November 2009 News and Links

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam 3:22-23 (NIV)

We are happy to report than since our last newsletter we have continued to enjoy excellent attendance in the church services and seven new converts were baptized.

Among these new believers is a woman named YueJiao whose family members are spirit mediums. Spirit mediums (called "Jitongs" in Chinese) play an important role in the ancestor worship so widely practiced among traditional Chinese. We praise God for this amazing deliverance from the powers of darkness. Here is a picture of YueJiao receiving a bouquet of flowers at the time of her baptism. As we have expressed before, the existence of a viable and growing congregation of Christian believers in the midst of the pervasive idolatry and ancestor worship of the Toufen area is truly a miracle of God.

Gospel Team Visits Toufen Church
In August, our church was privileged to host a gospel team from the Palisades Park First Presbyterian Church. The team included Pastor Peng, his wife Melody and their co-workers. The purpose of their trip was to conduct children’s and youth crusades in Taipei, Taoyuan, Tainan and elsewhere on the island. They found time in their busy schedule to visit our church and hold a special meeting. In our church, the team members performed to special music. Then Pastor Peng preached an evangelistic message pointing out the similarities between Chinese New Year and the Jewish Passover. We thought his message was excellent and regret not having taped it.

Toufen Praise and Preaching
We took a video of our worship service a few weeks ago. Click here to see the video. The musicians are mostly young people whom Barth has trained to serve in the church. The song we are singing is a popular Chinese praise song entitled "Stream of Praise". We also one of taped Barth's recent sermons: "God Can Help You to Overcome Depression". Click here to hear his message.

Important AnnouncementAfter serving in the Toufen church for over six years, we believe God is leading us to make a move. A new door of service has opened for us in the Taichung area. As of January 2010, we will be working together with a church in the Taichung area called the MuYi Church (literally: the Desiring Righteousness Church). Moving to a larger city provides us with new evangelistic opportunities, including a more densely populated area and proximity to the large college campuses in the area. The MuYi Church is a growing church with a vision for evangelism. We believe that together with our brothers and sisters in our new church we can effectively reach out to the surrounding community.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Transition is a time of the joy of making new acquaintances and sadness of leaving old friends behind. Please pray that God will continue to uphold our brothers and sisters in the Toufen Church as they prepare for our departure and afterwards. Also please pray for us as we physically move our belongings and prepare our hearts for our future ministry.