Taiwan Church News

3324 Edition

November 9 - 15, 2015

Church Ministry

PCT-AEMF Sign Memorandum To Develop MEJI II And Train Missionaries For Japan

Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan and Simon Lin

From November 2nd to 6th, a seminar of PCT-AEMF(Asia Evangelical Missionary Fellowship) Mission Consultationis held both in PCT's General Assembly Office at Taipei and Presbyterian Bible College at Hsin-chu. Led by Rev. Lin Mao Hong, president of AEMF, there are 16 Japanese pastors and their spouses invited to attend this meeting from 7 different churches among Kansei area of Japan.

The main purpose of this seminar is to sign a missionary memorandum between PCT and AEMF for thedevelopment of MEJI(Makino Evangelical Japanese Institute) in the next decade and set up a series of complete program, with long-term, medium and short-term goals respectively, of training future missionaries stationed in Japan.

Rev. Lin Mao Hong points out that AEMF, founded in 1965 and acted as a hub uniting 500 denominations to send missionaries overseas, is the first and the only one authorized evangelical institute in Japan sending missionaries to Taiwan. Rev. Dr. Pushin Tali, current president of Yusan Theoligical College and Seminary, is one of the students of those Japanese missionaries.

At the year of 2000, after 34 years of missionary service, AEMF came to a stop. Under a new leadership of Rev.Nishimoto Ichio, AEMF started to think if their initial target of sending missionary overseas should proceed a change, says Rev. Lin, who was then a commissioner of AEMF. "Ministry has its beginning and end, though, the preaching of the gospel should not stop!", remarked Rev. Lin.

In 2004, Rev. Lin was elected as the president of AEMF. As the financial savings of AEMF only had 200,000 yen left, Rev. Lin once thought he had to dismiss this historic missionary institute in his terms. But, totally beyond his expectation, an amazing grace by God occurred to Rev. Lin. "Here I am; send me!", proclaimed by a retired and blind pastor at Okinawa to Rev. Lin and requested for an overseas missionary assignment.

This retired blind pastor was finally assigned a three years' ministry in Taiwan and also illuminated Rev. Lin an ideathat "the gospel will be preached, however, even in an amazing way (different from the traditional molds)". So, an evangelical strategy thinking, about how to let Taiwan youth understand current Japanese culture within 3 weeks and sparkle the evangelical enthusiasm among them through visiting Japanese churches and their related ministries, began to haunt in the mind of Rev. Lin. And this is the primordial blueprint of the MEJI project started in 2006 between AEMF and PCT.

Rev. Lin expresses his deep appreciation for all the people supporting MEJI project in the past 10 years at bothTaiwan and Japan churches. "Taiwan used to be a help-receiver, now she is a capable supplier". Up to date, there are two Taiwanese missionaries sent into Japan. Rev. Lin hopes such municipal support and joy of give and take in missionary service will carry on forever in both countries.

Translated by Peter Wolfe