January 17, 2010
Translated by Lydia Ma

In the past, Taiwanese Christians in Vienna, Austria would attend a local church service with their European neighbors. As the number of Taiwanese students in the area increased, a Christian fellowship was eventually created to meet the needs of these students. Sadly, this fellowship was eventually disbanded due to lack of funding and staff.

Several years after, when PCT General Assembly met up with members from Reformed Church in Vienna, the latter offered a place for Taiwanese people to meet when PCT announced it would send a missionary to Vienna. The PCT in Vienna held its first service on October 4, 2009 and the occasion also marked the first PCT in the European continent.

Looking back at the history of Taiwanese churches founded abroad we can see a recurring pattern, especially among Taiwanese churches in North America. These churches typically begin with a group of Taiwanese people attending a local, Caucasian church. Once the number of Taiwanese reaches a certain threshold, a Bible study is created because, after all, cultural and language barriers still exist between Caucasians and Taiwanese. Once the number of attendants at these Bible studies stabilizes, the next step is to begin a Taiwanese Christian fellowship. If attendance increases from then on, an independent Taiwanese church is eventually born.

Some of these Taiwanese churches rent a local church building to meet, while others build their own buildings eventually. Regardless, most Taiwanese churches abroad enjoy good relations with other denominations in their area and are active in the local Taiwanese association too as it's a great means to reach Taiwanese people residing abroad for Christ.

However, a look at Aborigines living in urban areas of Taiwan tells a completely different story. Aborigines share many commonalities with Taiwanese immigrants living abroad. They, too, left their hometown for schooling or employment purposes. According to PCT Indigenous Ministry Committee and government demographical data, Aborigines flocking to urban areas is an irreversible trend. Urban migration also translates into more and more Christian Aborigines residing in cities and leaving their former home churches. Once these Aborigines settle down, they will either join a Mandarin church or stop attending church altogether. In short, there aren't sufficient PCT churches ministering to Aborigines in urban areas, let alone Aborigine PCT churches.

In light of this situation, PCT Indigenous Ministry Committee began a program dubbed "partner churches" in 2009, with the goal of enabling city churches to help Aborigine churches and also further urban Aborigine ministries. After several meetings between Aborigine pastors and a general census, PCT mapped out urban areas across Taiwan with high concentrations of Aborigines. Then, with help from PCT Evangelism Committee, Aborigine churches began building partnerships with urban churches to increase the number of meeting places in urban areas so that Aborigines can meet to worship and grow together using their own language.

As PCT strives toward increasing the number of members among its local churches through proactive one-on-one evangelism, the goal for Aborigine churches is to bring Aborigine Christians back into the church fold. PCT has begun promoting a program where one city church adopts one Aborigine church so that both can be strengthened through mutual cooperation and sharing of experiences. Now is the time for city churches to get involved in Aborigine outreach ministries and we pray that Taiwanese churches and Aborigine churches can experience exponential growth together.

Taiwan Church News