LiHsin Church Plant Initiative
The Vision
?The LiHsin Church planting initiative is a collaboration of TEAM missionaries (Isomi & Chieko Saito) and Taiwanese nationals working together. By serving the needs of this un-reached community, the team will have opportunities to share the gospel and make disciples. The vision of this initiative is to see new disciples who willingly obey the truth revealed in the Scriptures, commit themselves to the church and small group activities, and continue to grow into followers of Jesus Christ who in turn serve others and spread the gospel.
Sharing the Gospel through service
Taiwan is a country with many religions. More than 95% of the people are not Christians. If we narrowly focus on only spreading the gospel in word, it will not be easy for the typical Taiwanese person to accept it because of their own religious background.
By building personal relationships and by serving the felt needs of the community, we will reach people with the message of the gospel. The first step has been to offer after school programs to help children who are otherwise disadvantaged in their pursuit of a good education. Through this program, we not only have the opportunity to share the gospel with children and their families, but also to begin training leaders among those we are reaching for the future. Another community service that is being offered is language classes. Again, the primary purpose is to connect with more people, build relationships, and then to have the opportunity share the gospel with them.
Small group focus
The Taiwanese culture places a high value on maintaining the nuclear family. And in this fast-paced industrial society, it is not easy for people’s hearts to be open to others and to interact with others in larger groups. In the LiHsin Church planting initiative, we embrace this reality and start with small group activities to help others feel more comfortable and become willing to open their hearts. And as hearts become more open, the depth of interaction will increase, mutual relationships will be built, and people will be open to hear the gospel.
Using the house church model, the LiHsin Church plant will be able to continue to use small groups as the basis for worshiping God together, teaching, shepherding, serving, and sharing the gospel of Christ to the wider community. Through acts of service, these small groups of disciples will continue to reach out and make more disciples of Jesus Christ.
Join us
We are seeking coworkers to join us in this ministry. Here are some of the opportunities for ministry with us in the LiHsin Church planting initiative:
- People who can help in our after school programs through interacting with children and by teaching them English.
- People who can lead youth group activities.
- People who can lead a variety of English classes.
- People who are gifted in music for leading music ministries.