May 2, 2010
Reported by Chen Wei-chient
Written by Lydia Ma

PCT Changhua Presbytery's youth ministry department organized a match-making event for singles last year in hopes that it would result in a few successful matches. The presbytery is pleased to announce that two youth who attended the event will soon tie the knot.

Buoyed by this success, Changhua Presbytery staged a similar event this year on April 2325. It hoped that through a retreat filled with fun activities, young adults would get to know new friends and meet prospective mates. This year's retreat was held at Sun Moon Lake Presbyterian Church and 18 men and 16 women between the ages of 30 and 40 took part.

According to the presbytery's youth coordinator, Yang Huei-Ru, her team didn't have any experience organizing such an event last year. That is why they were delighted to learn that they had helped one couple meet and get married soon afterward. After obtaining permission, Yang's team used the couple's wedding portraits on the cover of posters promoting this year's retreat to encourage young people to sign up.

Yang said last year's experiences helped her team design this year's events, which included more games and group activities. The team designed games similar to those used on popular television shows that are specifically aimed at helping men understand women and vice versa.

One of the games divided participants into two groups – "men's group" and "women's group" – and each group had to answer identical questions so that participants could hear how the other sex thought differently on an issue. In some instances, participants could also call out a member of the other team to answer a question to get to know that person better.

According to Yang, about half of the participants found someone they admired who reciprocated their feelings. This fact was confirmed through confidential questionnaires at the end of the event asking participants to fill out names of people they liked. She hopes the success of this event will encourage other young adults to take more initiative.

Taiwan Church News