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Two Women Ordained During Taiwan Annual Meeting
HSINTIEN, TAIWAN (April 23, 2003) - Two women from the Hsintien Covenant Church,
Amy Chang and Lyou Wei Ling, were ordained to various pastoral positions
during the recent annual meeting of the Taiwan Covenant Church, attended by
more than 200 people. This marked the first time that an ordination service
was held during an annual meeting rather than at a local church.
Although there were no elections for administrative positions, which
shortened the business session, the Ministerium voted to select future
candidates for national church chair positions during the annual
Ministerium meeting, according to David Dolan, Taiwan coordinator for the
Department of World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church. In the
past, nominations have taken place at the annual meeting and the
chairperson was elected by the delegates in attendance.
Dave Husby, regional coordinator for Asia, was the keynote speaker. Frank
Tuan representing the South Africa Chinese Covenant Church in Johannesburg
was also in attendance. The Taiwan denomination is considering a more
extensive cross-cultural evangelistic ministry, with Vernon Wu, Covenant
pastor at a church plant in Hsintien and the head of the Taiwan church's
mission committee, reporting on possible mission trips to India and
Thailand as a first step in pursuit of the cross-cultural ministry goal.
A two-day conference preceded the annual meeting as Dr. Greg Groh shared
with 50-60 Taiwan Covenant church workers about the attitudes that often
motivate or influence ministries and how committed Christians can bring
attitudes in line with God's heart. Groh also discussed issues pertaining
to missiology, ecclesiology and spiritual formation in the local church.
The Taiwan Covenant Church also celebrated a new ministry being operated by
a church-sponsored organization in Taipei. A new box lunch factory, started
by the New Hope Foundation of pastor Nathen Chang's Hsintien Covenant
Church, was dedicated on April 12 with Taipei mayor Ma Ying Jyou attending
the ceremony. The box lunch factory grew out of an outreach the church has
started in two prisons. The first factory, which produced dumplings,
sausage and meatball lunch combinations, was established in March last year
and now involves 25 workers who have been released from prison.
Outreach by Chang's congregation and New Hope Foundation to those in the
factory has resulted in more than 1,500 conversions during the past four
years, according to Dolan who with wife, Judy, also serves as coordinator
for Chinese ministries for the Department of World Mission. It has also
helped some of the new believers released from prison to more effectively
transition into society by means of a discipling program that is part of
the project. In addition to work and study, those in the box lunch factory
program donate service time monthly to the area's homeless and share their
testimonies at local prisons.
The Taiwan Covenant Church encompasses 34 congregations with a combined
average worship service attendance of 3,800 people. To learn more about the
Taiwan Covenant
Church annual meeting and other activities in the region, email Dolan at
djdolan@attbi.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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