or worshipped with offerings of incense, food, and “spirit money”. Hungry ghosts are those who are not worshipped. Hungry ghosts bring havoc upon an individual or family in the form of sickness, family relationship trouble, or financial loss. These hungry ghosts are often believed to be deceased family members who are not being worshipped properly or those who have died under tragic circumstances, such as drowning.

No one wants to be a hungry ghost. Therefore, ancestor worship has two main purposes. One is to ensure that one’s ancestors do not wreck havoc on one’s life. The other is to set a strong example to one’s own children so that they will worship their parents after their death. As a result, worship of ancestors is considered extremely important. So important, in fact, that children (especially oldest sons) are told by their parents not to become Christians because then “you will not be able to worship me after I am dead, and I will become a hungry ghost.”

Worship of gods is slightly different from that of ancestors. Taiwanese appease ghosts/ancestors but make deals with gods. Usually, a person provides a god with worship, incense, and food in exchange for protection, assistance, or blessing. The most desired type of blessing is generally related to money.

Taiwanese people are very religious. But all this religious activity provides no assurance for a happy life, both now and beyond the grave. Rather, it leaves people in fear and uncertainty.

Only about 2% of the Taiwanese are Christian. Half of these regularly attend church. The majority of Taiwan’s Christians come from the more highly educated and western-influenced middle class.

Changhua Buddha

Pray
An ongoing need is for more workers in the harvest fields of Taiwan. We desire is to establish new ministry teams and consolidate and expand our current ministries. In order to do this we are praying for at least 25 new workers (20 front-line & 5 support personnel) over the next five years. Join with us in prayer that the Lord will send these workers into the working-class harvest fields of Taiwan.

The Lord has sent us 9 new workers in the last 12 months and others are planning to come to Taiwan in the next couple of years. Most face significant challenegs in preparing to arrive here. Please pray for the preparation, health, financial support and visas for those preparing to join our teams.

Thank you for your partnership with us in serving the gospel in Taiwan.