The Origin

In 1958, Mr. Peng Ching-yueh, an elder of Sin-heng Presbyterian Church in Kaohsiung, donated a piece of farmland “for the purpose of building a church and dormitory -- half of it for building a church and manse, and the other half for university students’ dormitory.” He asked the session of Sin-heng church to look after the project.

At that time, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was preparing to celebrate the Centennial and “the P.K.U. movement”* and the Christian students from the nearby Kao-hsiung Medical College were requesting a meeting space. A preaching point was established in 1960, which soon turned to be An-seng Presbyterian Church. In 1964, the church building was dedicated, and in April, 1993, the education wing of An-seng Presbyterian Church was built.

The Planning Stage

In 1994, the General Assembly appointed a “Land Development Committee,” to investigate the further use of this piece of land. In 2005, it re-assigned the committee members and mandated them to “completely develop the land,” meaning completely developed the land with a building on it. The committee members consisted of representatives from the General Assembly, An-seng and Sin-heng Presbyterian Churches. The Rev. Shih-huang Lee was the convener.

The proposed building was named, “The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Kao-hsiung Mission Center.”

On August 29th, 2007, the Committee signed a contract with the architect, Mr. Wei-ming Chang.
On September 14th, the Committee signed an agreement with Kaohsiung and Shou-shan Presbyteries as well as An-seng Presbyterian Church as co-constructors of the building.
On November 7th, the design of the building was finalized. The architect submitted the blueprint to the municipal government and applied for building permit, which was granted in January, 2008.
The earth breaking ceremony was held on May 14th, 2008.

The Deployment of Space

The size of the land is 1,505 square meters. The new building will have ten stories aboveground and two underground. The total usable space of the ten stories aboveground will be 8,200 square meters. The usage of each floor is as follow:

Two underground floors will be parking garage.
First and second floors: An-seng Presbyterian Church.
Third floor: Office and mission center for Shou-shan Presbytery.
Fourth floor: Office and meeting room for the General Assembly in southern Taiwan.
Fifth floor: Office and mission center for Kaohsiung Presbytery.
Sixth to Tenth floors: Dormitory for students in universities nearby and career young people.

The construction is to be finished by June, 2010.

The Anticipating Effects on Mission

With churches, presbyteries, General Assembly offices and students’ dormitory in the same building, it will be open all the time, and many people will be served. The dormitory will provide over eighty suites for students in Kaohsiung Medical University and career youth. It will be an evangelical opportunity for An-seng Presbyterian Church.

Kaohsiung and Shou-shan Presbyteries will each occupy a floor for their offices. There will also be enough spaces for them to engage in senior citizens and women’s ministries as well as other presbytery activities. The General Assembly office on the fourth floor will facilitate better service to the churches in southern Taiwan. The general secretary and program secretaries will regularly reside in the office to oversee the operation of this office. We expect the Kao-hsiung Mission Center to become a base for the communication and cooperation of local churches, presbyteries and the General Assembly. It will be an excellent model and witness.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to this project, here is the information:

Name of the Account: Juridical Person the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan,
Kao-hsiung Mission Center.
Account Number: #024500118748, Union Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan.
Swift Code: UBOTTWTP
(After you remit tour contribution, please kindly fax the receipt to886-2-23628096, so that we may send you a note of appreciation and official receipt. Please also include your name, address, and telephone number.)

Contact Person:
The Rev. Singdoh Ko, the Assistant General Secretary of the PCT.
Address: 3, Lane 269, Section 3, Roosevelt Road
Taipei 10647, Taiwan.
Phone:886-2-2362-5282 ex. 267, 265.
Fax:886-2-23628096.
E-mail: singdoh@mail.pct.org.tw
Website: http://www.pct.org.tw

* “P.K.U.” is the abbreviation of Taiwanese, “Poe-ka un-tong,” meaning “Doubling Movement.” In 1955, when PCT celebrated its 90th anniversary, the General Assembly resolved to double the number of church members and congregation in ten years. It would be a gift of thanksgiving when they celebrated the Centennial in 1965. The
movement was a great success.